Fayette County Schools spend unprecedented first day handing out devices for at-home learning

September 8, 2020 11:49 pm

HICO, WV (WOAY) – While other counties went back on Tuesday to a blended model, those in orange on the county alert system, like Fayette County, handed out devices to the students who will begin remote or virtual learning this week.

Midland Trail split their day up by grade level as middle school students came in the early afternoon and high school students in the evening.

Samantha Gerwig is a teacher at Midland Trail and said up until last week, everyone was preparing for the blended model, and then when it looked like the county would stay orange, things changed.

“We’ve learned through this that you definitely have to be prepared for anything,” she said. “Expect the unexpected. So we had prepared through the end of the week, looking at the numbers as to what it was going to be.”

For the next two days, teachers will be at each school handing out laptops to every student.

Then, on Thursday and Friday, they will start helping the students get used to the new platform.

“We really weren’t prepared in the beginning stages of the pandemic, but we’ve had time through the summer to prepare, and the students are going to be getting more live instruction that’s going to be based more with the standards than what we had previously had,” Gerwig said.

While it was not the first day that everyone had hoped for, Gerwig chose to look on the bright side as it was a chance for teachers to see students they had not seen since March which she says has been the hardest part.

Although the remote learning style could change next week and then could change back the following, teachers and administrators say they will continue to adapt and adjust and remain positive for the kids.

“We each have to face an event and our reaction to that event determines what the outcome is going to be, so if we all show a little patience through this process I think we’ll make the best outcome for kids,” Midland Trail Principal Richard Petitt said.

Here is the full schedule for all Fayette County Schools for distribution this week:

Oak Hill High School

Device: Tuesday 9/8 (Last names A-L): 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Wednesday 9/9 (Last names M-Z): 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Meal Distribution: 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Thursday 9/10

Midland Trail High School

Device: Tuesday 9/8 (Grades 6-8): 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Tuesday 9/8 (Grades 9-12): 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Wednesday 9/9 (Grades 9-12): 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wednesday 9/9 (Grades 6-8): 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Meal Distribution: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Meadow Bridge High School

Device: Tuesday 9/8: 12:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Meal distribution: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Oak Middle School

Device: Tuesday 9/8: (Last names A-L) 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Wednesday 9/8: (Last names M-Z) 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Meal distribution: Thursday 9/10: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Fayetteville PK-8

Device: Tuesday 9/8: (Last names A-L): 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. (Last names M-Z): 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Wednesday 9/9: (Last names M-Z): 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. (Last names A-L): 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.