Teachers, staff and administrators gear up for remote learning in Fayette County

September 7, 2020 7:50 pm

FAYETTE COUNTY, WV (WOAY) – Typically, the day before the first day of school means putting the final touches on classrooms and lesson plans, but this year in Fayette County, it involved a drive-through computer handout for virtual learners as teachers and staff volunteered across the county.

These are the students who enrolled in virtual school before July 31 and will be participating virtually during the entire semester.

Oak Hill Middle had a large teacher turnout to help with getting them their devices.

“We needed to make sure the students had their devices, and so these teachers are volunteering to make sure that this happens, so that’s what we’re doing,” Principal Cynthia Hedrick said.

Because of Fayette County’s orange status on the state map, the students who selected the “brick and mortar” option to go the physical building will be participating in remote learning during the first week.

So on Tuesday and Wednesday, every school will be handing out devices to the students who were supposed to begin the blended model this week but are now doing remote learning until the county turns yellow.

Lynette Farr, a teacher at Oak Hill Middle, has stepped up to teach Schoology to the other teachers at the school and says the platform will take some practice but believes the students will get the hang of it quickly.

“Once you’ve used it a couple times, it’s very user friendly, so I think they’ll catch on pretty well and the kids will catch on in no time. It’s very user friendly,” Farr said.

Farr also plans to teach the full student body on Microsoft Teams if they return next week.

School administrators believe once they finish handing out devices on Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday students will begin getting used to the new platform, so Tuesday and Wednesday will only be handout days not used for instruction.

While this is a frustrating and confusing experience for all involved, Superintendent Gary Hough says the key through these next few weeks will be patience from all.

“We realize that it is a frustrating experience,” he said. “We’ve never dealt with this at this level, and we planned and planned and planned. But at the same time, when you put humans in, you get lines and you get people having to wait, people that aren’t as familiar with that technology. We were familiar with it but are they familiar with it? You know, that idea of being patient with each other.”

Here are the dates and times for device and meal pickup at each school:

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.