Comments submitted by delegations for the August 12, 2020, meeting ofthe West Virginia Board of Education. Virginia Harris ,vrom: david@varofed.org Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 11:42 AM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Delegation Letter from WV Professional Educators Attachments: Delgation letter to State Board August 2020.pdf Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Hi Virginia. here's our delegation letter to be presentedto Superintendent Burch and the State Board Members at the meeting tomorrow. Thanks, David David M. Gladkosky Executive Director WV Professional Educators David@varofed.org 304-550-1598 West Virginia @ro?ssionaffEd?ucators varo?ciorg 8/12/20 Student '5 MinJIs Too Precious To David M. Gladkosky Libby Surface Jacque ine McDaniels Executive Director Associate Director President Davidevprofedorg Libbwavgrofedorg JackieQvarofedbrg 304-550-1598 304?615-0372 304-472-7520 Good Morning President Hall, Supt. Burch, WV State Board of Education Members, Here are some concerns from our members about school re-entry: Face Coverings - many teachers are concerned that a requirement for students to wear them is not in place. Grading Procedures - teachers want to know how to fairly and effectively grade students work on assignments that are to be taken home on their remote learning days. Teachers are concerned that the students won't be able to receive help from them with questions on their assignments as they are working from home. PPE Supplies - teachers want to be assured that there will be a continuous stream of adequate resources for schools and teachers to effectively manage their classroom and school environment. This includes face coverings, shields, gloves, cleaning and disinfectant products, and a safe classroom with proper ventilation. an even bigger concern now than before the pandemic. An effective learning, cleaning, connectivity, and Substitute Availability Having enough subs to cover everything from classrooms to custodians to bus drivers is transportation process is vital if we are to meet the needs of our students on a consistent basis. Teacher Parent Involvement Our members want to be continuously involved in the development of school re- entry plans. Current county plans have everyone concerned about effective social distancing in the classroom. Remote Learning Scenario If the Covid19 case numbers remain high or continue to rise as we approach September most educators we talk with are in favor of starting the school year in total remote learning mode. Then if it looks like the numbers have leveled off or have decreased, they are willing to move on to either blended, or full 5 day schedules. Here are some ideas and suggestions from WV Professional Educators, based on member feedback: If teachers with medical conditions have concerns about reporting to their building, that they should seek the proper medical documentation from their health care provider to present to their central office. If teachers have concerns about implementing the protocols their county has established for their school building, they should talk with other members of their faculty and present a plan to deal with those concerns to their principal. lf teachers find that their school is not adhering to all safety standards or has not implemented the plan for a safe and proper learning environment, to instantly report the issues to their Principal, and to contact WV Professional Educators if additional assistance is needed WV Professional Educators is making every effort to inform our members of their options in a positive test case situation where a quarantine or isolation is needed or required of any teacher administrator, counselor, nurse, or student. This includes the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Act. These tools may be vital in helping them manage their finances, and to keep them from having to use personal leave days. It may also save their job! Virginia Harris From: Jackie Shriner Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 12:46 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: School reentry concerns Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. To Whom It May Concern: I am a 61 year old teacher of 24 years at Wheeling Park High School. I am also extremely scared. I don?t want to be another one of the great West Virginians whose age and county Governor Justice reads on the Covid updates. You see, my doctors (three of them to be exact) have told me that if I were to get the virus, my chances of survival would be quite slim. am a type one diabetic with an insulin pump, have chronic asthma, a low white blood cell count (leukopenia) caused by medication for my autoimmune disorder and my lgA is less than 4, which signi?cantly reduces my chances to fight viral infections. On a normal day, no one would look at me and think I had issues. I do well getting my vaccines and keeping my distance from sick people. I am scared because I want to live. I have many years left in me to enjoy being with my family (daughters -both teachers, also) and son (social work), plus my 85 year old mom who lives in my house and, of course, my dog. I am grieved to think I cannot be in my classroom this year, while my colleagues and students are their being put at risk daily. l?m frightened for my livelihood and what happens if my county is not willing to give me the L. opportunity to work remotely. I met with them today, and they believe my school will be safe. I don?t agree that they can assure this. How would I make my house payment, pay utilities or feed us? have three letters and virtually met today to be as proactive as possible. am most frightened because this enemy is invisible. It doesn?t matter how safe you think you are. One error in judgement, and it can get you. I have been socially isolated since March, only going to the requested dr. appointments and to pick up groceries in parking lots with zero contact. It is not easy and there have been days I thought I would just Put on my mask and go do my own shopping come what may. But then I know I need to be here for my mom, my kids, and my students. Please keep my students and colleagues, and in fact, all students and staff in our WV schools safe by starting remotely for at least the ?rst nine weeks. Even one student, one educator, one bus driver, one aide, one cook, one custodian Or maintenance worker, or one administrator is one too many. Sincerely, Jacqueline L. Shriner, MA-NBCT Virginia Harris From: Christine Nichols iJ Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 12:55 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: re-opening of schools, comments to WV state Board of education meeting Wednesday Aug.12 Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Superintendent Burch and members of the WV State Board of Education, I am a speech pathologist and the daughter of two WV school teachers. I have been associated with West Virginia public schools all my life. The slow death of local communities has given way to making schools responsible for: . economic recovery . medical care . mental health care . clothing and feeding children . day care . social services We are overburdened with trying to mitigate and solve the ills of society. Communities have abdicated their role in propping up their citizens. Communities were once responsible for services listed above; but have gradually stepped of the picture. The expanded services schools now provide, while they are handed down to administrators, are inevitably the direct responsibility of teachers and services personnel. A decision to open schools during this pandemic for 5 days per week, face to face learning may be the tipping point for all of us employed by West Virginia schools. We cannot continue to sacrifice ourselves for a state which doesn't hold us in high regard, whether by community respect or by a salary commensurate with our education and abilities. Our love for children spurs us teach, feed, clothe, hug, cry with (and for), protect, advocate for, and yes, use our own money to support the learning for all of our students. But I am not willing to die in the process, from a virus from hich I can be protected, by working remotely. The science is clear. Your decision to recommend that education be implemented remotely should be just as clear. Sincerely, M. Christine Nichols, M.S. Speech Pathologist, Putnam County Schools Virginia Harris Lirom: Kristi Jones Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 1:09 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: safe schools Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Good afternoon. I am a parent and teacher in Pleasants County. Our county?s plan calls for four days of in-person learning and one day of remote learning. There is no blended schedule with half of the students attending two days and doing remote learning the other three days. There are no additional bus runs to allow for physical distancing. Additional teachers have not been hired to provide smaller class size to allow for social distancing. Plexiglass dividers have not been purchased to allow me to work with small groups of students. work with primarily students in grades K-2. Those students are not required to wear masks. How is that keeping me safe? I do lunch duty daily, where I have to open prepackaged foods, put straws in juice pouches, and help in other ways. That is no longer something I feel safe doing. My school regularly begins the school year with the HVAC not working. Last last year, used four fans to circulate air so my room would be tolerable. This virus is airborne, so I cannot use fans if the HVAC is not working. My son?s high school school has indicated that the lunch schedule will remain the same, but the cafeteria will at 50% capacity. What are the other 50% going to do? Last year, part of the high school had no working air conditioner at the beginning of school. Do our HVAC systems adequately exchange air or just recirculate it? We need an independent evaluation of our systems, not just the say so from our superintendent or facilities director who are not trained HVAC professionals. My family has taken this pandemic seriously. We have avoided crowds, such as church. We have stayed away from family gatherings. We do not go to the store for fun. We have not taken a vacation. My son has not played in golf tournaments across the state unlike the rest of the team. We wear our masks. My husband, also a teacher, is not quite a five year cancer survivor. My 84 year old father has congestive heart failure. He does not live with us currently, but relies on us for many things. I cannot take this virus to him. I still need him. I am afraid to send my son back to school. I am afraid to return to work. Please take care of your staff and students. We can start the year remotely. i realize that the spring was not optimal. However, now we know better, so we can do better. My life, the lives of my family, the lives of my coworkers, and the lives of my students and their families are worth saving. Thank you. Kristi L. Jones 617 Ruby Street Belmont, wv. 26134 (304)299-4002 Sent from my iPhone Virginia Harris From: capricorn0119@aol.com . Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 3:20 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Harrison County School Year 2020 Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Ms Harris. I am a grand parent of two very smart, happy and loving grand daughters. Both have compromised immune systems. The plan for opening the schools does not address this issue that many children in our state face. Also a lot of our children in this state are raised by their Grand Parents. in both cases being around so many germs that we as adults are having trouble controlling how do we expect our children or grand children to do it? I for one would like to have a plan that makes the best of everything without threatening our children lives. They are the future of our state. If choosing between my grand daughters lives or their education which do you think I would choose? If choosing to have the grand children still have family instead of taking the risk of exposing their grand parents and have no one left for them, which do you choose? I know it sounds a little dramatic but it is zero hour and drama is the only thing anyone listens to. Actually one county plan was very nicely set up and let the parents decide and protected all. have enclosed it so you can see what will make a lot of parents, grand parents happy. and yes they are all voters. Thank You, Donna Branton 245 Ocala Street Clarksburg, wv 26301 1 Marion County Schools It '5 what ?3 inside that counts August 5. 2020 Dear Parents/Guardian: The Marion County Board of Education has approved the following teaming options for the 2020-2021 school year: Blended Learning (yellow), Distance Learning (blue) and WV Virtual School (teal). Please review the explanations listed below to evaluate each option. Learning Options tor the 2050-2021 School Year Marion County Schools Blended Learning Students are in a schedule that blends time spent at school and home Mile animating in their teaming. A Blended Learning scenario is used to reduce time spent in larger groups. to reduce cross contamination. to prowde more time tor sanitizing and to assist in mitigating risks. Reduce time - 1 hour 15 minutes attend oi day. Monday ?l?uesdey yednesdey Ihureday frtdey Cohen A in-School In-School Distance Leaming Distance Learning Distance Learning (is-Ll (Samarium) Cohort Distance Learning Distance Learning Distance Learning In-School ln-Schooi (380W) -. . if? "?43 . immanent .. $10090; 3'9 0093990 300 Ham from 0 School utilizing the WV Leems platform and curriculum home with monotone? by a. Marion County The tead'ier is 3 WV Virtual School Contracted teacher teacher ?Heine a digital platform with Manon Countr This option is rigorous and sell-paced Success With cumculum and materials. this option is dependent upon being an independent and highly motivated learner. . Any distance teaming that is full-time with no h-person attendance must remain there tor a semester I Mulch County otters this in a full-time option for Home Schooled students to return to the public school system. Manon County also offers a limited part-time out-on for students with scheduling conticts or course availability inabriclrandmortarsdiooi ltisofieredtoprivateand home school students. it is limited to two courses each semester . Any virtual option is for one semester at a time and Once you have made a decision on which Option best suits your family. log into the Marion County Board of Education website to complete the Instructional Learning Application. Each family must complete one application per child enrolled in Marion County Schools. In order for the county to plan for the different modes of education. we must know numbers for assigning staff. If you are unable to access the link for any reason such as lack of a device or no intemet. please feel free to contact your school and assistance will be provided. All applications for registration must be completed by August 17. 2020. Thank you. Randall Farley. Marion County Superintendent August 10, 2020 To: West Virginia State Board of Education Building 6, Room 617 1900 Kanawha 351 Charleston, WV 25305 To Whom It May Concern, I am a teacher here in West Virginia and I am writing to you today to express my concerns about the reopening of schools during the Covid-l9 pandemic. My doctors have placed me in the high-risk category of severe illness. I do not feel that the plan to re-open schools in West Virginia is taking into account teachers that fall into this category. I do appreciate the fact that you are working very diligently to design a re-opening plan that meets the needs of staff and students alike. I also appreciate the fact that students need to be in the classroom versus learning online, for many different reasons. But if you wish for everyone to return to class safely it is imperative that you state in writing how you intended to put extra precautions in place to protect those of us who want to return with the students but are at high risk for severe illness. Currently the guidelines set forth in the West Virginia School Re-entry Toolkit, are too vague and leave room for too much interpretation by county school superintendents and boards. There are no extra provisions set forth in the toolkit for at risk teachers. My county is NOT requiring students who are NOT in core groups, high school students, to wear masks. Teachers are also being required to clean commonly touched student surfaces after each class. These examples are NOT using extra precautions for high risk teachers. If you refer to the WV Re-entry Toolkit page 19 it says, ?Is the school ready to protect children and employees at higher risk for severe illness?? if the answer is no, we should not reopen. As you can see from the graphic below that due to no policies in place for extra precautions in place to protect staff and students at risk we should not reopen to in person learning. Should you consider i opening? I Will reopening be consistent with applicable state and local orders? is the school ready to protect children and employees at DIEM All. for severe illness? YES Are you able to screen students and employees upon arrival [or and history of exposure? ANY N0 I do hOpe that you take time out of your very busy schedule to give my letter its due diligence. I can assure you that I am writing this letter with grave sincerity. I have missed my students and want to help them to reach their maximum potential in life. However, without even minimalist precautions in place, I feel that it is imperative that you urgently consider our safety more seriously and act with immediate changes to your plan. I will look forward to hearing about the changes you design soon. Sincerely, A Concerned Teacher Thank You, Melissa Hunt Teacher Mingo County, WV 304-544-1414 Michelle B. Cheasty-Christ, MBA, 525 Milford Street Clarksburg, WV 263!? 304-203-66 Dear Board of Education: Over the past week, I have written, re-written, and written this letter over and over in an attempt to express my concerns about the back- to- school plans that have been publicized. At this point- teachers are expected to go back- business as usual- while infection rates continue to rise in exponential levels. When there were no cases in WV- we shut down. Teachers- overnight- ?gured out how to take their classes online, provide support, and assist students in whatever manner was needed. Now- we are throwing all of that away and teachers will be expected to return- daily- to their classrooms. This is a complete contradiction to the ?keep everyone safe? message that was put out 4 months ago. Now, it is ?keep everyone but teachers safe? and ?kids need to go back to school because we need to go back to work and do not have childcare.? I understand this need- and I understand that schools are a free place to send children- but we cannot make rash decisions and put everyone at risk. I don?t have all the answers- and may not even have any of the answers- but I do have some genuine concerns as we move to a fully operational school building I spent several days reading the restart plan. It is a link through board agendas- not posted on the main page. It is also 39 pages long? the longest one I have read to date. Compared to other counties- this is far more detailed and at times confusing? as information is written, placed in tables, and put in bubbles on the sides of pages. I have several concerns that have yet to be addressed by any information presented to the public. They are as follows: 0 The ?rst is what happens when a student comes to school with a fever and no one picks him or her up? What happens when a student throws classroom- and returns to school the next day? What if that sick students returns to school the next day because the parent sends the child- despite a request by the school to keep that child home until he or she is free for 24 hours? date- these children have continued to come to school and expose others- as well as the teachers- and nothing has been done. Will there be something in place to ensure a student who is sent home sees a doctor- or if there is a suspicion of Covid- is tested prior to returning to school? What if a student who has tested positive returns to school with None of these- or similar questions? have been addressed. 0 The second is exposure. A high schooler tests positive- and before we know- he or she has ridden a packed bus. Those elementary school students who ride that bus next will also have been exposed. We have now exposed two schools. How will that quarantine work? What if it happens multiple times? with multiple different busses and students? How will the leave be handled for the teachers exposed? Or will the whole school close and the teacher work virtually? Teachers should not have to use their sick days if exposed- whether in their own classrooms or through their child(ren) being exposed through childcare. This is punitive. In Level II- it states wash or sanitize hands at the beginning of each class period. Washing hands, with such limited facilities- is impossible. Will the teacher have to stand at the door and squirt hand sanitizer on each child?s hands? Will we be provided with ample hand sanitizer? 0 Who is going to clean and disinfect the surfaces every 2 hours? Will there be an increase in custodial staff in the buildings to do this? What will be used to clean and disinfect? How will the high school- and other grade levels who change classes- clean the classroom after every use if children are present? 0 The bathrooms often have a line- or are full. How can we maintain 6 feet apart and still meet the restroom needs of staff and students? 0 Will students still be allowed to have lockers? Or will we keep books in the classroom and kids only carry their iPads to and from class? How do we clean the books if kids have to share? 0 Many classrooms are one- way in and out. How will students be able to maintain 6 feet apart when the bell rings? Do we have to time letting kids out? Do we have to monitor the class and halls to make sure that these kids are not near each other? What about lunches? How can we monitor this and maintain 6 feet with the number of kids in the building? While it says to do this? I am asking how. 0 The recommendation is to have plated lunches/ pre-packed boxes or bags for lunches. How will these be delivered to all students with a 30? minute lunch period? How many teachers will be needed to waive their lunch periods in order to accommodate social distancing guidelines in our buildings? 0 How will it be handled when a student refuses to wear a mask? What if a student refuses to keep a mask on? What if a student says he or she cannot breathe with one on- or just doesn?t like the way it feels- or any of a number of excuses? What can we do then? Will he or she stay in class- or go to another room? and what if that student says he or she cannot wear it because they are coughing (beyond a regular dry cough)? Who will provide them for the staff and students? Who will be responsible for washing/ sanitizing them? 0 Many of us have classrooms with windows that do not open. When will this be ?xed? 0 Based on this plan- what ?reasonable? accommodations can be made for those who are documented medically fragile? If a teacher has to take a medical leave- but can still do his or her job remotely- why should he or she have to use medical leave? This seems both punitive and discriminatory based on pre- existing medical conditions. 0 How will busses be cleaned after each run? The bus that arrives at the high school immediately picks up my son from the high school to bus him to Nutter Fort as part of that second run. Will school times be adjusted to accommodate cleaning? Will the bus drivers have to clean the busses at the school in order to start the second run? With students ?not being present?- how can busses be cleaned between high/ middle school runs and elementary school runs? What about kids who hop on any bus to ride- or get bus notes to ride other busses? Will they still be allowed to do this- especially with how overcrowded many of these busses are? 0 in the classroom: If a student or staff member has headache and/ or fatigue- where will the snacks come from? Who will bring them to the classroom? If a student needs to use the bathroom- how do we know the bathroom is not overcrowded at the time the student wants to go? What is included in ?adequate supplies?- having a list of what this speci?cally includes- rather than some examples of what may be provided- is important. Gloves are not included in this list of examples. Also- how much will we be given? If we run out- how quickly will the supplies be replaced? If hand sanitizer of 70% or higher alcohol content is recommended to kill the virus, why are we using 60%? 