FAYETTE COUNTY, WV (WOAY) – “We’ve had some weather, on and off. And that’s caused us to have to adjust.”
Fayette County Schools returned with a blended learning model in 2021. With all students scheduled for 2 days of in-person learning and three remote each week, there’s been some tough calls in handling winter weather conditions.
“Honestly, with only having blended, we really hate to even have to cancel or to call a delay,” said Fayette County Superintendent Gary Hough. “But, we have to always keep in focus [that] our main mission is the safety of the students.”
Doing everything to give students both of their in-person days each week is a priority for Fayette County. Even with multiple delays since students returned almost two weeks ago, the Board of Education has emphasized finding a safe way to get students into buildings.
“We don’t want to miss any time that we have with them, but it’s a necessary issue to protect the students,” Hough said. “It has affected things. We prefer to have full days. And hopefully very soon we’ll get out of this weather and back to a little more normality.”
If there is any bright side to having students remote three times per week, it’s that staffs have figured out how to adjust on the fly. When Fayette County has had to delay or adjust its schedule, there’s been minimal to no impact on students or teachers.
“I think we’ve got the remote learning down,” Hough said. “The preparation the teachers do. I think there’s no doubt that we’re better prepared to do the remote learning. We used to give out packets, now it’s all in a remote format.
“It’s all about preparation. Trying to think in advance to make sure the students and the staff are prepared.”
