ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The following partners will vet and review the COVID-19 Outbreak to Recovery Plan.

T VIRGIN
ES WEST V I

O

T IO N

NT

EN

AN

IB
I SEMPER L

ER

I

CA

»  West Virginia American Federation of Teachers
(AFT-WV)
»  West Virginia Association of Secondary School
Principals (WVASSP)
»  West Virginia Higher Education Policy
Commission
»  West Virginia House and Senate Education
Chairs
»  West Virginia National Guard
»  West Virginia Office of Technology (WVOT)
»  West Virginia Parent Teacher Association
(WVPTA)
»  West Virginia Primary Care Association
»  West Virginia Professional Educators Association
»  West Virginia Public Broadcasting Service (WVPBS)
»  West Virginia Public Education Collaborative
(WVPEC)
»  West Virginia School Boards Association (WVSBA)
»  West Virginia School Building Authority (WVSBA)
»  West Virginia School Counselors Association
»  West Virginia School Psychologists’ Association
»  West Virginia School Service Personnel
Association (WVSSP)
»  West Virginia Secondary School Activities
Commission (WVSSAC)

M

.

State Partners
»  Disability Rights of West Virginia
»  Early Childhood Education Advisory Council (ECAC)
»  The Education Alliance
»  Our Future WV
»  West Virginia Advisory Council for the Education
of Exceptional Children
»  West Virginia American Civil Liberties (WVACLU)
»  West Virginia Association of School
Administrators (WVASA)
»  West Virginia Association of School Business
Officials (WVASBO)
»  West Virginia Association of School Nurses
»  West Virginia Broadband Council
»  West Virginia Council of Administrators of
Special Education
»  West Virginia Council of School Nurses
»  West Virginia Economic Development Authority
»  West Virginia Department of Agriculture
»  West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and
History
»  West Virginia Department of Commerce
»  West Virginia Department of Health and Human
Resources (WVDHHR)
»  West Virginia Education Association (WVEA)
»  West Virginia Elementary and Middle School
Principals Association (WVAEMSP)

M

IR

NI A
GI

»  Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)
»  State Board Insight (NASBE)
»  United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
»  United States Department of Education (USDE)

DE PA RT

National Resources and Research Partners
»  Communities In Schools
»  Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)
»  Education Commission of the States (ECS)
»  Hanover Research
»  Hunt Institute

OF

A

W

»  West Virginia Board of Education

STAT
E

»  Office of Governor Jim Justice

T OF E D

U

COV ID -19 2020

OUTBREAK TO RECOVERY

S

tate Superintendent of Schools W. Clayton Burch has commissioned the COVID-19
2020: Outbreak to Recovery Advisory Council. This reentry advisory group will
address three phases to recovery for the public education community. The outbreak
of COVID-19 and the subsequent national and state emergencies have served as a wakeup call regarding equity and access of remote learning, educational technology, and
intervention resources. With each national, state or regional crisis, systemic challenges
are always uncovered. The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE), along with the
rest of the state and the nation, witnessed this disparity first-hand and the impact it has
had on the delivery of remote learning programs.
Most states have used their technology system as a crisis intervention to support their
schools in reaching their students while buildings were on lockdown as they tried to
mitigate the negative impact to learning COVID-19 had on students and educators.
In West Virginia, the digital divide was more than a chasm; it was a canyon that has
separated the technological haves and have-nots. The WVDE will address disparity and
other challenges through the combined energy, research, expertise, commitment and
intentionality of the members of the Outbreak to Recovery Advisory Council.

For more information about West Virginia’s COVID-19 response, visit wvde.us/covid19.
Revised 060820

 NINE FOCUSED AREAS

Purpose: To provide a reentry planning resource that is in line with the West Virginia Board of
Education Strategic Plan and priorities.

The WVDE has nine selected focus areas of information to include instruction, child nutrition, finance,
extracurricular activities, special education, physical and social/emotional wellness, career technical
education (CTE), safe schools and transportation, and technology requirements for all students and/or
staff. The WVDE leadership will focus this reentry work around these targeted areas. Each focus area will
include several subcommittee members to organize the work.

Goals: To ensure student and educator needs are met during COVID-19.

»  Address learning needs for all students in different learning settings.

»  Support county and school leaders and educators as we work toward solutions.

»  Leverage national and state resources to provide the bandwidth and hardware needed by our
students.

THREE PHASES TO REENTRY AND RECOVERY

INSTRUCTION/
LEARNING

Phase 1: Address the Essentials: The Current Situation

Monica DellaMea
Joey Wiseman

The WVDE has received clear direction provided by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice based on
health, education, and other experts regarding social distancing. These measures have resulted
in the continuation of remote learning for the remainder of the current school year. To support
continuous learning and overall child well-being, West Virginia remained committed to remote
student engagement and to providing millions of meals each week to students through the
remainder of the school year. The WVDE also began to think about how to help counties provide
continuous learning opportunities to students during the summer and is developing a plan
throughout the 2020-2021 school year and beyond.