0 The plan Speci?cally states ?Despite the rich and innovative delivery of instruction through an online platform provided by Harrison County Schools teachers in response to the pandemic, the district realizes the limitations placed on the academic growth and progress of all students due to a lack of continuous instruction under normal academic standards and conditions from March 15 through June 4, 2020 15)? How was this measured? We had numerous students who did grow academically- and participated in virtual learning opportunities throughout our leave. You cite 70% from one study. What about all the other studies done? What about all the other learning opportunities these students had? We assess and diagnose learning gaps and slides every year- and work with students to bring them back up- to- speed. This can be done both virtually and in a classroom. In looking at these participation statistics- what to previous years look like? These statistics can be VERY misleading when presented in isolation. If our professional development can be delivered virtually- why can?t instruction? If PD cannot be done safely in groups- how can instruction? This seems completely contradictory. 0 Why will teachers be required to report to their classrooms when no students are there? Wouldn?t it be easier to deep clean when the rooms are empty? How can they deep clean when every room in the building is occupied? You cite one study that virtual learning is less effective; however, there are literally thousands of students? and hundreds of thousands of students- who successful complete virtual learning opportunities- including k- 12 students. Sharing one study is extremely misleading. I personally saw many students who were not successful in brick- and- mortar settings meet with signi?cantly increased success in virtual environments. I understand that lack of reliable high- speed access did impede some students; however, that should not be the sole factor for deciding not to consider virtual learning. High? speed access points can be put on busses, paper packets with picture- submission once a week can be implemented, and] or bussing to hot spot locations be implemented. One suggestion that might ease parental concerns is to run a series of workshops teaching parents how to use Schoology, LiveGrades, and other apps. When parents do not know- they cannot help their children. This is especially true of older parents/ grandparents who have children at home. Handouts with pictures are also extremely useful. If you want to ease the teachers concems- these and other posed questions need to be addressed. The community went from ?keep everyone safe? to ?sacri?ce everyone in a school because we need to go to work? in a matter of months. If Harrison County wants to attract- and keep- highly quali?ed teachers in all subject areas- they have to put the needs of teachers and staff as high as they put the needs of the students. We are only asking for a fair opportunity to remain safe- and keep our students and children safe. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Sincerely, Dr. Michelle B. Cheasty-Christ Virginia Harris onm: Tracy Fitch Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 7:01 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: School year 2020 Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. I vote send kids to school .. let the sports go on I I have a middle school special needs that needs one on one school .. I work full time also have a sophomore at plays sports and very social the quartine hurt her she no longer cared my straight A student didn't care because cannot be failed She needs that school setting she needs her sports This is important for college This virus will always be a thing what will do shut school down forever because a vaccine will be just like the flu will still get it also I?m not trusting something the come up with in 6 months It?s important to the future of these children if not they will fall behind Specially those who's parents that work full time Give the option but send them also I mean these kids need this time specially when we only have a few years left she needs the memories and get ready for college This virus will always be here SEND THEM and move on with life Sincerely a full time mom not teacher Teachers are essential have to work so do they it?s imperative for the future of this generation Thank Tracy Fitch Virginia Harris From: Sara Knight Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 7:23 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: school re?entry Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Ms. Harris, I am writing to you to express my concern over schools reopening for in person learning September 8. I am a teacher in Kanawha County and a parent of 2 elementary school age children. I DO NOT feel like it is safe for myself or my children to be back in the classroom at this time. Covid-19 is spreading at an alarming rate in our country and our state. 97,000 children have tested positive. Why are we going to risk the health of our children and our school staff when there is an option for us to teach remotely? It is not the most ideal way to teach and learn, but it is the safest. I have been asked to make my personal choice for my children before the details of the re-entry plan are even locked down. have many questions: What is being done about the poor ventilation in schools to protect us? This virus has been scientifically proven to spread through the air. I do not feel safe to be in the classroom or have my children in a classroom. Why has the protocol for what will happen when a student or staff member at a school test positive not been revealed yet? This weighs on my decision as a parent. I have been told that we will not necessarily quarantine a class that has positive because once in the classroom we are a school "family." While I love my students, they are not my family. I not know where they go once they leave my classroom. I do not know if their family is taking precautions like mine is. I do not know how many other people they are interacting with when they are not at school like I do with my real family. I am being told that children and adults can continue coming to school. How is this safe? This is putting my health and all the other children and staff's health at risk. They could be carriers and spread the virus to us all. This is not acceptable. Why has the acceptable spacing for social distancing been changed from 6 feet to 3 feet? Every public place you enter asks people to stay 6 feet apart, but we are going to cut that in half in schools? For what reason? If a child sneezes 3 feet away from me, their droplets are going to reach me. We have been told that children that are 3 feet apart can remove their masks. How is this safe? Anyone who has ever worked with small children knows that no matter how many times you ask them to cover a cough of sneeze, they still don't do it on a regular basis because they are children. This puts all who are in the classroom in an unsafe environment. What will happen when a teacher gets sick? Do we have enough subs? Are we guaranteed to have enough cleaning supplies without relying on parents to donate them? I have not seen Lysol spray or wipes in the store since March. We will be cleaning surfaces constantly. I know my school often ran out of soap and paper towels last year. These are just a few of my biggest concerns. The WVDE needs to express to Governor Justice that opening schools right now is not safe and not the right decision. We need to stop playing politics with the lives of children and school staff. We can teach remotely and we should teach remotely until the spread of Covid-19 is under control. Sara Knight 304-590-0905 Virginia Harris brom: LAURINDA Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 8:42 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Comment for State Bd of Ed meeting My name is Laurinda Hedrick-Litteral and I am a Title I reading teacher in Kanawha County. I have major concerns about starting back to school in person. At my school, we have approximately 60 staff which share two restrooms. One of the two restrooms has no ventilation. I have been very cautious since March to limit my exposure to others, even my family. We have done online ordering for household supplies and ordered most of our groceries by clicklist/pickup. I care for my elderly in-Iaws on a regular basis. My biggest concern is potentially carrying the virus to them which would likely be fatal. So, I've been extremely cautious and if nothing changes I'll be forced back into an environment which makes me extremely uncomfortable. We all agree that the best scenario is for students to be in person with teachers, however it simply is not safe. Teachers can do amazing things remotely until it is safe. Students will bounce back academically and be okay in the long run. The potential loss of human life must take precedence over academics, sports, or any other factor. implore you to please consider remote learning until it is safe for all involved to return to in-person learning. Thank you, Laurinda Hedrick-Litteral Virginia Harris From: Matthew Heusel Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 8:59 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: for Our Students First Coalition Dear Virginia, I am writing these comments to be read to State Board of Education members. My name is Matthew Heusel and I am a seventh and eighth grade teacher at Wheeling Middle School. I urge the board to make school throughout the state online only through the first semester - until January, then maybe a vaccine would become available. I have many students who are raised by grandparents and those folks would be seriously at risk if there is exposure to COVID-19. What's more, many staff would also be at risk. My youngest daughter, Emilia, has Down's and is especially at-risk for infectious diseases of the respiratory nature. She had to be hospitalized a few years ago after suffering from RSV - a respiratory illness far less dangerous than COVID. If one teacher, staff member, grandparent, parent or student would die or be seriously harmed in the future due to a hasty decision that would put people unnecessarily at risk, then that makes your decision a total travesty! In times such as these, leaders must sometimes make tough calls based upon what is best for their people - even if their people don't always believe that decision is correct. Online only is the best method of instruction until we know more about this virus and how to fight it. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Matthew Heusel Wheeling Middle School Teacher Wheeling, WV Virginia Harris Lx'rom: Allison Rae Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 3:24 AM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Please read a board meeting Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Board Members, I would like to request that the department of education conduct of investigation against Cabell Country school over handling investigation over abuse and retaliation. I would like them to address LSIC request being ignore denied our schools smaller classrooms and our special needs students would have their own bathrooms in their classrooms. Cabell Country states that they hold every employee to higher standards. This is farthest from the truth. ln 2017 it was reported that principals were sexually harassed teachers, sexual misconducthis unlocked office. Cabell Country kept all three employees still worked while investigating. While the employee who reported it got terminated for breaking confidentiality. Keep in mind fall of 2019 Cabell county toss disciplinary files, students information, evaluation, etc in the dumpster. LCabell County breach confidentiality. The attorney also gave my daughter file to 3 none employee and information deal with special education levels putting kids all the same level. The Huntington Middle School principal who was accused of misconduct and investigated. Cabell County gave them all the information on the principal who failed to give them the names of the student he was dating and all the names of the victim. Keeping Cabell County's good name even though we had last year 2 child abuse, one was already found guilty but Cabell County failed to do a background check. The students googled him and found he hit students with his car. This teacher and another teacher was allowed to resign in the Fall of 2019 with a clear record and able to continue teaching. These teachers' files were dump in the trash is nothing could be traced back to them. Between 2018-2019 11 employees we're involved in some type of disciplinary matter. 3 of the employees filed complaints those three were terminated. 2 out of 3 won their grievance. Discipline is based on retaliation and not misconduct. When did whistleblowing become more Serious than sexual misconduct and stealing? I understand Cabell Country employee Tracy, Burch but that should be a reason to ignore guns, sexual conduct, retaliation, and favoritism. I'm asking for investigation dealing with grievance hearing, the funding source for lawyers, abuse complaints dealing with safety and misconduct, confidentiality, and who dumping employees and students files. I'm also asking to review special ed funding. It seems funding isn't going to students per budget reports in the trash. Cabell Country deserves to be safe from this virus and from misconduct. I'm asking for an investigation to stop statics in Cabell county. Child sexual abuse is a widespread problem. Every 9 minutes, child protective services substantiate or find evidence for, a claim of child abuse. Every 73 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. And every 9 minutes, that victim is a child. We have to take a stand. Teachers should not be dating students. Employers should not be stalking parents and students. Our kids safety should be our number one priority. Thanks Allison Davis August 11, 2020 Dear Members of the Board, There is often a fine line between who we consider to be a professional and who we consider to be a laborer. Teachers and school staff are both laborers and professionals. No different than healthcare professionals, educators are unionized. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that educators are more often treated as laborers. We are aware that board members, superintendents, school administrators and government officials have been working since March to determine an educational plan for students during COVID 19. The outcome of that plan appears to be based on developing choices for families regarding blended learning, distance learning and home schooling. The creativity, commitment and professional input from teachers seems to have been underutilized during this time. Educators are not simply laborers awaiting direction but are essential professionals in school communities. Imagine the depth of educational experience that would be available to our children if the educational professionals at each school were given the opportunity to serve their local community?s best interests? Let?s keep the students safe and at home for the first nine weeks. Give us a chance to implement full-time distance learning and really focus on student success. When students finally return to the classroom, we need a more thoughtful plan for social distancing. Schools are too large and perhaps this emergency situation will allow us to eventually teach our children in smaller groups. Now is the time to prioritize safety and quality so that education in West Virginia changes for the better. Sincerely, Gaga?: David S. Pushkin Art Teacher Sherman High School and Sherman Junior High School Boone County Schools Virginia Harris From: LAURA MEESE < jmeese@upshurschoolscom> Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:45 AM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Comment for Weds Board Meeting know the content is safe. Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and Dear Esteemed Colleagues, I ask that the State deny the meeting of in-person classrooms for the 2020 Fall Semester. Schools are the largest mass gathering in most communities. Every child who attends will affect their direct family members, who will then in turn effect their workplaces and essential stores. The opening of in-person classes is asking for everyone in a community to roll the dice. It's irresponsible and disgusting to subject students, staff, and communities to take the unnecessary risk during a pandemic. The absolute disregard for human life is deplorable, and all school systems even considering the option of ANY form of traditional in-person classrooms should reevaluate their ethics. Active shooter training drills can be intense fear?mongering. I've actually had SWAT screaming at me while blanks were going off, the smell permeating the hallways, my vision clouded by smoke. It's never caused me nightmares like the prospect of going back to school during a COVID spike. A personal story now, if you will. Trigger warning: mentions of sexual assault. I woke up this morning hurting all over my body. I'm stiff, and I can't get my muscles to relax. I have fibromyalgia, so I am familiar with this feeling. My muscles contract and tighten during the night. clamp myjaw so hard that I have bit through mouth gaurds. The result is a painful exhaustion that affects the rest of my day. Every voluntary muscle in my body is tight, and hurts. I'll be sore all day. But lastnight I took a muscle relaxer, as prescribed by my doctor. I took one. I shouldn't feel like this. I haven't felt like this anytime I?ve taken one. I should not feel like this today. But you see, lastnight I had bad dreams. All night, I dreamed of sexual assault. I know it was all night, because I woke up every two hours, having experienced a new dream. It wasn't just the last 20 mins that felt like forever. All night, I would wake. Remember: I took a muscle relaxer lastnight. This shouldn't have happened. I do have these dreams occasionally. I've experienced sexual assault myself, so it is bound to happen from time to timeJ But This broke through medicine to wreck my body. This broke through time, to keep reoccurring all night. This was a doozie. And I guess my first, obvious point is this: when you violate someone's body autonomy, it sticks. I'm 33. l've been to therapy, and I'm in a state of good mental health in general. But, I still have these dreams occasionally. I still have fears Lrif certain words or looks people give me. It sticks with you. If one is sexually assaulted, the person will eel the effects for the rest of their life. My main point however, is that I know why this happened lastnight. I spent yesterday discussing the current school re?entry plan with my mother and my partner. My main concerns are for the students and community at large. Not myself. I plan to wear head coverings, masks, and some form of overalls or i isolation gowns to better control what I bring home. Having said that, i feel the need to repeat: My main concern is NOT myself. And here's where I get to the point: I dreamed Iastnight about being sexually assaulted, because that's how concerns about my personal body autonomy manifest. The current school re-entry plan for Upshur County is triggering my assaults. But it wasn't just me in my dream. It was also my students. My students being violated. I mentioned in passing yesterday that I had some concerns about the pressure of the unsafe situation affecting my mental health. But wow, I had no idea how true that was. I'm not a fan of anecdotes to get a point across. Anecdotes aren't evidence, and we already have plenty of evidence to tell us that any form of mass, in-person classrooms will not be safe. Evidence hasn't seemed to help our administration make the safe decision. But, maybe this anecdote will. The current school re-entry plan caused a sexual assault survivor to relieve her assaults. She woke up stiff and sore, regardless of medication. Her fear of body autonomy violation was so strong, it overcame her chemical muscle relaxer to physically fight the assault all night long. Worst of all: she saw it happening to her students, and though she fought so hard, she was incapable of protecting them or herself. This was not in my job description. Thank you for your time, Laura J. Meese High School Teacher Virginia Harris 1 From: chraig 1) Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 12:22 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: School Re-Opening Concerns Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. To Whom It May Concern, As a teacher, I must say I still have so many concerns about returning to our building in a few weeks. I believe f2f learning is valuable, and I want to be in my classroom. Whenever I think about how to keep my students safe in my classroom, however, my anxiety heightens. I know that it will be impossible to keep us safe, because too many things are out of my control. Our HVAC system is older, and often doesn't even work reliably. Many windows in my classroom and the building don?t open, or don?t open properly. Taking the students outside on a regular basis won?t be an option. Although, we have heard that administration is trying to make a schedule so that some classes can be outside at various times(we don?t have the room for all classes to be outside when they like). Also, students will be eating two meals a day in classrooms. They will have masks off and mouths open. I worry about being able to clean and sanitize properly throughout the day but, especially after meals. I am aware that cleaning supplies are in high demand everywhere and not widely available. I do not feel confident I will even have the appropriate cleaning supplies provided to me. Many of the classroom tools I have will be off limits to students because they aren't able to share. I lack the funds to provide supplies to each student, and I won?t have time with all of the additional tasks laid upon me to individually clean all the scissors, highlighters, pencils, glue sticks, rulers, reading strips, books, etc. My husband is a stage 4 colorectal cancer patient with a permanent colostomy. My parents are also immunocompromised and I?m am deathly afraid to expose them to this virus. I will not be able to see my parents once the school year begins. I am deathly afraid that a student will become seriously ill on my watch. I have had nightmares since learning of our return, without answers to important questions about safety. have been a devoted teacher of 22 years, and feel that it is ridiculous to put any of us into this situation. We should not return until we have a vaccine or antibody treatment. - Karen Salva Virginia Harris Lirom: Jenny Craig Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 12:32 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: School Re?Entry Delegation for Wed. State BOE meeting Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. West Virginia State Board of Education members and State Superintendent Burch, We are writing this letter on behalf of Ohio County Education Association members. Over the past several weeks, our members have shared with us their thoughts, concerns, questions, and suggestions concerning school re-entry. We understand that re-entry plans and discussions are fluid as new health data and state?wide mandates are ever changing. We however would like see a more a proactive approach to school re?entry planning and feel that the current State Department of Education guideline ?tool-kit? does very little to ensure staff and student safety (for example, throughout the entire document is verbiage such as ?if possible, as much as possible, if available, recommended", in regard to masks, distancing We feel that the WVDE should hold counties accountable to adhering to CDC guidelines of best practices to ensure safety of our staff and students. Leaving such critical decisions such as class sizes capacity, spacing, requirements of PPE, masks, testing protocol, and protection of vulnerable students and staff in the hands of individual counties could literally cost our teachers, school service personnel, and their students their health or lives. We are asking that the WVBOE and WVDE adopt and implement real, tangible, enforceable safety measures instead of giving county systems the autonomy to develop their own safety procedures. We feel that as a minimum, to return to any schedule of in person learning we need to have a downward trajectory of documented cases, hospitalizations, and positivity rates for at least 14 days in local communities, and if that case threshold is met, we are asking for: daily temperature or checks for staff and students, a full time nurse in EACH school building, paid sick leave for all employees that must quarantine that do not count against their leave bank, class size caps of 15-20 to ensure the recommended 6? of socially distanced spacing in EACH classroom, minimized bus capacity to align with the 6? social distancing guidelines outlined by the CDC, options for immunocompromised staff and students to work remotely, access to cleaning supplies, and increased custodial staff to ensure adequate cleaning throughout the day and evenings. We look forward to increased