MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Families in Mon County are split on how education should be delivered this fall. According to a Mon County Schools survey, 2.488 want in-person classes, 2,400 prefer virtual learning and 1,400 more want a blend of in-person and virtual.
The split, along with strong support for virtual learning has pushed teachers, administrators and school board members to rethink all aspects of education delivery.
“It’s almost impossible to say one size fits all and make this happen,”Mon County School Board vice president Ron Lytle said on WAJR’s Talk of the Town,”So, we’re doing as much as we can to individualize education for our kids and our families, working and not working.”
On Talkline, superintendent Dr. Eddie Campbell said by Friday they will submit their plan to governor Justice as required.
“The goal here is to get our schools open for fives days a week in-person learning for parents that want and need it,”Dr. Campbell said,”And be able to provide high quality distance learning that Mon County teachers will be delivering to our parents as well.”
Lytle said developing these options requires hardwork, good communication with staff and parents, plus the ability to compromise when possible.
“When you deal with education, you deal with every single school-aged kid in this county, so you have to be wide open,”Lytle said,”That’s what we’ve instructed the administration to do, try to get some commitments out of the community as to what they want their education to look like.”
Teachers will return to buildings on Monday, August 17 and Dr. Campbell believes the challenge for administrators is to properly prepare teachers for a semester no one has experienced. In-person classes are set to begin September 8.
“We need to work closely with them to ensure the quality of the instruction and the instruction is equitable,”Dr. Campbell said,”We want the same classes being taught by the same teachers whether kids are sitting in front of them or it’s an uploaded lesson or a live-streamed lesson.”
Mon County School Board vice president Ron Lytle agrees that the foundation for a successful academic experience for the students begins when teachers return to buildings Monday.
“We’re working diligently and the administration is getting ready for the return of the teachers,”Lytle said,”They’re really going to have their plate full trying to figure this out.”