TECHNOLOGY

Sarah Stewart
Bernie Dolan

Tim Conzett
Andy Whisman

Pand
emic
May
Elec
Tran
tron
4
sfer
ic Ba
(P-E
lanc
BT) b
e
enefi
ts ar
e
ann
oun
ced

$86.6
mil
A
nda
ry Sc lion Elem pril 23
hoo
ls Em entary
and
erge
ncy
Relie
(ESS
f
ER) F
und
ing
WVD
E an
d th
e Co
free
Apri
ll
SAT
l 30
S c h o eg e B o a
rd co
ol D
on S
a
nfirm
y
epte
adm
mbe
inist
r 23.
Octo ration
ber
14, o
r
Octo
ber
28
U.S.
Dep
artm
appr
M ay
ent
ove
of A
Pand
gricu 2
emic s state’s
ltu
appli
Elec
tron
catio re
ic Be
n fo
nefit
r
Tran
sfer
bene
fits
Seco

Apr

il 21
es s
rema chools f
or
inde
r of
year
clos

rnor
G ove

G ove
rnor
Apri
Scho
post
l 16
pon
ed fo ols prog
ram
r sum
mer
2020

Apri
sk F
l1
orce
conv 5
ened
n Ta
uatio
Grad

The
WVD
E an
Apri
mea
nou
ls se
l 14
nces
rved
1.4 m
w ee
illion
kly t
o ch
ildre
n.

WVD
E, co
ibut
e mo unties a April 3
nd p
re th
a
an 1
milli rtners
on m
eals
w ee
kly
WVD
E CT
E do
Apri
nate
of p
s 65
l7
rote
work
,000
ctiv
ers;
piec
begin e gear t
es
o fro
s ma
ntlin
king
e
mas
ks a
nd
face
shie
lds
distr

A

scho p r i l 1
ol clo
thro
sure
ugh
April
30
nds

exte
rnor
G ove

E an
dW
Mar
begin V Publi
c Bro ch 30
airin
adca
g Ed
st
ucat
ion S ing
tatio
n

Broadband and technology access have been the point of discussion and debate for more than 20
years. The salient point has never been made clearer; specifically, these inequities inflict severe
academic limitations on populations already struggling to overcome the achievement gap.

WVD

on G
Ma
ove r
nor’s rch 27
Eme
Educ
rgen
cy R
atio
n
elief
fund
ing

milli
$16.5

U.S.
Dep
t of
Educ March
Wes
t Vir
atio
27
ginia
n ap
asse
prov
’s wa
ssm
es
iver
ent
f
o
and
acco r state
unta
bilit
y

3
ome
orde
r
for t
he s
tate

Mar
ch 2

y-at
-h

rs st
a
orde
rnor
G ove

Supe
rin
Mar
coun tendent
ch 2
ties
Burc
to tr
h en
2
ansit
cour
a
ion t
o mu ges
lti-d
ay
m ea
l pac
ks

Mar
ch

17
f CO
VID19 in
Wes
t Vir
ginia
se o

First
ca

WVD
Mar
E as
distr
c
sists
ibut
in or h 16
ion o
f 500 ganizin
g
+ me
al sit
es

Justic
e ord

ers a

ll sc

Mar
ch 1

3

hoo
ls
clos
ed

Timeline: This advisory council timeline will be available for public review June 10, 2020.

rnor

EXTRACURRICULAR/
EXTENDED ACTIVITIES

The study of current and emerging research regarding Achievement and Technology Gaps will guide
us through the next five years and beyond. If education is to be the great equalizer, then special focus
must be given to the teaching and learning inequities caused by the lack of access to technology. The
WVDE expects that at every phase direct focus will be given to closing the achievement gaps as well
as to the inequities further exacerbated by the state’s lack of broadband and hardware access for West
Virginia learners and teachers. Nationally, one of the most concerning and provocative lessons learned
from the COVID-19 pandemic is that states’ k-12 educational systems were caught without a consistent
method to offer online learning to ensure the achievement gap does not widen in 2020. When several
school districts throughout the country felt the odds were insurmountable, they discontinued remote
instruction and concluded the school year in late April, early May. West Virginia teachers rose to the
occasion and worked diligently to ensure every child had access to one caring adult.

If education is truly to be the great equalizer, consistent, long-term aggressive focus must be given
to the inequities in teaching and learning caused by the digital divide and technology gap. The
remedy is larger than any one state agency, organization, or individual can construct, and it will
require thinking and action beyond the bounds of tradition.

G ove

Amy Willard
Melanie Purkey

Susan Beck
Dawn Embrey-King

Amanda Harrison
Anthony Crago

CLOSING THE GAP:
EQUITY AND WELL-BEING EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

Phase 3: Beyond 2020

Ma

FINANCE

SPECIAL
EDUCATION

CHILD NUTRITION

Clinton Burch
Rick Gillman

$

Tommy Young
Jonah Adkins

The WVDE will provide a website that will inform and guide county school districts into the fall
reentry into the school buildings if public health officials determine it is safe to lower social
distancing measures. The WVDE will continue responding to the unique needs of individual
students to ensure their successful transitions into school academics as well as their continued
social/emotional wellness.

rch 5
WVD
E lau
nche
w vd
e.us
/COV s
ID19

CAREER TECHNICAL
EDUCATION (CTE)

Diana Whitlock
Stephanie Hayes
Cynthia Sorsaia

SAFE SCHOOLS &
TRANSPORTATION

Phase 2: Reentry: Establishing a New Normal

Supe
rinte Februa
guid
ry 28
ance ndent B
urch
for c
eme
issu
oun
rgen
es
t
ie
cy p
repa s to revie
redn
ess p w
lans

PHYSICAL &
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL
WELLNESS