dialogue and decision making at the state level to take a proactive stance to ensure the health and safety of our members, their families, and their students. Thank you for all you do West Virginia?s students and school personnel to make sure our schools and their staff and students are safe and protected. OCEA Executive Committee: Jennifer Craig OCEA President Jacqueline Shriner, OCEA Vice-President Brittany Ward, OCEA Secretary Deena Gray, OCEA Treasurer Gladys Goff, OCEA Executive Committee David Alfred, OCEA Executive Committee Heidi Zumbrunnen, OCEA Executive Committee Brendan Muckian Bates, OCEA Executive Committee Kevin Hensley, OCEA Executive Committee Virginia Harris From: Stacey Harper Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 1:00 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Plea for in person school for 2020-21 SENDE Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Virginia, I was told that you are the gatekeeper of information for the State School Board members. Please share my message with them. Thanks so much! I am a mother of four children living in Morgantown. have three children in the public schools, elementary, middle and high school (the oldest is at VWU) and I believe that it is critical for the elementary school students to return to the classroom for in person and face to face instructions. I would prefer ?ve days, but even 2 is wonderful! I know that with the proper safety protocols implemented, I believe that our amazing WV teachers will be able to make the learning environment safe and inviting for students while mitigating virus spread. have every confidence in our teachers' ingenuity and cleverness to work through this time and educate our children. We need to involve the teachers in the plan and ask parents for help in supporting the teachers. We need partnerships with county health departments, social workers and parent teacher organizations. Primarily, there are so many risk factors that many of our students have which make remote learning difficult. I fear that for many of our children, particularly elementary aged, will lose an entire year of education. They may not have parents or caregivers who can give the type of support that is needed to make remote learning successful nor do they have home environments that are safe and secure. These are the children I fear for the most! Even if they can rely on 2 days a week to have a safe place with additional services, it can make so much of a difference. Additionally, there are children who just really need the social interaction. For instance, my nephew will be entering 4th grade. He has no siblings, no neighbors and not involved in any outside activities. He also struggles with reading and was, when the pandemic began, scheduled to be tested for dyslexia. What will his school year be like remotely? He needs the face to face with the professionals to help him to achieve and succeed! Secondly, those parents/caregivers who are very concerned about returning to the classroom, have an option of virtual or home schooling. I really appreciate the color coded system that is being developed which will allow both educators and parents/caregivers to plan for any changes to the current status. Thanks for all you do! I know this has been stressful on those making decisions. Stacey Harper Virginia Harris gram: vampire.slayerr@yahoo.com ent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 12:47 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: School opening Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Superintendent Burch and members of the board, I am a mother of a second grader and a resident of Putnam County. I am writing to express my grave concern regarding schools re-opening, and the position this puts our teachers in. It is not my place to choose what other parents decide for their children. Personally, I am choosing the virtual Learning option. I believe that if we are allowing students the option of virtual at home learning, our teachers must receive the option to teach from home. There is evidence all around us that taking these preventive measures would slow the spread and end this pandemic sooner. If we continue to continue on as if things are returning to normal, I believe we will still be dealing with this well into next year if not more. Please protect the lives of our teachers and allow them to work from home if they so choose. Respectfully, Meredith Durrenberger Virginia Harris From: Reka Lowther Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 1:26 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Re?entry Concerns 1. Students will be eating breakfast in my classroom everyday with their masks off! There is no way to space them 6 ft apart with only half of the class present, let alone the whole class! 2. Students can be and have no idea they are carrying the virus. So they do not understand the importance of staying 6 ft apart. 3. How will I walk around my classroom and stay 6 ft apart from students at all times? If it is 3 feet then students will have to be 6 ft apart. 4. Are we going to talk about the types of masks worn by students? For example the N95 masks with the valve actually allow the virus to escape providing no protection to the people around that individual. The gater maks actually turn large particles into smaller particles that can stay in the air longer. What about the students who try to wear knit or crochet masks? Disney had to set mask guidelines and we need to also! Reka Lowther 7th Grade Mathematics Triadelphia Middle School 304-243'0387 CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE This e-mail is intended only for the addressee named above. It contains information that is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from use and disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, disclosure, copying, or dissemination of this transmission, or taking of any action in reliance on its contents, or other use is strictly prohibited. Virginia Harris kirom: Jay O'Neal Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 1:32 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: delegation letter Attachments: School Re?Entry Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Ms. Harris, Please find my delegation letter below. In addition, I have an attachment which I reference in my letter. Dear WV Board of Education members, As a teacher, I'm writing to you with A LOT of concerns about resuming in-person teaching. I?ll start with the big picture. Unfortunately, cases seem to still be climbing, or at least plateauing at a high level. Right now, Kanawha County has a near record high of 289 active cases. We spent a lot of time this summer talking to fellow school employees, and almost all of them are very concerned about returning to school. Just to give you some numbers?our caucus, the MI United Caucus (a group of teachers/service personnel within all three unions), held some zoom calls this summer focusing on returning to school. Our first one had over 4000 people on Facebook say they were ?Interested or Going? and we ended up having over 800 people actually register for the call (far exceeding our zoom capacity). Over 9000 ended up watching on Facebook. We compiled the concerns we heard, and put out a document compiling all those concerns. And unfortunately, even though it's over a month later, some of the questions on the document still have not been answered. I am attaching it to this message, but you can also find a copy of it here: Because of the high interest, we hosted another call a few weeks later?this one was specifically for educators and parents. We had even more interest in this one! 5600 "Interested or Going? and over 1800 officially registered, with more than 14,000 views on Facebook. I say all this just to show HOW CONCERNED both educators and parents are. Because of the high interest, and because we kept hearing over and over that we need a more concrete ?plan,? we worked to compile a list of recommendations upon which most educators and parents could agree. We?ve partnered with many local unions, parent groups, and 1 community organizations and have released it here. At this point, we?ve also sent over 1700 emails to the Governor, State Superintendent Burch, and to Miller Hall pushing for these recommendations. . Additionally, I created a poll in the large, private ?West Virginia Public Employees Facebook group that admin. While not everyone in the group is an educator, the majority are. After receiving 2226 responses, 76% of the respondents (would prefer to start school remotely and ease into in-person learning when the case numbers are very low. On a more microlevel, we?ve also been talking about this at my school site?West Side Middle School. We held an emergency faculty senate meeting a few weeks ago, and almost all of my colleagues had strong reservations about returning to school in-person. A few things they highlighted: . West Side has one of the highest percentages of African American students in the state. We know that disproportionately affects African Americans, and there is a real fear that our students, and their families, will be hit hard by this disease. . Our school is 80 years old, and many ofthe rooms (including my own) have windows that do not open or open very little. The HVAC systems in the rooms simply recycle the air?they do not pull in any air from the outside. More and more research is showing that aerosols may be the primary mode of transmission, meaning that having really good ventilation is one ofthe most important things in warding off the spread of the virus. Do we have MERV-13 air filters available for all our schools? . The West Side of Charleston is the most densely populated area in the county, and one ofthe most densely populated in the state. Our students are likely to be in more contact with people outside of the school setting than students in many other parts of the county. - Our school is a high-poverty school, and we know that COVID-19 affects the poor more. lt?s also more likely to spread in poor communities, as parents lack access to things that might help mitigate the spread. For all of these reasons, I am asking you to please push for a "remote" start to the school year. When case numbers drop, we could then ease back into in-person learning. This is not ideal, but it seems to be the safest option at this point. In New York, 74 education department employees died from the virus, and I cannot imagine having something like that happen here. Additionally, I would not be able to live with myself if I found out a student was exposed to in my classroom and, unknowingly, carried it home to his grandmother who is raising him and she died because of it. It is my understanding that only the governor can call for a remote start. Please loin the thousands of us who are asking him to make that call. A remote start doesn?t have to mean that students can?t ?meet? their teachers at the beginning ofthe year, or that students with IEP cannot continue to receive services. In our discussions with parents and educators, we tried to think of creative ways to still allow these things to happen. You can read them in our recommendations here. I know you?re facing a very difficult decision, and have confidence that you?ll do what?s right for our staff, students, and their families. Ohank you. Sincerely, Jay O?Neal 8th Grade WV Studies Teacher at West Side Middle School West Virginia School Re-Entry Concerns CLASSROOMS: In order to prevent spread, will masks be required for staff and students? If so, will county school systems provide the masks? Who is charged with the responsibility of mandating and enforcing mask wearing? What do teachers do when students parents refuse? Or when students take them off? What about special needs students with sensory issues, etc? How can students be spaced six feet apart in classes that average 25 - 30 students? Will county school systems provide PPE, sanitizer, and cleaning supplies for classrooms? How will art, music, science, and other classes that use ?hands on? equipment in the classroom have their equipment cleaned between uses? Who has the responsibility to sanitize and how will there be time allotted to sanitize those items? How will teachers keep their classes well-ventilated? Some teachers have been told to keep their doors closed for safety reasons - will they now be allowed to have their doors open? Many classrooms have windows that do not open - how can good ventilation be ensured in these rooms? For elementary students, how will small groups and or center activities take place? Will students be allowed to hand in paper work? Will teachers be allowed to grade it and hand it back? SCHOOL BUILDINGS: Will students' and staffs? temperatures be checked daily upon school entry? If a student is found to have a fever, where will he/she be quarantined until a parent/guardian arrives to take them home? Will county school systems provide free testing for all students and staff? If a student or staff tests positive for what method of contact tracing will the county school system employ to ensure a limited spread of the virus? Will water fountains at schools be shut off? If so, will students be provided with bottled water? How often will bathrooms at schools be sanitized? In middle and high schools, how will class changes be handled to ensure proper social distancing? How will locker assignments and times be conducted to ensure social distancing? If students keep their belongings in the classroom instead of lockers, how can we remediate the risk of students bringing more germs, bugs, etc into the classroom? What will be the protocol for new I transfer students? Will they be required to quarantine test prior to enrolling? Will school librarians be allowed to check out books to students? How will books be sanitized? How many cases can occur at a school before it is shut down? MEALS: According to WV State Code, teachers and service personnel are guaranteed a duty-free lunch. If students are eating lunch in classrooms, who will supervise them? How will meals be delivered to classrooms? Who will deliver the meals? How will trash be disposed of, and how will rooms be cleaned after eating? lf a school moves to all-virtual learning, what is the plan for food preparation and delivery? Will cooks continue to prepare meals at their school-site, or move to a centralized location? TEACHING STAFF: Will substitute teachers be allowed to report to multiple schools? Will itinerant teachers still visit multiple schools? As many substitutes are older and may choose not to sub right now, how will schools deal with sub shortages? How will students be pre-assigned to other classes and still maintain social distancing of six feet? If a school employee contracts or is exposed to and has to quarantine for 14 days, will these days count as ?sick" days for the employee? What happens if the employee runs out of sick days? Many teachers have children. In a ?hybrid model," will all students be distance learning on the same day across a county? What happens to teachers and their children who live in one county but teach in another? For new teachers, will mentors be available to help them navigate ?virtual? learning? How will special education teachers handle ?push in" or ?pull outs" of students in regular education classrooms? Will teachers of the deaf be equipped with masks that allow for lip reading? Will there be remote teaching learning options for staff, students, or students? parents that are high-risk or immunocompromised? With all the changes and new requirements, will teacher evaluations be suspended for 2020-21? TRANSPORTATION: Will bus drivers be required to check students' temperatures before they board the bus, or will there be another staff member present to help? How will students maintain social distancing on school buses? Will buses make multiple runs in order to limit the amount of students on board? For students that ride multiple buses, how will bus transfers work? ONLINE SCHOOLING: If schools move to a ?hybrid model" of classroom teaching combined with online instruction, how will county school systems ensure that teachers have an adequate amount of planning time for both modes of instruction? Will students who do not have internet access at home be provided with some way to access the internet? How will students be held accountable for completing online assignments? Will county school systems require teachers to use the same platforms for content delivery county-wide? EXTRACURRICULARS Gathered from conversations with teachers and service personnel across the state. Compiled by the West Virginia United Caucus. How can we ensure that equipment (for sports, band, etc) is thoroughly cleaned between uses? Will spectators be allowed at sporting events? If so, how will they be spaced to comply with social distancing? How will transportation to and from events be handled to ensure social distancing? Will students and spectators be required to wear masks at indoor sporting events (basketball, volleyball, etc)? wvunitedcaucusorg Virginia Harris - From: Daniel Summers Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 1:51 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Comments for State BOE Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Hello, I was told that by emailing you these comments they could be read at the State boe meeting: 1) I have been teaching for seven years. Every year has presented new challenges to me, my community, and my students. I have welcomed these challenges because they helped my students grow. They helped me grow. Now, I am faced with the challenge of possibly entering a school building populated by 1400 people for eight hours a day. Statistically someone in my building will have a virus that has proven deadly to nearly 200,000 people in under 8 months. I have asked my self repeatedly, in what ways can I grow from this? In what ways will this build the character of my students? The answer I keep getting is that the greatest lesson will be mortality. People will dieschoolcounty, but people in the State of WV will die, who otherwise did not need to die, and it will be directly traced back to the decision to send students and teachers into a school building in the middle of a pandemic, in a country with the worst rates of the virus on the planet. People will die. And so, I am forced to face this challenge: can I live with the idea that I may be responsible for someone's death? Can I enter a school knowing that I have a chanr of being and spreading this virus further? All that I can hope is that my voice helps lend weight to the id that this isn't safe. 2) Remote learning is not perfect. Students and educators will struggle with it. But isn't that trade off worth avoiding trauma? Since when were school buildings supposed to be places that create trauma? Think of all the uncertainty, the fear, the risk. All of that can be avoided by simply going to remote learning until WV has no new cases or significant reduction in cases for 14 days. We have an opportunity to fix two issues at once here. We can help make our teachers and students better prepared for the let century by bolstering remote learning strategies and technology until this pandemic is over, and we can keep children, teachers, and our communities safe. Or, we can scar people as they watch their loved ones become ill. 3) I do not want to be the reason someone dies. Do you? 4) Remember the saying, safety first? Is it? Is it? Virginia Harris gum: Jennifer Anderson ent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 2:02 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Delegation Letter for State BOE Meeting on August 12th 2020 Attachments: Delegation Letter to the State BOE Covid 19 August 12 2020.docx; Stakeholders Feedback on Covid 19 August 2020.docx Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. have attached a letter for delegation as well as a document with over 200 pages of 500 stakeholder comments on their concerns for reentry of schools at this time. Thank you, Jenny Anderson Director; Families Leading Change 304 208-0038 "When is re laced with "we even illness becomes wellness. . Sushan Sharma Recommendations from WV Parents Educators for a SAFE Return to School Before my good state and local educator decision makers and administrator friends get upset when seeing my latest project, let me start with saying that I have NOTHING but mad respect, sympathy, love and solidarity for you when it comes to getting our kiddos back into the school building. Some of you have known me longer than others, and even if you have met me virtually or in person over the last year or in recent months, you should know by now that you would have a hard time ?nding someone else that does not have a deep, DEEP, support, commitment, and affection for public schools and the children they house to educate. 1 have had the privilege, honor, and opportunity to work side by side with you on eveiything??om local to state legislation issues that would surely damage and de?fund our public schools. I have laid down foundation work on Local School Improvement Councils which would have seriously helped where we are right now if the schools had been operating under state code and WVDE policy as well as helped to plan, monitor, and improve individual public schools through the pandemic and beyond. Yet, this has also been a key point lost in the shuf?e and not included in the state or county planning but as a superficial stakeholder group. I had the opportunity to be a part of the VDE advisory council through my organization work. I providedfeedback and sometimes concern about making sure family engagement being an overarching focus as we looked at those 9 or 1 0. focus areas. And was able to be a part of my county reentry conversations as an Chair as well. I send your agencies parent questions and you are always available and answer swiftly and I want to thank you for your prompt attention to the issues I bring to you. You are working so hard and we all understand that your recommendations and plans are ?uid due to the constant changes on the state and national level. Yet, something has shifted lately where I am unable to get replies from the State Superintendent Office. I do not envy you all right now. I want you to know I am in your corner and think of you often and see your faces and how much time this has most likely taken awayfrom your families and weighed on your mind very heavily. I shudder to think and sometimes am up at night thinking about the next legislation session and whatfolks in charge that do not support public schools might toss our way next January as we once again may be in a position to?ght together to protect our WV schools. TODA it is about the students and only the students for me and the parent PERSPECTIVE who I am tasked with serving for the good of our public education system and our WV children. Our goal with this campaign is to not work against you, but WI TH you and make sure everyone has the best communication, support resources, safe environment, and the biggest goal for me is focusing on those vulnerable families who may not have ALL the choices for the school return others will have. These issues are heartbreaking and keep me up at night. They are very much amplified and as I did things with my partners during avid?1 9 to try to help these families whether it be starting the Facebook group WV Food ER 2020/Rapid Response Vsite, hosting WV ED Talks sessions, the CONSTANT stream of education and information I put out therefor parents and educators, or the last. few months collecting data andfeedback with stories?'omfamilies who were le? behind in the it is clear that we need to do something NOW to make sure we goforth with a better planfor these WV kids andfamilies. 1 hope you understand. (1 know you do because your hearts arejust as big as mine There seems to be a disconnect between each level ofhierarchy that truly frightens me when I think of the future of Public Schools and thefamilies, we all serve. I believe you all as part ofthe state BOE and WVDE do not have a complete zoulerstamling or what the county plans DO NOT include as you have spoken with the County Superintemlents. The number one thing being a solid planfor a school shutdown and going to 100% remote learning. This coming-from thefeedback I have personally heard/ram teachers, school, staff, and (alniinistrattn?s as well. They are worried as are the parents. We do not want to be in another emergency education situation that causes panic. confusion. and also parents pulling children out oft/1e public-school system due to a mis trust that their children would be safe. here/ore, we have collectedfeedback through multiple groups, and community town halls across the state that offer recommendations and solutionsfor a SAFE. Healthy, Equitable Return to Schools: West Virginia parents and educators from all across the state have forged a united grassroots effort with the support of community organizations to create a platform of recommendations and mandates they would like to be put into place before West Virginia students and educators enter the school buildings this year. West Virginia educators and students are eager to return to our classrooms and schools. Educators miss their students, and students miss their teachers and friends. We all miss our school communities, especially as we have come together in incredible ways during the challenging months of this pandemic. Additionally, we know that the inequities facing our most vulnerable West Virginia students and families have deepened and widened during the pandemic. There is much work to do to make up for the learning that has been lost and to address the trauma experienced by so many in our school communities. While we are eager to return to school, we are not blind to the challenges of doing so during this pandemic. Any return to in-person learning must prioritize and guarantee the highest standards for health and safety. Any return must be guided by science and the expertise of educators and the parent experience and wisdom to know what is needed for support for our students? and their families. Any return to in-person learning also must have renewed commitments to funding and supports so schools are not just ready to open on the ?rst day of school but are safe places to learn and work for the entire school year. For these reasons and more, we are calling for the 2020-2021 school year to begin with remote learning and instruction and then following CDC guidelines, begin in-person instruction only after 14 consecutive days of no new cases of Protecting the safety of West Virginia educators, students, and families requires this action. We believe it is the right approach and will allow time for further evaluation of health matrices, continual and consistent public stakeholder input that includes the mandated Local School Improvement Councils at each school, and looking closely at the educational needs of students on a district-by-district basis to allow for a transition to a hybrid learning model after the year begins and possibly a mostly in-person model later in the school year if and when it is safe. Exceptions to this should be possible only in districts with the very lowest levels of infection and community spread, and with the strong educator and family support necessary in thosejurisdictions. State Superintendent Burch has stated multiple times that districts need to take the state guidance they are providing that includes ?exibility to look at creative and innovative options that best meets their schools needs with an emphasis on that ?One Caring Adult? and the well-being and social emotional needs of the students. These options address this in a meaningful way. Provided they are able to do so at the highest levels of safety, districts should explore hubs and/or study group models with very small groups of students is feasible with limited student populations meeting criteria for whom equity concerns around extended remote learning are greatest. Educators who feel comfortable working with these students at community spaces such as libraries, community buildings, churches, etc. should be able to do so. Parent mentors should be trained and hired to assist the educators, students, and families. - When districts can have a laser focus on one model, they can better concentrate their resources and work with educators and stakeholders to be successful with remote learning for all students. This reopening model would allow districts to resolve the inequities of the digital divide that were laid bare this spring. We want a plan that starts with addressing the most vulnerable students and build up from this to protect and educate all students. - We want our West Virginia Educators to work with parents to create a stellar, innovative, and creative remote curriculum and a system of accountability to serve our students and not look to outside state curriculum resources as a replacement for what our brilliant teachers in this state can create. WV Parents trust WV Teachers to do this task. - Additionally, focusing on a completely remote model would allow districts to be better prepared if the state must reverse course and move back into Phase I or a complete quarantine again at some point during the school year. 0 The governor should utilize the CARES Act money (and any future COVID- 19 response money) to provide internet access and/or technology to families that are in need, to provide childcare for families that must work, and to explore ways to have classes outside. OUR most vulnerable needs must be addressed FIRST. OLRSTUDENTS 0' Our Students First: A SAFE Return to School Start schools remotely. Following CDC guidelines, begin in- person instruction only after 14 consecutive days of no new cases of 0 After the 14-day mark, in-person instruction should be slowly phased in and monitored for any new outbreak in cases. Provide remote-school training for teachers, students, and parents. 0 Utilize county school websites and the West Virginia Department of Education website to offer user-friendly training. 0 Allow staff to complete training modules at home. Release video/radiolmedia messages to prepare families for what to expect upon starting remotely. For example, how to use online platforms, what the expectations for hours and student and parent participation are, where to go for questions, etc. Provide ways for students to ?meet? their teacher(s) and school staff. 0 Host outdoor ?Back to School? events where, at staggered times, students and parents/caregivers can meet their teacher(s) and school staff, receive supplies for the upcoming year, and discuss their needs and obstacles for the upcoming year. Address students? emotional/mental health. 0 Have teachers review last year?s roster to identify high-risk students. Check-in with all students weekly by phone and create a referral system for serious issues to be sent to counselors and social workers. Prioritize students with special needs. 0 Some school staff may need to do home visits (and be compensated for mileage) or provide hands-on learning at certain sites in a county. School systems should consult Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and reach out to students? families to ensure they are provided services. Waive the 180-day (or equivalent minute) requirement for the 2020-2021 school year. Utilize the CARES Act money (and any future COVID-19 response money) to: 0 Provide internet access and/or technology to families in need. 0 Provide childcare for families with caregivers who must work. 0 Hire additional staff so that student safety is paramount. Utilize Local School Improvement Councils (LSICs) to plan and monitor school reentry. LSICs should update their school crisis prevention and management plans to document best practices during Inspect and approve the ventilation systems of all school buildings for proper airflow prior to resuming any in-person learning. 0 Inspections must be completed by an independent agency. If systems do not pass inspection, alternative locations must be utilized. Make the inspection reports public. Provide regular, widespread, and free testing and contact tracing for staff and students with an average turn- around time of 48 hours or less. 0 All staff should be tested before in-person learning begins. 0 Issue clear procedures for when someone tests positive. Furnish PPE (masks and face shields, wipes, gloves, sanitizer, etc) for employees and students. 0 PPE must be on site before schools start in-person. Mandate and monitor mask-wearing at all times in West Virginia schools. Release video/radiolmedia messages to prepare students and families for what to expect upon arrival to school. 0 FAQ - demonstrating mask-wearing, social distancing, greeting friends, etc. Ensure six feet of social distancing between students and staff at all times in school buildings. Enforce strict classroom caps of 20 or fewer students. Implement reasonable accommodations for students I staff with underlying medical conditions. 0 Provide alternate assignments (with the same pay) for employees who cannot be in their normal work area. Establish clear guidelines in case of an outbreak necessitating a return to remote learning. 0 Guidelines should include how to contact families, food accessibility, how students will hear from teachers, etc. Create an anonymous call-in line for families and school employees to report concerns. 0 Provide documentation that concerns were answered. Provide a full-time nurse in every West Virginia school, and increase the number of social workers in each county school system. Waive the statewide standardized testing requirement for the 2020-2021 school year. Alter the employee evaluations for the 2020-2021 school yeah 0 Base them on employees? actual working conditions. COnsult with school staff before implementing the new evaluation system. Think outside the ?box? and outside the classroom. 0 Utilize outdoor learning, community centers, gyms, and other meeting spaces where social distancing is possible. 0' Our Students First: Additional Family Plan for Back-to-School . Amplify the integral and necessary role of the Local School Improvement Council (LSIC) in every WV school 0 They should serve as the school community governance as per WV Legislation code 18 5A to monitor this unprecedented school year and work on improvements that are necessary throughout the school year while building a strong relationship with their local school BOE as per WVDE Policy 2322 Support Accountability 0 Engage the LSIC in researching and implementing trauma- informed and restorative discipline practices that prevent long term consequences that lead to impeding student success and well-being LSIC meetings are open to the public and shall follow the Open Governmental Meeting Procedures Act and schools must ensure broad communication to notify the public beyond the school community of these in person and/or virtual meetings 0 Include training opportunities for parents. 0 Include an option for parent volunteers to assist with training other parents guardians on how to use online platforms such as Schoology, Google Classroom, Teams, 0 Include ?how to? lesson plans and other 101 type training to assist them with remote learning, etc. as well as guidance on how to best contact their child?s teachers and who to contact for help with technology issues. 0 Provide open and searchable resource library of training for students, teachers, and parents. 0 Increase internet access to students and educators who lack it at home; 0 Reach a 1:1 student to device ratio as soon as possible surveying and providing the students who are in need of a tech device first; Cover cost via reimbursement to students? families that need internet to educate their child at home. Reimburse internet fees for educators that will be teaching remotely or virtually. Continue to run school-based meal services that include a bus and community delivery system activating private sector parent community volunteers delivery option. Food delivery system must also deliver necessary school supplies and education resources when they deliver food. 0 Create new innovative ways to allow our students to express emotions as CDC guidelines will not permit the normal amount or methods of connection social distancing; This is especially crucial for our younger students Pre k-3rd grade 0 All grades will require a plan to assist students and teachers with this new layer of trauma caused by Covid-19 restrictions. 0 Alternative communication such as sign language, popsicle puppets, etc. could be looked at as creative communication strategies. 0 Counties need to ensure services are occurring for students that includes an accountability piece ensuring that special education students will not regress during the pandemic sometimes losing years of work to help these students succeed. In place of Google classroom, which was not successful Zoom meetings did not work well for student with autism and/or other students with exceptionalities, therefore special needs parents request hard copies be available to all special education students. Whomever facilitates remote or virtual learning for the special education students need to meet with teacher teams in person or virtual prior to instruction. Parents of special needs students suggest Unique Learning System. Additional Safeguards, rituals, and routines for students with special education service needs are imperative. At least in elementary classrooms, another person should be on-ground. Schools should not be allowed to violate FAPE for the sake of convenience. lEPs/504s need to re?ect accommodations for whatever the learning situation is, which means that teachers need more time to meet and review plans. Districts should not be allowed WAIVERS to reduce or eliminate services. These are the immediate needs that must be addressed with the limited time and resources districts have before the school year begins. We must concurrently build long-term plans for how we will address the learning gaps and inequities that we have always known to exist and combat the structural factors that prevent the end of systemic racism and po verty and ensure ALL West Virginia students receive an equitable education and opportunity. We are well aware that prolonged remote and or virtual learning is challenging for parents as well as for educators and students, as is a hybrid model. We urge state and county leaders and employers to be accommodating to their employees who are parents with flexible or remote work policies and state?facilitated childcare similar to what was done for healthcare workers. We must be in this together and have empathy for one another. We must rise above politics and focus on the reality and complexities of safely reopening schools. If we open our schools too quickly and without adequate safety precautions, the result will be that some educators, students, and their family members will contract the coronavirus. Some will recover, some will face debilitating health consequences or healthcare bills that they cannot pay, and some will die. These are stubborn facts. And they are costs and consequences that we must refuse to accept. A perfect solution does not exist. A safe one does. We stand beside you ready to work with ALL 55 local school systems and the West Virginia Department of Education to ensure that the coming school year is as safe and successful as possible for all of West Virginia?s students and educators. Thank Yours, Jenny Anderson Director, Families Leading Change Parent Organizer for Our Future WV a i. ?l Before I go, a gentle reminder: WV Bill of Rights for Students and School Personnel ?18A-5-1c. Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Students and School Personnel. The Legislature finds that: (1) The mission of public schools Is to prepare students for equal and responsible citizenship and productive adulthood; (2) Democratic citizenship and productive adulthood begin with standards of conduct in schools; (3) Schools should be safe havens for ieaming with high standards of conduct for students; and (4) Rights necessarily carry responsibilities. in recognition of the findings In this section, the following Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Students and School Personnel is established: (1) The right to attend a school and ride a bus that is safe, orderIy and drug free; (2) The right to learn and work In a school that has clear discipline codes with fair and consistently enforced consequences for misbehavior; (3) The right to Ieam and work in a school that has altematlve educational placements for violent or chronically disruptive students: (4) The right to be treated with courtesy and respect; (5) The right to a attend a school and ride on a bus that is free from bullying; (6) The rightto support from school administrators when enforcing discipline policies; (7) The right to support from parents. the community, public of?cials and businesses In their efforts to uphold high standards of conduct; and (8) The responsibility to adhere to the principles in this Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Students and School Personnel. and to behave In a manner that guarantees that other students and school personnel enjoy the same rights. Timestamp lam can check multiple boxes) County where you live School or schools you are associated with in your county? Please tell us why you feel we are not ready to go back into the school building and how it might affect you or your family. 8/7/2020 14:13:51 Teacher Putnam West Teays No plexi glass has been give class size does not allow adequate social distancing, we are wanting 5 year olds to be responsible for their own health and the health of others 8/7/2020 14:21:09 Parent, Teacher Boone Boone County Schools Lack of space to practice social distancing in classrooms and in the building. My husband is 65 and has diabetes. He is at risk. 8/7/2020 14:23:32 Grandparent CabeH Milton Elementary and CMHS I believe this pandemic is changing so rapidly and all students need to be remote for at least 9 weeks in order to assure that there are no new cases. I have a granddaughter with a 504 whose doctor says she can attend but I am scared there will not be proper ventilation, social distancing, cleaning supplies and mask wearing for ALL ages. People will still be returning from hot spots up until the night before school starts. Those students will be in school and no one will know if they are positive. There is too much risk in infecting staff and the communities. Please begin school with all remote until there are NO NEW CASES for at least 3 weeks. 8/7/2020 14:35:21 Parent, Teacher Jefferson Harpers Ferry Middle, Washington High, Spring Mills Primary As a specials teacher that will be traveling to 20 classrooms a week (roughly 500 students), how will I be protected? The age group of students I teach are under 9 years of age. None of them will be required to wear a mask according to the WVDE safety standards! If we are to wear masks to protect the people around us then how am I being protected if none of my students are required to wear one? I am in contact with every single student in my school, and one student is positive that means I will be exposed every single time a student is positive. am required to quarantine each and every time I am exposed, or to get a test each and every time to return to school then I will never have the opportunity to actually be in school. If I am potentially exposed will that mean every one in the school will also have to quarantine (since I see every single student) would ultimately put the entire school on remote learning? Recent studies have come to light that show kids actually carry a higher load of the virus in their noses than adults, and the close quarters in schools and behaviors of young kids can amplify the spread of the virus. 8/7/2020 14:40:52 Parent, Teacher Mineral Hampshire As a parent, I have an asthmatic daughter who will be going to school virtually, my Dad is battling an infection, and my mother is in a nursing home. I help to care for all of them. I am very scared about bringing something home to them, as my husband and I are both teachers. My daughter was hospitalized in Kindergarten, and missed a lot of school because she cannot get over colds and flu easily. COVID scares me to death. I will be in a windowless box of 15 to 30 adolescents, depending on whether school is hybrid or not. Mine is 5 days, all kids, so 30 unless there is a change. Half of the bunch won't believe in science and won?t wear masks. I will have to beg or fundraise for Clorox wipes. Then what will I do when I don't have any more pencils or paper? They can't borrow them and give them back. Kids can't share, right? No more classroom sets of papers to save resources. And this is all after the bus ride and the fact that they haven't seen each other since March. Then, if I manage to get past the mask issue, we are expected to teach the ones in our rooms and at home at the same time. Both in school and virtual learners will suffer. If I can teach remotely from home I can offer evening office hours, and design my curriculum for optimal virtual learning. Otherwise, everyone gets half of me or less if I am as stressed as I am now about getting sick and getting my family sick. There will be no subs when I have to take care of my family or visit my oncologist (survivor here) and you can't put classes together in the like we did before. Is this the better quality of education that folks are requesting? Does a nurse or a grocery store clerk deal with 15 to 30 people at the same time? Do the clerks ring up orders and stock the shelves at the same time? Do otherjobs have to beg and raise money for job equipment? Are press conferences given in a public group of folks who are unmasked and arguing?Good golly, this is nuts. Mandate that the entire state teaches remotely from home. Even teacher groups will be dangerous. 8/7/2020 Parent, Teacher Wood Gihon Elementary, Please don't use the county I work the only PE 14:45:46 Parkersburg South teacher at the elementary level. But please use my story or HS, Wirt County my county in which I live and my children go to school Primary Center (Wood). I don't mind if you say I work in another county since that is part of my story. I guess my biggest concern is the amount of possible contact my family alone will have in a single day. We are a family of 4 with 3 of us being in schools all day long. I am a PE teacher who teaches 10-12 classes a day reaching about 240-260 students daily. My son is a high school student athlete who will not only come in contact with 200+ students at his school a day but possibly 20+ from other schools on any given day. My daughter is in elementary school in a classroom of 20?30 students. On an average day, our family will come in contact with 500+ people. That's a lot of risk. What do I do, as a mom and teacher, if my kids county (Wood) has to go to all virtual learning but my county (Wirt) is still in person? I'm not worried about my children academically because my mother is a retired teacher and will watch and help my children with schooling during the day. But what I am worried about is putting my parents, who are elderly, in danger because of my contact with my own children after I come in contact with 240+ kids a day in my school. Will I have to quarantine from my entire family to ensure that my kids are taken care of during the day and my parents aren't put at risk? Will I have to quarantine away from my entire family (husband, children, parents) for an entire school year to ensure my elderly parents safety? I would rather have school remotely without sports (and I absolutely LOVE sports, I am a PE teacher) than to risk the health and safety of everyone I love, my family and my school kids and their families. 8/7/2020 14:55:18 Parent, Teacher Berkeley County Orchard View Intermediate and Rosemont Elementary Schools We know that schools will not be able to 100% ensure and follow the CDC guidelines. Instead of starting with baby steps, we are starting with the goal. Buses will be a corona carrier. There is no way to social distance on a bus, in a classroom, in a hallway, etc. They are putting the lives of students and staff in danger. Period. They should have been creating training for teachers in March to implement in August for remote. Instead, they planned for a plan with an ever fluid plan plan and passed it off to the counties. Seriously? This a pandemic. They know the dangers of returning. They are putting lives at risk. I mean, did they get a risk manager come in and evaluate the loss of students and staff? The fact of the matter of is WHEN it fails, then so will parents/guardians going back to work. If schools can have outbreaks, so can the work place. Most jobs have been remote since March and most counties have a remote plan ready to go. So what are we waiting for? WV teachers start the 24th, start doing Microsoft Teams, get professional development training from a remote location going and let's get the school year rolling REMOTELY. It's time to give education a face life. We have the technology. We have the capability. What are we trying to prove? WV is not immune to this. WV students are not immune to this virus. How is a student going to have that one caring adult when we are all sick or dying? 8/7/2020 14:59:31 Pa rent, Teacher Mercer Bluefield Middle School With the class sizes and school population larger than the typical church we can expect to see the type of outbreaks churches and summer camps have had over the past several months. There is no plan or evidence to suggest we can actually safely physically return to school. My children are 9, 7, 4, and 4. I have no support system other than my husband, and we are both terrified of our children being in school as well as us being in the classroom. People will die and the spread will be unstoppable if we pretend it is business as usual. 8/7/2020 15:05:04 Parent, Substitute CabeH Milton Middle, Milton Elementary First, I know kids need school - the building, the teachers, eachother, meals, etc. get it and support it. As a kid myself, school was my safe quiet place. We had food and shelter but home was very stressful. Teachers need school too; it's the job they chose and want to do the traditional way. However, there are so many uncontrollable moving parts that the risk seems higher than could ever be predicted. There are so many differing opinions and degrees of care taken to not be exposed that we just have no idea who is doing what. Families need income, so get ignored, so adults won't miss work. We have several people in our lives, whose lives we are a part of, that could not sustain this infection - one pregnant; one with lung cancer; one with Mesothelioma (cancer); several over age 65, one is 90; and several with compromised health conditions. We limit where always wear masks. But we've not worn masks for 8+ hours a day. I get the difficulty starting a new year with0ut face-to-face interaction; without building relationships and personally identifying needs of their students, but there is just no easy answer except to figure it out while apart. Teachers have kids in school too and may not have other people to care for their children. I chose Blended for my child, so it limits my ability to sub for someone. 50 many of our subs are over 65, so does anyone know what the substitute pool looks like? Best answer seems to stay home and and get numbers back down. Thank you. 8/7/2020 Parent Ohio West Liberty There is a lack of transparency in their parameters in place 15:12:09 Elementary to ensure the well being of all. 8/7/2020 Teacher Hampshire Capon Bridge Almost half of our students live with grandparents. We also 15:19:45 Middle School have parents and staff that work in VA and MD. We typically do not have enough subs, especially during flu season. Last school year, I had weeks where I would cover 3-4 different teachers' classes because we did not have substitutes. I also had to combine classes. We are being told that we will have 5 days of face?to-face days of schools, while also providing lessons for those that opt for online. Students are to wear masks, but wouldn't need to in their pods and where social distancing can occur. Because of this, they will be eating in our classrooms and teachers will be traveling to other classrooms to teach. Ventilation is one of my concerns. We can wipe down all the desks and door handles, but I can't spray Lysol in the air while my kids are in the room chewing, burping, and talking. This is a respiratory virus. We already had students that got from sports practice. Even if students get it and survive, we still don't fully understand the longterm effects. We also were told that no matter if we end up online and there are quarantines, we must be present at the school during contract hours. I do have colleagues that have health concerns. I also do not believe that schools will be paying our ICU or funeral bills if we catch COVID. Many have considered early retirement-teachers and staff. We were not included in the discussion and formation of any plan and staff feel like they we are constantly told that we are "cared about," yet we get no voice in the discussion or an idea of what safety precautions are being considered, aside from provided masks and shields. We want reassurance that our safety is being considered because this actually is a life or death situation and we are afraid of the safety concerns and unreal workload that will occur. 8/7/2020 15:23:03 Parent, Legal Guardian wood phs,waverly,hamilt on, My youngest child has asthma and other health issues with a low immune system along with other members of the immediate family having breathing issues. Its to much of a risk to expose the children and let alone bring it home to others. Its also going to be more of a hassle trying to keep the masks on kids faces for long periods of times. I let alone can't stand to wear them as long as I have to when running for essentials 8/7/2020 15:32:53 Teacher Mineral All If I get Covid it could spread to a student or family member and they could die. 8/7/2020 15:38:07 Teacher Logan Logan High I just lost my grandpa to Covid, please don?t put me at risk of exposing more family members 8/ 7/ 2020 16:02:48 Parent, Teacher Mason Hannan We lack a statewide systems with resources appropriate funded from state COVID money, not the county dollars, to address testing and contact tracing. Additionally, i have two compromised children and I'm finding as multiple sitters quit before starting, my entire paycheck wouldn't be enough to provide in-home care for my children. And I have a great school, but funding is funding is funding and I worry for not only my safety, but my children?s if I am exposed. I ?3 am immunocompromised, but my children?s health place them in the highest risk category. Not only does being required to report to a building where i will be exposed to COVID make me question quitting in principle alone, the carelessness and outright treatment of staff and students by the governor, as disposable entities, adds insult to injury when I am left questioning whether it would be wrong to not pay my entire salary so I can teach, because it would leave people in the lurch. This is a disaster, and I don't know if I?m willing to risk my life, and I?m certainly not willing to risk my children?s in this scenario. 8/7/2020 16:03:30 Teacher Logan Logan High In the past month, and especially in the last week, cases have been on a drastic rise in Logan County. I fear a return to school, in person, is not safe at the moment and will likely not be safe on September 8. I know I can effectively teach remotely from my home. I have data from the end of last school year to prove that effective remote teaching is possible when students are given equitable access, resources, and are held accountable. I urge our leaders to consider that while I personally am low risk, I live with a type one diabetic, a cancer survivor, and an open heart surgery 2 survivor. All three have other health risks as well. I fear contracting the illness at school and bringing it home to my loved ones. We should return to the buildings ONLY when numbers have significantly declined. 8/7/2020 16:14:49 Teacher Marion, teachin Monongali a Mountainview Elementary I do not feel that there is enough evidence to support that our schools can protect their students and their staff. We have not been given a definitive plan, and surveys to our parents were not sent out until a week before the latest possible deadline. I feel that the communication from our district to the families and staff has been extremely lacking and I am concerned for my own safety, and the safety of (. my students. We have been told that our students will be allowed to stand 3.2 feet apart as long as they are wearing masks. When I asked what would happen during lunch, which part of the time will take place in our classrooms, was told that even with masks off they will be seated 3.2 feet apart. This goes against the guidelines and is highly irresponsible. What will happen when (not if) a student or staff member is diagnosed with What protections are being offered to staff? Will we be paid for time off in quarantine? What if we need constant testing? Will there be temperature checks? Will the cost for medical expenses come out of pocket? What if students are diagnosed? I feel that the only way to guarantee that the spread of is kept as low as possible is to keep students learning virtually until a promising vaccine is available. There are a few that are entering phase 3 trials. i understand that this is an issue for families that are working, which is why the push needs to fall to our government to assist those families. Teachers cannot he made responsible to boost the economy by being labeled as ?child care." I did not go to college to receive a Master?s degree in child care. I received a degree in Education. The lack of value for my life as an educator is disheartening. The lack of trust that I am capable and willing to work from home, when many educators have proven we are capable of doing just that is disheartening. The governor has pushed for 1,000 new hotspots for internet connectivity be set up in our state. We are making A #2 nm grsa? A1.) :2 hm MgrA tremendous strides to do what we can for our students, even without being in person. Let's trust in our educators. If I am to be expected to teach a classroom of 25 students, which is the current capacity for an elementary classroom in my district, then that puts me at risk of being exposed to 25 families. If their parents are working in a public setting that also exposes those children to their parents work exposures, which in turn doubles what I am exposed to. Not to mention if that child has siblings or visits multiple family members on a regular basis. I am disappointed that so many people have refused to take this issue seriously. I am the most comfortable with a virtual setting, but I am willing to work with a hybrid setting. I have made it clear to my administration that I am not comfortable with being at the school 5 days a week. 8/7/2020 16:30:54 Parent Monongali a University High, Mountaineer Middle I am not comfortable sending my children back to school. I don't think there's any way the administration could actually enforce the safety measures required to keep the kids safe, such as staying six feet apart or keeping their masks on (especially during school lunches). If the BOE has their way, schools will become the new epicenters of outbreaks. How could the BOE possiblyjustify risking children's lives and the lives of their families, just to teach in person instead of online? 8/7/2020 16:38:05 Teacher Allegany county, MD Keyser Primary I am a 65 year old woman with 35 years of teaching kindergarten in Mineral County. I have many concerns about entering the classroom at this time. 1. Although I am relatively healthy, I am over 60 and at a higher risk of complications from Covid. 2. My husband is 67 and is diabetic and has high blood pressure, putting him in a high risk category. 3. My mother is 91 and in good health. lam the only family r. member who lives in the area. I check in with her daily, buy her groceries, etc. 4. My in-laws are both in their 90?s. They live locally and we see them weekly. 5. We have 5 precious grandchildren. Their parents have chosen to teach them remotely in order to protect them as best they can. 6. My daughter has told me that she does not want me around my grandchildren if I go back into the classroom and I BLAME People have asked me if I am retiring and, frankly I am seriously considering it. However, I am not ready! I am a good teacher. I love my job. I love my students like they were my own. I have given 35 years to the kindergarten students in Mineral County and I still have more to give! But I won?t, and I shouldn?t have to, endanger the lives of my family, my students, my students? families, and myself! PLEASE call for the WV schools to start remotely. Wouldn?t it be better to err on the side of caution than to be responsible for the death of a teacher, family member, or even a student? Their lives are in your hands. 8/7/2020 Teacher Kanawha 16:40:09 Horace Mann Middle School My wife is more susceptible to getting sick than what most people are. I am very concerned with the idea of going back to full person days so quickly. Middle school students do not typically take the best care of their cleanliness, and it worries me that we will all be exposed so quickly to one another. I believe that schools should stay blended for a much longer period than 3 weeks 8/7/2020 Parent, Teacher Mineral 17:13:36 Keyser Primary As both a parent and a teacher, I have an understanding of both sides of this debate. As a teacher, I do know that students need to be in school, for a whole host of reasons: social, emotional, academic, and basic needs. I know that students learn better in person (especially at the elementary level), when compared to remotely learning. But as a parent, I know that children are not immune to and we don?t know the long term effects that could occur as a result. I know that children struggle to adhere to safety guidelines, which will put more people at risk. In the end, it boils down to the fact that a child can recover from a lapse in formal learning. They cannot recover from lifelong effects of an unknown sickness or worse, death. I feel as though I?m being asked to choose between the health and safety of my students and the health and safety of my own children and family. 8/7/2020 17:20:24 Teacher Monongali a Mountainview Elementary As a teacher, I have been provided with little information about how my students and I will be kept safe if we return to school. I teach special education and will be pulling 20+ different students from 9+ different classrooms into my room to teach throughout the day. I will also been coteaching in at least 1 additional classroom for 2 hours. That is 45+ students I will be exposed to each day, plus I am now exposing all of the students in the coteach room to germs from students in different classes and even grade levels that have come to my room. Is the school going to inform the parents that?s that their child is in the coteach room or will they continue to believe their child is only being exposed to the core group they are with all day? I also do not believe there are adequate supplies to clean between groups and honestly the way the special education schedule runs, there will not be time for me to sanitize between groups. The county is suggesting that students clean their own area when they arrive. Are parents going to be informed that their child is cleaning another child?s area before using it? I am particularly concerned for our special education population as they will essentially be exposed to hundreds more students throughout their day. For example Student A has content in their home room, they go to math in Special Ed room 1 and reading in Special Ed room 2. If Student A is exposed in their homeroom, they are now exposing all students in Special Ed room 1 and 2. Those students are then taking the virus back to their homerooms where they could be exposing their other classmates. Returning to school in person will also affect my family. My niece and nephews, who attend school in Grant Co. will not be able to see their grandparents as my father is cancer survivor with 1 lung and COPD. My parents also serve as child care for my sister on snow days. This will again not be possible since they can not be around my father if they are in school. Since we have no breaks in our schedule other than holidays and the time between Christmas and the new year, I will not be able to visit my parents at all during the school year as I will not be able to quarantine for 10-14 days at any point until next summer. 8/7/2020 17:32:20 Teacher Monongali a South Middle School Due to the following experience, I truly believe we are risking the safety of our staff, students, and communities by opening schools this soon. I tested positive for last month. My initial began on July 4, late that evening. It began with a mild fever and a general feeling of being unwell. I had my first test on Sunday, July 5. Two days later, still fighting a weird low-grade fever, I received my results online informing me I was negative. No one called to explain to me that since I had I still needed to quarantine. The fever was low and seemed manageable with ibuprofen. After much debate, with my negative test results weighing heavily in my mind, I chose to attend a family beach trip. ?3 Upon arriving at our beach house, my became much more intense. I was struggling to breath, and was coughing so much that it was hard at times to speak. Still, that negative test was in my mind, so I tried to hope it was just some weird respiratory bug or seasonal allergies or something else. After a couple days, on July 14, I went and was tested in North Carolina. I had lost my sense of smell and normal taste by this point, and all my other were either continuing (fever, respiratory issues) or worsening (body aches, burning in my chest, chills, dizziness, loss of smell and taste, digestive issues). For most of the beach trip, I quarantined in my room alone as much as I could. At times, my chills and body aches were so bad that I was laying in bed, clenching my teeth in misery. I actually chipped a tooth from clenching my teeth too hard during a particularly miserable morning. By that Friday, July 17, my fever had finally broken. (I think it?s important to note that my fever was usually between 99 and 100, only occasionally spiking up to 101.) I wore a mask the entire 8-hour trip home. I was home and quarantining completely alone by that Sunday, July 19. On Tuesday, July 21, I received my results online for the second time, except this time, as I expected, I was positive for COVID-19. I also finally had a phone call that same day from the facility where I?d had my first test done, and, as you might expect, I was less than cordial when the person on the phone cheerfully told me I was negative. I informed them that their test had been a false negative and had led me to exposing my family to the virus. For the sake of transparency, I want to mention that my first test was a shorter, shallower swab, and my second test was the deep, somewhat invasive swab that has been reported so much in the news. I don?t know if the difference in these tests was related to the quality of results, but I think it's interesting that they were not the same test. Mercifully, none of my family have had and none of them have tested positive. I believe quarantining and wearing a mask every single time i had to leave my room are responsible for this. However, it?s important to note my suspected path of exposure included someone with absolutely no who did test positive. I was only contacted by my local health department so they could account for my case and do contact tracing on July 23. This is why I?m sharing my experience. From my first on July 4, it was two and a half weeks before I was confirmed positive and accounted for by the local health department. It was two and a half weeks before I knew officially that I needed to stay away from people. How is anyone supposed to keep up with this virus when the testing and reporting is that delayed and/or incorrect? I am scared for what is going to happen as this fall begins. I know not everyone has this experience with their testing and everything. However, I tried to do the right thing. I went and got tested. A false negative led me to take risks I shouldn't have. Imagine when the virus has infected someone who believes it?s a hoax? They probably won?t even bother to get tested. They may even defiantly expose others simply because they refuse to accept that it's their responsibility to try and protect others. I?m so fortunate that my have subsided, for the most part. I?m still coughing, though it's very minimal now, and have less energy than I?m used to. i am 34 today. I'm ,3 relatively healthy. This virus was scary, painful, and made me very very sick. I'm praying every day for those who have severe cases of the virus. Mine was considered mild. I find it ridiculous that anyone is comparing this to the flu. It was much more comparable to pneumonia, which I had once before, but this had so many more This was worse than the flu. Please, don?t put this entire state at risk by sending us back prematurely. We can recover from economic loss. We can?t bring people, including children, back from the dead. We cannot go back until it?s safe. 8/7/2020 19:06:43 Teacher Monongali a Morgantown High School I am pregnant with my first child, due in December. I care about the health and safety not only of my students, but of myself, my husband, and my unborn baby. lam at an increased risk of complications from COVID-19 and I feel that going back face-to-face is irresponsible at this time. We shut down our school buildings before we even had a single confirmed case in our state, but we?re considering going back with the highest daily average we've had so far? It makes no sense. Our schools cannot afford to supply the amount of PPE and disinfectants needed to keep us safe. With the proper time to prepare, we could make our remote learning and teaching better than the triage teaching we did March through June. I would be okay if kids were ?a little behind? as opposed to sick or dead. 8/7/2020 21:29:25 Parent Marion East Park Elementary My daughter is starting Kindergarten, and lam concerned that she will not be able to handle social distancing and sitting for the whole day. We have been told that they will still be able to play, but how do they do that with appropriate distancing? Also, if masks are not mandatory, will my daughter be made fun of for wearing her mask? Will her teacher make sure she keeps it on at my request? Her first experience in the school is going to be terrible. 8/7/2020 21:48:04 Grandparent Kanawha West Side MS and CapnolHS I am 63 and have custody of my two grandchildren, ages 12 and 15. lam concerned that the schools will not be able to control an outbreak among the students and staff. Then they will bring the virus home to spread even more throughout our community. My age and health factors make me a target for Covid-19. am hospitalized it would be so devastating on many levels, including upending my grandkids lives if I should have a long recovery or god forbid, should die. I feel strongly that virtual learning would resolve whatever risks there are to classroom there are clearly many, as we are seeing from other states who have returned to school. We should err on the side of caution and take it easy and slowly reintegrate our students back to class. 8/7/2020 21:49:12 Legal Guardian, Grandparent Harrison Simpson, Nutter Fort Intermediate Our county's current plan is to not go to Remote unless we have 14+ Active cases in a 7 day period - we are currently running at 46 to 52 Active cases day to day and we are just weeks out from the start date. We need to start in Remote, give the teachers time to plan, parents/grandparents time to get educated properly on Schoology, etc. Get the ipads that were purchased IN the hands ofthe children and loaded with the apps they need. Learn from the data available from the March-June Remote learning and improve the quality and communication FIRST. Work out bus deliveries for school packets and food at the same time. I do not want my grandkids in the school buildings yet! There is no way the buses can be disinfected properly unless ALL have access at all times to the disinfecting 'foggers' used earlier in the year to disinfect all of our schools. Ventilation? Some school windows don?t open. I could go How are parents/grandparents who work and the local daycares going to be able to handle the on again/off again school As a grandparent raising a grandchild I speak for many grandfamilies who have real concerns about the safety of our kids and OUR safety as well if our children are exposed in school and ?3 carry the virus home to us. Often WE are all they 22,000 of us are raising children in We are living a new reality - let's stop trying to recapture how things were and deal with this new reality so we can live with it, not be torn apart with the erratic plans and 'reassessments' week to week! 8/7/2020 23:00:29 Parent Kanawha Ruffner Elementary, Capital High I worry about my kids getting sick but I really worry because my husband is older (67) and he has high blood pressure and heart disease. I worry that my kids will bring COVID-19 into the house and get their father sick. I opted for Virtual schooling, but I've had to scale back my job to do it. I worry about kids who live with older or compromised people who have no alternative but to be in 8/8/2020 0:07:29 Parent, Teacher Morgan BSHS and WES We are in a much more serious COVID crisis than March- May when we closed our doors. We can not properly socially distance large numbers of students in a classroom. My fear is contracting COVID. I have a husband with heart issues and an elderly mother who I help care for. The longterm ramifications of this virus (should you survive) are yet to be determined, but we do know it damages the lungs permanently. Our children and our families deserve to be protected from this killer! My family did not take a vacation this year. We do not gather in groups whatsoever. After being so cautious all these months, I now have to risk exposure by going into a classroom where my door will be revolving to accommodate specials, title 1 staff, and anyone else who will provide direct services to my students. In addition, we don?t have the custodial staff to maintain sanitizing our buildings. Teachers are now being told we will have to step up and help. I?m pretty sure there won?t be as much instruction taking place as there would be virtually. (a I think it is a colossal mistake to reopen our doors at this time. Putting students first should be our goal and that includes not jeopardizing them or their caregivers. Once this virus gets into our schools and teachers and/or students begin to die, won?t you wish we had done the right thing? 8/8/2020 8:17:27 Parent Harrison Coubty Nutter Fort Elementary The pressure put on the teachers to try and educate and keep kids safe is too much. The kids have not seen each other in months. They will be so excited they won?t be thinking about getting sick. Some kids haven?t even been educated about COVID 19. Kids are not going to be able to keep a mask on their faces all day. It?s impossible. 8/8/2020 8:27:34 Parent, Grandparent, Foster Pa rent Wetzel Shortline, Valley High School Child safety, all employees safety, bringing this virus back into the homes. Children and Employees who already have health problem and then the worry of them getting the virus. 8/8/2020 9:11:34 Parent, Kinship Relationship, Grandparent, Foster Parent Harrison Nutter Fort Primary It is notsafe for our children for teachers to return children are not going to leave the mask on our classrooms are overcrowded as it is so social distance is going to be a problem we have children that is technically we have children being raised by grandparents foster parents and stuff that's older that's got health problems we have children that has health problems and low immune systems and it isjust not safe are numbers or keep going up 8/8/2020 9:15:54 Parent, Kinship Relationship, Grandparent, Foster Parent Harrison Nutter Fort primary it is not safe for our children to return to school children will not social distance children will not leave the mask on our classrooms are overcrowded as is there is no way that they can do the social distance in the classroom it is a lot of cleaning for teachers to do teaching kids children we have children with low immune system we have children being raised by grandparents and older adults that has sickness they are saying it don't affect children the same as adults and children may not get it they have higher mune system I have actually no children that has had it I have no people that has had it or have it now and the way it affect them our children should not be put at risk like this our children is not test subject our children our children that it's Love by their parents and familiesand our teachers and staffs at school and other personnel is loved by their families and should not be put at risk schools should mistake closed and redo the remote schooling like we did March through the end of the school year 8/8/2020 9:53:43 Parent, Teacher Kanawha South Charleston High; Anne Bailey Elementary have major concerns with the ventilation system at SCHS. We were released early several times last year due to no AC. There is no way of knowing that our ventilation will be in good working order on a day to day basis. Additionally, studies are increasingly showing that aerosols spread the virus. My windows don't open, and without a unit specifically designed to address the spread of infection, how will schools not simply become breeding grounds for this virus? As the single mother of a high-risk child, I?m concerned that if I'm exposed, lwon't know in time to keep from exposing my son. I?ve spoken to his pediatrician about school and been advised to keep him home until there is a vaccine. If I?m exposed and have to quarantine, I won?t be able to see him for 2 weeks. lf, god forbid, contracted Covid-19 and died, my son would be left an orphan, as his father is already dead. 8/8/2020 11:42:24 Service Personnel Harrison Simpson I am 57 with HBP. My daughter lives with me. She has asthma. I am a kindergarten aide and it is impossible to keep proper distance, and small children have less than good hygiene habits. Very little work has been done in schools to mitigate the risk especially in ventilation systems. We aren't assured that there will be the necessary steady supply of PPE and disinfectants. Giving out cloth (K. masks doesn?t cut it. Schools aren't ready and we won?t be safe. Too many variables haven't been considered. 8/8/2020 11:51:44 Service Personnel Marshall MS, JMHS, CENTRAL ELEMENTARY, MCNINCH ELEMENTARY lam a bus driver. My husband is a bus mechanic. My daughter is a teacher. My son is a deputy sheriff in our county. I have 3 grandchildren in our schools.To say our family is invested in the education system service to our community is an understatement. I pick up students of every age and transfer my elementary students to another bus while also receiving middle school high school students from that same bus. it will be nearly impossible to sanitize the seats, step railings, everything they touch in between during these transfers. Hand sanitizer has ALWAYS been illegal on a school bus due to it's EXTREME FLAM but due to the Covid-19 pandemic that rule has been overridden; our mechanics are installing hand sanitizer pumps on our buses. How do you justify that? Is there a magic potion that makes it non- flammable suddenly? If/when there is a fire on the bus, will i or the mechanic that installed it be held liable for students injuries or death? It's located in the stepwell, which means one of my emergency exits is now comprmised. Also, handrail hangups is one of the biggest causes of injury death to students on a bus. Now we've installed another object for them to catch things on as they exit the bus. Keeping 40 plus students in their seats while driving has always been a chore in of itself, but keeping masks on those same students faces seems like an impossible task for our drivers whose most important job is the safety of their bus it's students. How do we keep our eyes on the road AND make sure our kids are keeping their masks on maintaining social distance? The compartmentalization safety feature of the buses, which means the seats are ?3 higher closer together, makes it difficult to see the faces of most students, but especially the little ones who are the ones who will struggle the most with keeping their masks on aren't mature enough to truly understand the repercussions of not keeping it on. As for the Governor's statements about drivers taking "virtual" students to hotspots, practices, and delivering food, this is going to be time geographically impossible in a county the size of ours. We have 68 routes with 7 substitutes available, 3 of those subs are retirees who fall under the "corn promised category. It was nearly impossible to get a day off last year for illness. I actually drove my bus with a garbage bag on my seat because there was no sub available.) How will we ever cover drivers who have to be quarantined for 10-14 days? Now to my concerns for my husband and the rest of our are in in a minimum, but usually more, of 5 buses a day in order to service them. Therefore, they will be exposed to the germs of however many students each of those buses has hauled that day. Those buses are to be sanitized by the driver you say. Who is going to monitor that? We all know my standard of cleanliness and the standard of cleanliness for each driver in our fleet can vary by huge percentages. Also there is the opinion of each driver of how "serious" or "real" this virus is, which will affect how seriously they take the responsibility of sanitizing their bus. Then what happens when there is an issue with a bus? Our mechanics will have to go on that bus with no sanitation done in order to either fix or provide a new bus to get the students to school or home safely efficiently. More exposure to more students. If one of those mechanics gets sick will the entire shop be quarantined, which will leave the drivers with no one to service the buses or will they not quarantine them leave us all at risk? My concerns for my daughter all teachers are too many to list I'm sure will be covered by the many caring teachers in our state. 8/8/2020 12:12:13 Parent, Teacher Harrison County Lincoln High School I am concerned about how we will socially distance students in such small classrooms. I am concerned how we are going to appropriately educate multiple grade level of students that are enrolled in the same class when some are in person and others are distance learning on paper or internet. I am concerned that my daughter who is a student at Lincoln will only attend 1 day a week and that every 2 weeks it is possible that we have a different school reentry plan. lam worried about where my daughter will go while I'm in the classroom. She has older grandparents. I am scared to death that or my daughter Will get sick and bring it home to my husband who can possibly pass it on to his employees. My husband is the main source of income in our household and it concerns me greatly. have great anxiety about going back into the classroom. Please let teachers work from home and start the year virtually for all students. 8/8/2020 12:12:35 Parent, Teacher Harrison Salem Elementary, RCB High School As a parent I am scared to send my children into the buildings with other children who may or may not wear their masks, keep their hands clean, or socially distance. I am concerned with the number of students using the same restrooms - how often with they be sanitized? After every student? What about classroom size? Transitions in the hallways? Meal times? I also worry about these things as a teacher/ my building has poor air circulation- I had two stand fans to cool my room from the first day of school all the way to March 13! It stays hot in there and have 5 room without any windows! I am concerned about only one day in the building and other days remote as a teacher I may still be in the building being exposed to every student in the building. As a parent - my daughter will also be in a daycare- If she is allowed there due to her attending public school once a week! Schools need to be purely remote until our virus numbers start to steadily 8/8/2020 12:32:36 Pa rent, Teacher Monongali a North Elementary and Suncrest Middle My son is going to pre?k, and I teach seventh graders. On my rosters I have two classes with 31 students; my classroom is not large enough to space out 31 students. I do not have desks; I have six tables, six chairs each. There is no time to sanitize between classes, either. My son wants to play with kids and toys? how will he not touch other kids or toys? 8/8/2020 12:34:43 Teacher Monongali a MTEC It is abundantly clear that science does not support the reentry of students and staff to classrooms. Throughout the South, schools who have opened are closing due to community spread within schools. It is foolish to assume that teachers will be adequately prepared to police student behaviors, especially when they are trying to TEACH students. How many lives will be lost while we play this game with teacher, staff, student, and parent lives? Furthermore, we are seeing exponentially more cases than when schools initially closed in March. Our hospitals are becoming crowded with COVID patients in many parts of the state! Finallt, if it is safe to return to our school buildings, please start having your conferences with the governor, meetings with each other, and all press conferences in person from a local classroom to demonstrate how it can be safely done. 8/8/2020 12:36:02 Parent, Teacher Kanawha Would rather not sayboth a parent and teacher who believes that we are heading straight toward an iceberg with this return to school. As a teacher, I know how difficult a classroom is to (K manage effectively under the best of conditions and see these plans as incredibly unrealistic in practice from so many angles that I will not even type them all here because you don?t want to read a book. Suffice it to say, the rules will be impossible to enforce in an educational setting, and it is only a matter of time before outbreaks and erratic closures begin to occur. I also feel that it is putting our bus drivers at high risk and am angry on their behalf. I fail to see how this is a superior option to keeping everyone home and putting all the energy into solving the legitimate problems that arise for certain vulnerable children in a remote learning arrangement. I also am extremely concerned by the non-answers that seem to appear in every FAQ. What I would really like to address is from the parent's perspective and the issue of "choice." Our officials keep touting this "choice" that parents have. Here is the choice that I am making as a single parent and teacher: do I send my child to live with his grandma in another county and sign him up for virtual schoolhigh? anxiety schooling experience where protocol makes it seem like a jail and where he may bring home a frightening virus whose long-term effects on children and adults alike are unknown? In other words, I am a teacher who is actually considering giving my child temporarily to another family memberjust to keep him out of school buildings, which I don?t believe are going to be safe, because I work in them and know how unrealistic the plans are. As a teacher I am in strong disagreement with the approach that is being taken but will deal with whatever happens and do the best for my students that I can. As a parent I am angry that this is the choice I am having to ?3 consider for my son. I encourage the folks reading this survey to also check out this article, which suggests that the "choice" model is actually one of unintended inequity for many, and addresses some issues that apply to our family and my child, and certainly others. schools-is-a bout-equity-why-a rent-we?listening-to?those? most-impacted-a1ca6fab8506 8/8/2020 Parent, Adopted mother Monongali Mylan Park I think the schools are not ready to handy our children 12:37:02 a Elementary safely. No way is the bus even safe. My son will be home with me. If he would bring it home. It would not be good for us. We are in our 50?s. I have no immune system. Keep him safe at home! 8/8/2020 Teacher Monongali Suncrest Middle I do not feel that schools are safe for children or teachers. I 12:38:08 3 School am a teacher and given my current class numbers 1 will not be able to safely social distance children even at 3 feet apart. Data shows that children ages 10 and up can be and spread the virus readily. Monongalia County is a hot spot and approximately 50% of cases are ages 20-29 with approximately 15% of the county cases in the age group 10-19 and I teach 8th grade. I believe that schools should be entirely remote until there has been a 14 day decline in cases within our county. When we went remote in March we had no cases at all. From July 8 - Aug 8 the state has gained approximately 3000 cases and Monongalia county has gained approximately 500 cases. Why would we go back to in person learning under those conditions? I also feel that if we are remote that teachers should be permitted to teach from home if they wish to. Other professionals are permitted to work from home. Teachers are professionals also and should be treated as such and with respect. At this point in time I feel more (N. disrespected than I have ever felt as a teacher. I am considering changing professions and I am still 2 years from retirement. i also know quite a few teachers who, if we are required to go back to in person learning, will immediately retire and I know other teachers who are already applying forjobs in other professions. 8/8/2020 12:38:21 Teacher Monongali a Mylan Park Elementary School I am a related arts teacher who would be in contact with upwards of 120 children every single day. If I am exposed in one class, I could potentially spread it to the entire school within one week. I also have an infant at home who will be watched by my older, immunocompromised parents because we are not comfortable enrolling her in day care at the present time. We cannot risk exposing my baby or her grandparents to CoVid-19 in any capacity. My father and father?in-law in particular have many health problems that put them at an incredibly high risk of both catching and dying from the virus. I love my school and my students (all 450 of them), but I cannot compromise my entire life for an avoidable situation. 8/8/2020 12:42:37 Legal Guardian, Grandparent, Service Personnel Monongali a UHS Eastwood. Cheat lake. St Francis The virus is spreading at a high rate. It will not be safe. We are not a science experiment. Many are going home to compromised love ones. My husband and I being two of them. There must first be a 14 day decline plus all the guidelines. Making masks only for 9 and up is homicidal. Listen to the scientists not politicians. Shame on you 8/8/2020 12:55:51 Parent, Teacher Ohio Ohio It is not safe to increase exposure in a school building safely aa we cannot correctlt social distance and children have a difficultvtime keeping masks on. lam worried to bring this home to my child with medical concerns. 8/8/2020 13:05:50 Parent, Teacher Monongali a MHS, UHS, CB, MTEC I don't trust the WVDE to safeguard my health, or the health of my students during this pandemic. The CDC's guidelines keep getting 'watered down' and even our own county cannot 'guarantee' that the recommendations will be adhered to. The 'metrics' used to justify the return of A) face-to-face instruction have been manipulated to fit the Trump political narrative. lam concerned about accessing sufficient personal protective equipment and even cleaning/disinfecting supplies for teaching in?person. I don't think social distancing and mask recommendations will be followed. The students who have parents that think that COVID is a 'hoax' or that wearing a mask 'violates their rights' will not be compliant in following guidelines and will endanger the health and safety of other students and staff. I am concerned about the HVAC systems in our buildings as they frequently malfunction and are in need of repair/replacement. have chronic health issues that put me in the CDC's high risk category for developing serious complications if I contract COVID, and I know of several other teachers and staff members who are in the same situation. We also have many students who have underlying health diagnoses that places them at high risk for complications if they contract COVID. Children CAN and D0 get COVID and according to the American Academy of Pediatrics nearly 100,000 children tested positive for the coronavirus just in the last two weeks ofJuly. Somehow our country has normalized the fact that over 1200 people are dying of this virus DAILY and according to actual experts epidemiologists, virologists, etc.) our number of positive cases, deaths, and long-haulers left with serious health issues from COVID is increasing daily. There are at least 4,895,868 cases of coronavirus in the US as of this date (August 8, 2020), and at least 160,255 people have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University. It is projected that we could see 300,000 deaths by December. Do you really want students, teachers, staff, and all their families to be part of those statistics? 8/8/2020 13:26:44 Parent, Teacher Monongali a University High School Science does not support placing people in crowded indoor spaces where mask wearing will be a constant issue. I am at (. risk of contracting this disease when in that situation. Many members in my household are at a high risk of serious, potentially deadly, side effects if they contract this disease from me. I do not want to be the reason someone dies. 8/8/2020 13:27:09 Parent Hancock Weir High Scook I feel there are too many parents and grandparents and other community members impacted by close association with students. Personally, one student or staff death or severe illness connected to community spread through school is too many. This virus has impacted WV citizens across the age spectrum. Nationwide, children are becoming ill or spreading it. In recent days, a 6 year old and 9 year old have died from it. We have old buildings and expect teachers to just deal with it under normal times. If that is what is done when budgets are tight, what do you expect local school boards to do now in a crisis? I personally have been asked to buy cleaning wipes and tissues in a regular school season. Good luck trying to find wipes and Lysol now. Moreover, this should not be on teachers and parents to provide. Crowded hallways and poor ventilation are just Petri dishes using students and staff lungs as agar plates for Covid 19 and that is unacceptable. Did you see schools in GA and TN having to go virtual as staff and students force shut downs due to spread? WV needs to stay ahead of the game and put the Covid 19 fire out for good instead of trying to start and stop fires in every county as it spreads. 8/8/2020 13:34:31 Parent, Grandparent, Service Personnel Harrison Simpson We do not have adequate space to social distance. I question the ventilation in our building as there have been some mold issues. Numbers are going up instead of down and it?s not safe. My grandson has a chronic illness which would make him more at risk for the virus. I have high blood pressure, diabetes and pulmonary hypertension. I am 58 and can?t retire just yet. Please do not ask me to go into a small classroom with 23 children at this time. I love my job. I can?t tell you how hard it?s going to be to socially distance 5 year olds. You can?t. They want to touch and share everything which is what play based learning is all about. Also my husband and I have 2 daughters. My youngest daughter passed away in 2012. have 1 living daughter who is a Special Needs teacher here in our county. Please do not risk her health or her life unnecessarily when we can teach remotely. I can't bear the thought of losing her or any of my 4 grandchildren who are in elementary and middle school. Please I'm asking as a mother, grandmother and employee to wait on reopening in person school until there is a cure for this virus. Do not risk the lives of our students and educators when things can be done safely. Thank you! Catherine Lyon 8/8/2020 13:37:21 Parent, Grandparent, Service Personnel Harrison Washington Irving Middle School I believe that social distancing rules will be impossible to enforce in any school setting in spite of best intentions. West Virginia's own Dr Clay Marsh said that covid19 is 50 times more deadly than the flu. One of my coworker' husband is a bus driver. This will give our kitchen even more exposure to covid19. He was also exposed to covid19 on the Harrison summer crew recently. He has showed no but was not quarantined, not tested, and was required to return to work. Once I return to work, I will not be able to go near my pregnant daughter or granddaughter for fear of making them all sick. My partner has epilepsy and recently had a brain surgery. If he contracted covid19 it would very likely kill him or cause irreparable neurological damage. ldon't fear for myself, only for loved ones I can possibly infect once I return to work. I will gladly pack lunches all day long without students in the building. I will not feel comfortable with students being in our very old and under-ventilated school building until there have been 14 consecutive days with no new reported covid 19 cases in our county. 8/8/2020 13:57:07 Pa rent Kanawha Elk Elementary Center, Herbert Hoover Schools will inevitably close again. Children may die. It's simply not worth the risk. 8/8/2020 14:01:26 Parent, Teacher Harrison Nutter Fort Elementary I as a parent and teacher have many concerns. Starting with our in service days moving on to students returning to the classroom. In regards to in service days how is it going to be safe to have a whole school staff in the same room for meetings that are scheduled to last several hours, but are required to be in compliance with state policy. Then we will be required to have so many meetings in grade level teams again together in person for several hours. Yes, smaller group but still at least 14 people together. In regards to students starting back it is said that class sizes will be smaller with students moving to virtual learning, but how if teachers will be taking those positions for virtual instruction? On top of that how are we going to keep students seated and separated all day long? With teachers moving around assisting individual students even with recommended seating charts that teacher has the potential to infect an entire classroom if he or she becomes infected by one student or by other means. It has also not been completely answered how things will be handled if a student/ teacher test positive for the virus. Will everyone be quarantined and tested. If it was a student who rode the bus will all the students including the bus driver be quarantined and tested? Will the whole school he closed and sanitized. If a teacher becomes infected how will the teacher/family be compensated? How will his or her classroom be managed. How will subs who will be in and out of different schools who could become moving carriers be handled? How will we have enough subs in general with most being retired teachers and high risk to fill vacancies with teachers who are resigning and or requesting a leave of absence. How are cleaning supplies going to he promised when healthcare facilities are still struggling to keep in cleaners? Why are teachers being forced back, and being made to work from their classrooms on days where they won't even have students while government offices state and federal remain closed with the employees working from home. If our governor is so ready to send us back then shouldn't those offices be open too? How are we to keep students in masks when adults won't even wear them? 8/8/2020 14:02:06 Parent, Teacher Harrison Simpson Elementary, Bridgeport Middle, Nitter Fort Primary My husband is older and has health issues. We are concerned about bringing Covid 19 home to him. Additionally, I am concerned for my own health. Should I contract the virus and even have mild who is to say that my long term quality of life will not be compromised? My kids need me to be here and to be healthy for them as long as I possibly can. School buildings are not engineered to allow for what is being asked. In fact, school buildings are crafted to get as many in and out each day as possible. That in and of itself is cause for alarm and how inadequate our facilities are for face to face instruction right now. I am certain that you as board members are receiving a r. great deal of pressure to reopen as close to normal as possible. However, the pressure you feel now will pale in comparison to the guilt that will weigh heavy on you for allowing us to go back before it?s truly safe. Grandparents will be lost, families torn apart and experiencing tremendous emotional and physical pain, long term health effects for children and adults who contract Covid 19, the devaluing of educators whose hands this should've been in all along, the scars left on public education for years to comeimperative that we start remotely and that we give our professionals and service personnel the green light to prepare for temporary online learning. When given time, they will be the ones that can make this more successful for families. The choice is clear and you have a responsibility to all of us. 8/8/2020 14:16:53 Parent, Grandparent Barbour Philippi Elementary Philippi Middle Philip Barbour High schools There is no possible way you can social distant theses kids in school or on buses. You are never going to be able to keep masks on the smaller children. You are going to end up with teachers sick,grandparents sick then where do you go! So many kids in foster care now and not enough homes for them and then we put a lot of these people in jeopardy. Put off face to face until the second semester and in the mean time figure out how to teach these children the best way we know how instead of this going around in circles. We are better than this! 8/8/2020 14:35:35 Parent, Grandparent, Teacher, Candidate for House of Delegates 38 Kanawha Saint Albans High School Too many unanswered questions about the potential for outbreaks and plans for WHEN that happens. 8/8/2020 14:41:15 Pa rent Kanawha Capital High, Ruffner Elementary I am 49 years old and in very good health but my husband is 67 and suffers from high blood pressure and obesity. My son (who's 9) can barely keep a mask on to run into the .3 Dollar Store to pick out a toy, much less a whole day of school. He does not have the mental capacity to remember to social distance every time he gets close to someone or they get close to him. He's a kid. Period. And, as a Biology/Chemistry person, I know that this virus lS dangerous for kids. They DO carry it. They DO get sick. And I don't want my kids or my husband to face this illness or, God forbid, death. 8/8/2020 14:42:13 Parent Mercer PVMS PVHS To many new cases each day. 8/8/2020 14:47:54 Parent, Kinship Relationship cabe" Ona Elementary and Cabell Midland First, we have immunocompromised people in our family. One of which is my mother who primarily cares for my cousin with my help, I am afraid she will get sick. Without her he would be in a home where his mother struggles with addiction and a bad relationship. Also, those who have returned in other states have tested positive, with many being gravely ill. 8/8/2020 14:51:17 Parent Kanawha Sissonville Elm, Flinn Elementary I don?t feel like Kanawha county schools is ready to go back to school with the daily cases keep going up. As a parent that has three children that has plans the only reasonable option is to send my kids to school so they can get their one on one therapies. I don?t want my children to get behind but I also have a fear that my children could possibly come in contact with the virus and as a parent this scares me beyond belief. As a parent This was one of the hardest choices I had to make. 8/8/2020 14:52:10 Parent, Teacher Berkeley Valley View Elementary My classroom is so small (I don?t teach at Valley View, my kids attend school there) and I cannot socially distance my 18-25 students per class safely. Last year we were tripping over backpacks it is so close. We could all stay safe by learning online until our numbers go down or there is a way to treat the virus better. 8/8/2020 14:53:41 Counselor Greenbrier Greenbrier West High School I don?t support not going back in counties that can do so safely. I think our students are at greater risk of harm in homes they are being neglected, abused, raped, and the list goes on. More often than not our students are only ?safe? at school. With social distancing measures in place they are safer at school than roaming the streets or piled up with drug users, or even babysitters while parents work! School should open to students for the well-being of the child in areas that aren?t hot spots, again, with appropriate social distancing measures in place! 8/8/2020 14:53:56 Teacher CabeH Milton Middle School I do not think our schools will be prepared to observe the proper safety precautions. Students will not be required to wear masks. Schools are inherently unable to provide social distancing. Finally, it looks as though most cleaning and sanitizing will fall on the teacher. Our plate is already overflowing. 8/8/2020 14:56:13 Parent Monongali a Sky view lam the parent of a Syo and a 2yo. My spouse is a teacher in our county. Like many families in WV, we rely on a grandparent to help with child care for both of our children while we are working outside our home. This grandparent is at severe risk of complications or death if she were to contract Covid-19. I worry not only for the health of the grandparent but ask for the implication that could occur if my Syo were to become sick and infect grandparent, and then grandparent were to die. Would my child blame herself for the grandparent?s death? How would my Syo feel if her younger brother were to be infected after she brought the illness home from school? This is a terrible responsibility to be placed on the shoulders of children in our state.lt is simply not safe to be sending our children to school in the middle of a pandemic. My Syo is to begin kindergarten, and while I desperately want for her to have a ?typical? kindergarten experience, socializing and laying the foundation for years of schooling, it is not safe. Five-yr-olds are not capable of wearing a mask for an entire school day, nor are they capable of maintaining social distance which simply is not possible in most classrooms. I worry for the mental health of children, unable to socialize, but there is not going to be an let ?normal socializing" at school this year. How damaging is it for very young children to be told all day ?to keep back from friends?? What long-term impact does that have for our youngest learners? Remote learning places a personal, professional, and some financial strain on our family, but it is certainly worth the struggle to ensure that my child and my spouse both Students, teachers, and staff should not have to pay for the re-opening of our economy with their lives. 8/8/2020 15:06:03 Parent, Teacher Wood Hamilton Middle/ Neale Elementary Every member of my family, my parents, siblings and niece, who are my support system as a single parent, are compromised. I will have to be separated from my daughter in order to keep them all safe. Schools have done nothing to fix ventilation systems. It?s being left up to principals to come up with individual school plans to keep students safe and that is an unfair position to put them in. Our school system is wanting to put one group of students one day, and a second one the next. We are to both walk students to class changes, move rooms ourselves, and clean desks and sanitize between classes. We aren't being provided sneeze guards, and must purchase them ourselves. The fire codes make that more difficult and more expensive. We haven?t been given time or adequate instructions to prepare and we are expected to make everything online. There's still been no mention of students under third grade wearing masks and to make matters worse, the State Covid Czar, Dr. Marsh actually cited old articles claiming younger children were less likely to contract the virus which is, to my mind, tantamount to lying to the public. Our leaders are risking our lives for political support. Schools are not safe right now and there?s (1 no way to make them so right now. It's not fair to ask or expect people to risk their lives for what is really just another way to open the economy. 8/8/2020 15:07:24 Teacher CabeH VOBE I teach in a low incidence special education classroom. The majority of my students are severely autistic, and I have some that are intellectually delayed. My students are not going to wear masks. They are not going to "social distance?. They put EVERYTHING in their mouths. They don?t cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze. And most importantly, they constantly come to school sick! I don't see how I can safely run my classroom when we are literally elbow deep in bodily fluids on a daily basis. I am an older teacher who was looking forward to retirement in three years, and now I worry I won?t make it there. I also have medically vulnerable family members that I would like to keep around. I do not feel safe going into the classroom under these conditions and remote until things settle down!! 8/8/2020 15:09:18 College Professor CabeH Statewide Teacher Education There is so much uncertainty on the Safety of all but the students will continue to fall behind because the Virtual School infrastructure is not ready to handle the situation. 8/8/2020 15:14:25 Teacher Raleigh Daniels Elementary Every day I hear of more teenagers in my community testing positive. We have no guarantee that children who are sent home sick will be required to be tested before they may return to school. I teach approximately 400 students (200 each day, with a revolving schedule) and some of my students will not be required to wear masks. I have been very careful with quarantining myself, I have not been inside a grocery store since March 13th, but now I am about to be forced into contact with several hundred people a day. 8/8/2020 15:17:52 Parent Monongali a Suncrest Elementary My child is afraid to go into the school building with the virus around. She does not want her friends, teaches, or her family to get sick or worse die. She keeps saying she wants to be safe. She is okay with remote learning like what was done in the spring where she can zoom with her teacher and classmates but all are safe. She wants so badly to go back to school but not until the virus is gone. I do NOT want my child in a building while a pandemic is occuring in our country. We would like distance learning with the county at least for the fall semester. If the virus is gone by spring then have the children back in the building. My child will be starting kindergarten this fall and with state laws it is making it hard for us to make a decision while also having the opportunity to go back to school once this is all done. We have to be smart and safe. It is better to be over prepared then underprepared. We need to be cautious of how we act and it should not ever be a debate of deciding to put our children, our future and the staff that's works there in a dangerous position. 8/8/2020 Parent, Teacher Cabell Village of False sense of security and safety, lack of teacher training, 15:19:51 Barboursville lack of class size reductions, lack of social distancing on the bus 8/8/2020 Parent, Grandparent, Putnam Winfield As we have witnessed already, schools who have already 15:20:03 Speech pathologist opened have experienced positive cases and subsequently had to shut down. There is no reason to believe that West Virginia will be any different. Anyone who has spent any time in a school knows that physical distancing and mask wearing guidelines are impossible to implement and enforce. I work in an elementary school with 650 children. In a typical school year we cannot get past the first week of school without a few cases of head lice, vomit in the hallways, and many cases of upper respiratory infections. Again, that?s just in the first week of school in atypical non-pandemic year. We need a safer plan - a consistent "If/Then" plan for all West Virginia schools. We may be too late to implement something like this for the first semester but there?s plenty (K. of time to implement an If/Then plan for the winter. If children?s mental health, medical care, and social services and economic recovery are the biggest concern with schools operating on a face to basis then those services need to be moved out of schools anyway. Schools can no longer bear the burden of Society?s ills. We cannot feed, clothe, provide medical care, mental health services, social services, behavioral services, after school daycare. Our communities need to step up and reclaim their responsibility for taking care of their citizens. When those burdens are lifted from our West Virginia public schools, perhaps teachers will be able to focus on actual teaching. Perhaps our test scores will go up. In the meantime, opening schools for in person learning is reckless and shortsighted. Remote learning is the safest learning. 8/8/2020 15:20:31 Speech Pathologist Putnam Lakeside I don?t think there is enough being done to provide for the safety of students or staff. If the Governor can?t have in- person press conferences because it is not yet safe to do so, we shouldn?t be sent back to school as sacrificial lambs. Our lives are not expendable. 8/8/2020 15:28:46 Parent Monongali a Morgantown high school I feel there is a lack of space and planning. I also feel it is irresponsible to send children into an environment they could become seriously ill in when we have viable options such as remote learning that will most likely need implemented anyways due to outbreaks. 8/8/2020 15:45:31 Parent, Teacher Putnam Poca Elementary I don't feel that it is safe to go back into the school building yet for Putnam county because our daily cases are still rising. For counties who have no active cases, I understand beginning school, but for those who have rising amounts, i feel like we will see a huge increase in cases when the kids are back together. 8/8/2020 15:46:37 Parent Mason County New Haven Elementary I prefer to begin with remote learning and transition to the classroom only after 14 days of no new cases in our county. ,3 If I choose virtual school I do not know how my daughter will progress since she uses special education services. In the spring her teacher and myself communicated daily to minimize regression. I cannot guarantee this with virtual school. However woth remote I believe we can monitor better and she will transition to the classroom with the same teacher that has followed her from the beginning. 8/8/2020 Teacher Lewis Jane Lew County has not taken steps to provide proper PPE 15:46:42 Elementary equipment, plexiglass barriers, cleaning supplies. They have not planned for social distanced classroom or buses. It seems like there is little or no direction from the county level. It is being left up to teachers to come up with their own plans. 8/8/2020 Parent Berkeley Mount Ridge The short answer is that schools are not ready for us to be 15:53:38 Middle; Mountain back. Pressure from groups of people is putting children at Ridge risk. I have pulled my daughter out to homeschool and my Intermediate son will be doing Click. Even this is a hard decision for me. There is not guidance on how schools will operate virtually or in person, facts have been manipulated to meet the presses needs, and safety concerns are not being addressed from parents or staff. This is the first year where I am gravely concerned for the safety in the buildings. 8/8/2020 Parent, Teacher Wood Jackson Middle I can only space students out 3 feet apart when they come 15:55:12 and Parkersburg at 50 percent capacity. 50 I can seat 14 students at 3 feet. High School I have been told that I have to find a way to allow them to eat breakfast safely at 3 feet apart without dividers. Fire Marshall told my husband that only lexsand is allowed to be used as dividers and it is $90 a sheet. I have been told there is no money for this and I am left to figure out how to distance 5 feet so they can eat breakfast. Business provide a safe place to eat for their employees. Our faculty area can only seat 2 and socially distance so we are left to3at at are desks in our classrooms where students have been all day. This is not safe. 8/8/2020 15:55:55 Grandparent, Teacher Cabell HMS, HHS I am not confident that the precautions discussed will keep me or my grandchildren safe from this virus. I believe we are moving entirely too fast toward 5-day face to face instruction. Recent news stories about schools that have attempted to open also support this view. No in-building instruction until we have at least 14 days of no new 8/8/2020 15:57:15 Service Personnel Kanawha Horace mann I take care of my elderly mother and my live in boyfriend is a dialysis patient I'm scared of bringing something to them 8/8/2020 16:02:24 Student Mason Hannan I'm not ready to go back because I'm not comfortable going back into the classroom, because of how long the virus can stay on something. Also, people won't know they have corona virus until they start showing By then, it may be too late because you may have contaminated a large part of the school, where everyone hangs out. I'm in a compromised family and I don't think we should risk it for the biscuit. have anxiety and don't want to feel terrified if I got it (COVID) because I would be super stressed and worrying about not dying. I mean, we should be going to school, but right now it's dangerous. We keep spiking and I really don't fee like we should be going anywhere. I really think we should have no diagnosed cases for at least a week before we came back to school at all. Even then, no cases can be a matter of dumb luck. Or, it could be that people are wiping off packages and mail and groceries. A lot of people are not wearing masks out and that's not safe at all. It's hard to get sick if you're taking the necessary precautions, but not a lot of people are. I think maybe if the government were stricter, not like you can't leave your house or anything, but strict like making sure buildings are clean and people wear masks would be helpful. Maybe masks in public places. But I just don't think we are ready. 8/8/2020 16:07:22 Parent, Teacher Raleigh Independence High, Middle Poor ventilation, no vaccine, not enough safety protocols in the schools ?0 Ridgeview Elementary 8/8/2020 Legal Guardian, brooke BROOKE WE ARE GRANDPARENTS WITH FULL CUSTODY. WE HAVE A 16:08:47 Grandparent HANDICAPPED NIECE WHO ALSO LIVES WITH US. MY HUSBAND IS 70 I AM 68 WITH UNDERLYING HEALTH CONCERNS. WE WILL NOT SEND OUR GRANDDAUGHTER BACK UNTIL THIS VIRUS IS UNDER CONTROL. IF WE WOULD GET THE VIRUS IT WOULD BE A DEATH SENTENCE AND WHO WOULD CARE FOR OUR 2 8/8/2020 Parent Cabell Barboursville I don't feel like it's safe yet to return to school. When kids 16:10:02 Middle School got let out of school in March we had little to no cases. Yet school was closed down. Now the cases keep rising and we can safely go back?!? I don't feel that it can absolutely 100% safely be done. Why not start out how we ended the school year with remote learning. Then reevaluate in January and see where we stand. These kids aren't going to leave their masks on. My son can't keep it on for 5 min without ta king it off. This virus is going to spread like wildfire when schools reopen. What happens if a student or teachers tests positive? Does the whole school shut down? Do the families of the students that attend that school have to quarantine? So now do their siblings that attend other schools also have to quarantine? What about that siblings classmates? It's a cycle of risk. It's to risky at the moment to try to send them back. There are to many unknowns. It also worries me that my son could bring it home to his elderly grandparents or his father who has severe asthma. It's just not a wise idea for children to return at the moment. Plus those poor teachers. They should be paid at least double their salary for doing double the work. They won't even have time for their families while trying to figure out how to teach kids in the classroom and remotely. Is the school system going to be able to without a doubt supply enough sanitizing wipes, (a sanitizer, lysol, and all other cleaning supplies they will need? Us parents can?t find it anywhere so how will the teachers get it? That's just a few of my concerns. 8/8/2020 16:11:28 Parent, Teacher, Teacher spouse Pleasants St. Marys Elementary School, St. Marys High School, Pleasants County Middle School Students and staff in our county will be returning to four days of in person instruction. Class sizes are not reduced. There are no additional bus runs to allow for social distancing. I asked my principal about desk dividers and was told that none were available due to expense and lack of materials. K-2 students, the grades I work with, are not required to wear masks. My school routinely begins the year with the air conditioning not working. Last year, used four fans in my room to make it tolerable, but not comfortable. I assume that fans will not be allowed this year. My son attends the newest building in the county, and part of the building had no air conditioning last August and September. Do we have adequate air exchange? Have the HVAC systems been evaluated by independent professionals? My husband is not quite a five year cancer survivor. My 84 father with congestive heart failure does not live with us, but relies and me and my husband for many things. My family did not take a vacation. We avoided many family gatherings. My son did not travel the region and state to play in golf tournaments, unlike the rest of the team. You will not find my family in the stores for no reason - we go in, get what we came for, and get out. We wear our masks. The county board of education meets virtually and the state board of education has no public in person participation. The governor holds his press conferences virtually. They need to lead by example then. If it is safe to resume in person instruction, then it is safe enough for them to conduct meetings as normal. I had a TELEPHONE conference with the lawyer to get my will and living will updated. It is safe for me to be in a room with students, but not safe for me to meet one on one with a 3 lawyer. The cashier at our local grocery store has a plexiglass divider between the cash register and the customers. There are no barriers at my school. I miss working with my students, but I did not sign up to die or take a deadly virus home to my family. Public schools cannot contain outbreaks of the flu, strep, and lice. Sometimes, we do not even have soap in the restrooms. Are we prepared to deep clean? The high school where my son attends has the same number of lunch periods as before, but are keeping the cafeteria at 50% capacity. What are the other students going to do? I am asking about virtual school for my son, but cannot get clear answers from the administrators. I am considering a leave of absence. The school system has had months to prepare for a remote start and did not do anything but plan for an unsafe in person reopening. Schools need to remain with remote learning until there are at least two weeks of no new cases. Then, schools should ease in to in person learning with reduced days on campus and reduced people on campus. It is just unsafe to reopen like nothing is wrong. lam terrified! 8/8/2020 16:12:57 student (maybe) Mason Roosevelt No, I won't be safe because of COVID. No more volunteers. I would feel probably a little safe, maybe, because corona monsters could still see us. I would really like to stay home because home is a beautiful place and we don't have corona. Maybe if we cut corona in half with a chainsaw, but we can't see it, so maybe we shouldn't use a chainsaw because we might cut ourself. We should always wear a mask when we go to school when quarantine is out. 8/8/2020 16:12:58 Teacher Berkeley Rather not say I am happy to go back, but I'm concerned that my duty-free lunch will be from 7:15 to 7:45 in the morning. Also, we were told we may have no planning time some days. How will we go to the bathroom? And finally, we were told yesterday by our principal that we will be teaching both r? click and brick on the same day from one class to the next. However, we were originally told we would be either click or brick not both. How can this expectation possibly be fulfilled? 8/8/2020 Parent, Disability Advocate Wood Parkersburg South My youngest daughter is 18 years and is a Senior. She has 16:16:26 (personal) Schools Down as well as multiple autoimmune disorders statewide and a history of chronic upper respiratory health issues. In (Advocate) a normal times, her overall school year "health status is typically determined by how the first couple of months ago. If she goes down at the beginning of the year due to early exposure to germs in school, it is usually a very, very dif?cult year for her as it is difficult for her to recover and bounce back. I am terrified of sending her back into a building where she will be walking the halls with who may not comply with guidelines, lack of space to appropriately social distance, the possibility of her being in classes with others who are unable to wear a mask for a legitimate reason, lack of a plan for quarantining individual students or entire classes when someone in the school or a family member tests positive, insufficient quantities and types of cleaning supplies, etc. In addition, because she has another condition that could require hands on assistance in very close proximity to her face if a flare of her vertigo would happen within the school, I am fearful of accidental exposure by someone who may be trying to help her. On a totally different note, my oldest daughter is an education major at a local community college that has determined that it is not safe for the students to receive their education on campus and has moved all college courses to a remote setting. Because the schools are going to be opened however, on September 8th, they are still going to require her to go into an elementary school to do her observation for her college course. Not only will she be at risk of exposure herself, she will be at risk of bringing it into our home which we have fiercely protected since March because of her sister. If colleges that adults do not believe it is safe to have them in the building, then how can it possibly be safe for her to go into an elementary school where children are not required to wear a mask in the younger grades? 8/8/2020 Parent, Grandpa rent Berkeley Mill Creek and Health issues for entire family!! Adults won?t wear masks, 16:16:40 Musselman High why would you think their children will?! Not enough cleaning supplies and to many people in confined 8/8/2020 Teacher Kanawha Herbert Hoover I am the only teacher who teaches at my high school. 16:21:42 High School Who gets to teach eLearning and who teaches face to face? Will factors besides seniority and doctors' notes be considered? What about common sense? I can do my job from the safety of my own home without risking my family's lives. Will I be responsible for teaching all students both ways? What about expectant teachers who are immunocompromised due to pregnancy? How will my six rotating classes of 120+ students socially distance? Even if high schools go on block schedule, there will still be 3-4 groups of up to 30 students at one time entering and exiting my classroom and staying there for over an hour. Who monitors students while teachers disinfect between classes and how? What additional duties beyond the scope of ourjob description will we be asked to do? Will we be responsible for eTeaching and In person learning? What will our work hours be? Will there be hazard pay? If parents think that science is a political hoax and pass that misbelief onto their children, then how can I trust that their will abide by CDC safety measures? What happens when students cough ?Corona" on each other or refuse to wear masks in class? If even just one student in each class simultaneously misbehaves with Corona concerns, how will administration handle discipline? Will they send unsafe students back into the classroom? How can we rely on there being enough disinfectant wipes when there is a national shortage until summer 2021? My parents are both cancer survivors and over 65 years old. I refuse to risk their lives and the life of my unborn child by returning to unsafe working conditions and potentially killing them from complications of the coronavirus. If it is unsafe for the public to enter doctors' offices, banks, or state and local government press conferences, then it certainly is unsafe for school to resume. Schools were closed indefinitely when we had zero cases. And now with surges in cases and deaths they're going to be wide open! I love my job, but I love my family more, and I'll do whatever it takes to reduce the risk of exposing my family to this virus. 8/8/2020 Teacher Berkeley Opequon I have many concerns about returning to school. The 16:26:09 elementary school largest worry I have is about how we are to adhere to safety guidelines and keep our students healthy and safe. I do not see how schools will be able to afford and implement the necessary changes to ensure health and safety. Schools do not have the funds for what we need to return safely. The WVDE has not come up with a comprehensive plan for our state to reenter schools or provide funds to do so; everything was put on the counties to figure out. There is not enough classroom space to distance the students, not enough instructional materials for every child to have their own, nor enough cleaning supplies. The prospective return date is fast approaching and so much is still unknown. How are we going to purchase face masks and cleaning supplies? Will staff he hired to bus students everywhere at staggered times? Will staff be hired to take temperatures? How will class sizes be made smaller so we can socially distance? Also, according to my school's plan, teachers will not get a duty free lunch until the end of the work day, since students cannot eat in the cafeteria. We are simply expected to risk our health, our families health, the further spread of Covid amongst children and their families, and also not eat for 8 hours each workday. It is not worth the risk. 8/8/2020 16:27:38 Parent, Teacher Hancock Weir Middle School I see over 180 kids a day with over 30 in a class typically. My classroom is overcrowded and my Windows only open 3-4 inches. There is not proper ventilation in most rooms either. My biggest concern is our ability to social distance..how am I supposed to keep 30+ kids 6 feet apart in a room where I barely can fit my desks? My biggest concern is what will happen if I am infected. I have two young sons, one is still a baby. There is little information about what covid can cause long term. In addition, my mother is a caregiver to my youngest child. She is 67 with a long list of health issues. If I get covid from work, she will undoubtedly be infected since she has my son 5 days a week. Without my mom, our family couldn?t function for a variety of reasons. I?m not sure if I could deal with myself if I was the person responsible for her being hospitalized or worse. Furthermore, my husband is a health care provider who sees a small population of patients. If I am infected, he will be too. In turn, he will pass that onto the people he sees and their families. The ripples from that are horrible to think about. There is no doubt in my mind that my risk is worse of any nurse at a hospital. I see over 180 kids a day. There contacts combined are so frightening. To say that I am r~ risking my life by going back to work is an understatement. If it weren?t for our health insurance, Iwouldn?t be returning to a job that I have loved for the last 12 years. am still on the fence on going back to be honest. We have had very little communication from our county and feel that my safety as a teacher is not a priority at the moment. If we were to start School remotely, I would feel much safer and would do my best to provide an education to my students. As of right now even on a hybrid schedule, I still think the risk is far greater than any reward. 8/8/2020 Parent, Teacher Kanawha Horace Mann My husband works in healthcare with the elderly, and my 16:30:03 Middle and family of five has chosen to hunker down since March. We Ruffner are cautious, and we do not want to be a negative impact Elementary on society. Kanawha County Schools are having us return without a plan. There is no clear plan for what happens when a student or teacher tests positive. There is no plan for how to ensure students will wear masks. There is no clear plan to socially distance. i lack confidence that schools will be able to get the PPE they are promising, including cleaning supplies and masks. My biggest fear is not that we will bring it home and get sick (although we are updating our wills in case of prolonged sickness or death), but that my family will be the ones responsible for an outbreak at my husband's nursing home. We as a family have chosen to take every step possible to protect ourselves and his patients. Entering school without a proper plan, without temperature checks, without proper ventilation, could mean that our choices to live basically in quarantine for the past five months would all be in vain. ,1 I love myjob, and I love my students. I do not want them to be in harm's way. 8/8/2020 Parent Berkeley SMP, Marlowe, Allowing one positive case is too many. Too many people 16:33:18 Potomack, SMM beaching right before school 8/8/2020 SLP Marion Fairview I?m concerned because I have underlying conditions and I 16:38:17 work up close with student?s especially when providing articulation therapy. Will my student be required to wear their masks? Will there be enough cleaning supplies to wipe down my area after every student I see in a day? Will I be allowed to work remotely with my students, due to having underlying conditions? What is the protocol for instances of Covid in my school? I haven't heard enough details to feel like I?m going to be safe. 8/8/2020 Grandparent, Service Berkeley Martinsburg High I am in my 32nd year at MHS 68 years old and I do not feel 16:39:24 Personnel School and safe returning to school. Our enrollment is 1436 students Orchard and 120 faculty and staff. I am high risk due to my age, my Intermediate daughter is a counselor at the school and her immune system is compromised as she does not have a spleen. My grandson is in 5th grade. He has asthma. 8/8/2020 Parent, Teacher Monongali Suncrest feel that schools are not following the CDC guidelines- 16:40:02 3 Elementary such as no face to face school until there are 14 Morgantown High Consecutive days of no or declining community cases of Covid-19. I am concerned about HVAC issues. I am also concerned about quarantine issues. None of those issues have been answered in my opinion. 8/8/2020 Parent Marion Jayenne and West I have 5 children my youngest are twin girls who are 16:42:42 Fairmont Middle immune compromised. I feel with going back to school the School virus will spread throughout our communities even more and at a rapid rate like in other states and possible infect my children who might not be able to survive getting this virus. 8/8/2020 Parent Monongali Morgantown High There is no way to keep that many children away from each 16:43:10 a School other, I have two high schoolers and one that was supposed to go to Pre-k she is 4 years old and won?t leave (K. Mountainview Elementary a mask alone even if she does manage to leave it 0N. She has had respiratory issues since birth I cannot send her and that's fine since Pre-k is optional but I can?t send my high schoolers and have them bring it home to her/us. It seems to be affecting everyone differently. 8/8/2020 17:06:51 Parent, Teacher Berkeley Spring Mills High School, Berkeley Heights Elementary, and Orchard View Intermediate. My family has had covid, and we had a family member die from it. She was a teacher too. It has greatly affected our family. I?m not willing to risk our lives for education. I also know that the proper guidelines to keep us safe will be impossible to follow. Remote learning is the safest way to have school right now. 8/8/2020 17:07:32 Teacher kanawha Pinch, Anne Bailey. Dunbar primary, Grandview, Holz Elementaries I will be in 5 different school buildings and 38 separate classrooms. It puts me at a huge risk of contracting it or spreading it. 8/8/2020 17:10:55 Parent, Kinship Relationship, Grandparent, Teacher Hampshire Romney Elem. Grands at Romney Middle and Hampshire High. Daughter at Capon Bridge Middle My son is Dr. He says safeguards not enough or not doable. I?m 71 yo. Part time professional personnel. Did not get Unemployment bc get WV retirement 8/8/2020 17:19:10 Parent Harrison Lincoln Middle Kids, Teachers and Families should all be protected. We all have elderly family members and are just putting everyone in the line for the virus. There cannot be social distancing in a classroom. 8/8/2020 17:40:04 Parent, Grandparent, Service Personnel Lewis LCBOE Afraid of getting sick and the students also getting sick. All aforementioned can bring it in homes and pass covid along to others and possibly killing them. Its not safe! Out till 14 days of no covid in 8/8/2020 17:42:42 Parent, Teacher Putnam Winfield Middle, Scott Teays Elementary I am not sending my own boys to school due to the worry of them contracting this virus and potentially passing it to my 75 year old parents. I would rather remotely teach my students because I?m not confident I can keep them safe. The thought of losing a student or faculty member when it could be prevented makes no sense. Why are all state employees not back to work? Why would we risk students? actual lives due to concerns of their social well-being?! 8/8/2020 17:44:02 Teacher Washingto County, MD (I teachin Berkeley County, WV) Spring Mills High School It is not safe to return to in-person school, especially with all children returning 5 days per week, as is the plan in Berkeley County. Currently, the numbers at our school suggest a slight majority of students have chosen the ?brick? option, which means we could still have class sizes of 15+. (There has not been a release of data broken down by grade level, etc., so it's even impossible to know now how class size will actually be affected.) We have not received ANY information regarding the exact plan for keeping staff and children safe - only platitudes like ?we?re all in this together? from the head nurse for Berkeley and Jefferson Counties and the Berkeley County BOE. There is no guidance about exactly when self- quarantining because of exposure at school will be required. There is no guidance about exactly what the requirements at school will be - what is the max class size; how will the county and school ensure that my students (and colleagues) wear their masks; why are teachers the ones who will be required to assess students? health surveys and decide who needs to visit the nurse; why can?t bus drivers check temperatures PRIOR to a student getting on the bus, etc. These questions have been asked at board meetings, but have not been answered. Additionally, the ?sample? schedule provided by the BOE does not allow sufficient time for teacher restroom breaks, teacher lunches, and sanitizing between classes. I worry that my health does not matter at all to my county or the state of WV. I worry that I will put my family at risk, (K. even ifl change clothes before leaving school EVERY DAY and take showers that are too hot as soon as I get home EVERY DAY. I worry that children and families will not disclose their exposure to infected persons and that I will unknowingly bring home this disease to my partner, who is a cancer survivor. I worry that my own body cannot endure a round or several of COVID. I worry that my students will lose their grandparents to this disease because we re-opened too fast. We are better than this. There is no reason BCS and the state of WV cannot do what surrounding counties and states are doing and delay the face to face reopening of schools, except that it would not fit the governor?s agenda of destroying public schools. Children, families, and employees of the counties of WV deserve far better that this. 8/8/2020 17:45:06 Parent, Teacher Putnam Winfield Elementary, Middle and High How can you truly practice social distancing and do proper cleanliness of the facilities? If one gets sick it then will spread to the whole family! 8/8/2020 17:47:02 Parent, Teacher Berkeley Tomahawk I do not feel that we are ready to have students in the school building due to a lack of cleaning supplies, a lack of space for proper social distancing, and a lack of communicated information regarding best practice and procedures for in-person instruction and virtual instruction. 8/8/2020 17:56:43 Speech Pathologist CabeH Highlawn For months my coworkers and I were thrilled to start the 2020 school year in a brand new (and absolutely beautiful) building in Huntington, WV. However, due to the pandemic, my personal feelings have changed from excitement and pure happiness to fear, uncertainty, and many sleepless nights. I am 3 Speech Language Pathologist and this will be my 7th year in the county. lam currently 5 months pregnant with my ?rst child and do not feel safe being in a building daily with 300+ staff members and students. I refuse to put my life, my family?s lives, and especially my unborn son?s life in danger. It is evident that the majority of people do not truly know what a Speech Language Pathologist does. How many of you go to a job everyday where you?re inches away from a child?s mouth to help teach them to form a certain sound, practicing feeding therapy, providing therapy services to children with Autism who will refuse to wear a mask or won?t be able to keep one on due to his sensory disorder, working with children with cognitive impairments who won?t be able to understand why you must keep a mask on your face, etc. However, let me be clear, the fear of going back to work goes beyond myself. I worry about my coworkers who are in their 605 and 705, every child that walks through that building, the grandparents who take care of MANY of our children, and our staff with young children. I 100% believe that the best education we can provide to our students is done in the classroom. But it should never be done at the expense of a person?s life. I appreciate all the precautions that are being put in place; however, there is not enough PPE out there to 100% protect every school employee or child from this deadly virus. Please consider beginning the school year the safest way possible, which I believe is virtually. 8/8/2020 Parent Kanwaha Belle elementary Kids aren't safe 17:57:17 county school, Riverside high school 8/8/2020 Teacher Monongali MHS My mom is terminally ill and I help take care of her. One of 17:59:21 a her last joys in this life is spending time with me. When we return to school the situation is not safe enough for me to continue seeing her in person. I feel like I am losing my mom already, when I could be spending time with her still if we were remote teaching. My secondary concern is that I have asthma. I don?t want to choose between my health and qualify of life over my career. It feels devastating. There are many supported reasons for why it is not safe to return yet. 8/8/2020 Parent, Teacher Harrison Washington Irving Schedules for self contained students have not been 18:01:42 Middle, Liberty considered. I have all three middle school grade levels in a High self contained classroom. How am I to teach those face to face when I have other grade levels that are doing remote learning. If students are self contained all day, they should be coming to school with their classmates and also learning remotely at the same time. lam one person, individualizing instruction for students on multiple grade levels. What you are asking me to do is impossible with the current scheduling! 8/8/2020 Counselor Upshur BU middle school Our 100 year old building has extremely poor ventilation. 18:03:05 Small classrooms make it impossible to socially distance even 1/2 of a class. We ha a high number of students being raised by grparents and none of them should have to deal with the guilt of making their grandparents sick or die. 8/8/2020 Teacher Braxton Braxton County If school boards can't have in person meetings and Dollar 18:04:46 High school General stores are limited to 22 shoppers at a time, how can you justify 500 kids in the building, 25+ kids in a classroom? You can't say one is for safety, while the other is also safe. 0 active cases in our county or not, once school is in session the numbers everywhere will increase. Plus, what happens when students or faculty have to quarantine? There will be a lack of continuity between in class and remote. Let's all start remote or AT A learning.(2 days class, 3 days groups of students) 8/8/2020 Teacher Randolph Elkins Middle I am a teacher, but I am also in the high risk category for 18:05:12 School I have autoimmune struggles and am under the care of a rheumatologist. As part of my treatment plan, I am required to take an immune suppressant medication. This medication works to suppress my immune system so ?0 that it does not attack my healthy cells; However in doing so this means that I am more likely to get sick. I am constantly sick from November to April catching every case of cold, strep, and flu that goes around and this is with me wearing a mask and being obese with good hygiene. Yes, you head that wore a mask and still got sick. This is why I am terrified to begin the school year with my students in person. Do not misunderstand. I WANT to be with my students and I miss my students. I want to get back to school, but when it is SAFE for everyone. I am afraid that I will contract and I am not sure my body will handle it well when the flu knocked me down for an entire week (I had even had a flu shot). If we go back, I will be exposed to 600+ people a week. There?s an online metric that allows you to gauge your likelihood of coming into contact with the virus in your county depending on the number of people. For my county at 500 people the likelihood is Lastly, I just want to say how many students or teachers have to die before schools go remote? How many lives is too many? 8/8/2020 18:05:45 Teacher Jefferson Harpers Ferry Middle School The plan is not good enough, and it feels like no one cares about the health and safety of the teachers. In my county, we are going back 5 days a week and students will be released an hour early. This is supposed to count as our ?duty free" lunch and guaranteed planning-what a slap in the face! The plan says masks are required, but there is no clear direction on what will happen if a student refuses to wear one. The custodians, who barely had enough time before the pandemic to clean, are going to be trusted to sanitize the whole school?!? That is a scary thought. I just keep thinking, ?How many deaths will it take for the powers that be to put our safety first?? They have to know they hold our lives in their hands. r. 8/8/2020 18:23:35 Parent, Teacher Harrison Wilsonburg Elementary The lack of information, dissent between board members, and the outbreak in our school system before teachers even return is enough of a reason for me to say we should not return. Additionally, our county is requiring teachers to return in the building 5 days a week, and teachers with young children are totally out of childcare. Day cares in our area are full, not to mention that it is not in most of our budgets to provide full time childcare for our children. Working from home must be considered an option. 8/8/2020 18:32:28 Parent Berkeley Opequon Because we don?t have 3 Vaccine 8/8/2020 18:37:21 Parent, Teacher Ohio Triadelphia Steenrod The number of people testing positive for COVID are greater now than when we shut down in March, and they?re continuing to rise. The school in which i teach is the most populous in our county; it?s commonplace to have thirty students in a class for up to five periods a day. Even in following a hybrid model, where students would be divided into two groups with each group attending two days/week, that?s still too many students per class at any given time. I honestly feel like we?re preparing to go to battle on the frontlines of a war. I?m frightened, anxious, and scared to go back to school, and even more so to send my child. 8/8/2020 18:50:30 Legal Guardian, Grandparent, Service Personnel Mineral Frankfort Intermediate, Wiley Ford(cafeteria manager) I have full custody of my 2 granddaughters, ages 5 9. They want to go to school but they will only go when it is safe for them. I don't think it go in Walmart, look around, not everyone wears a mask. Not everyone is social distancing. how do you expect children to wear masks when the adults won't wear them? I do not want to lose either one of my granddaughters to this virus or myself for that matter. No school till it's safe!! 8/8/2020 19:03:11 Parent, Legal Guardian, Grandparent, Teacher Berkeley Spring Mills Berkeley county has a high amount of cases and are rising daily. It is impossible to practice social distancing in hallways, classrooms, and on buses with hundreds of kids in the school. Schools can?t afford materials teachers need as is let alone the mass amount of cleaning supplies that will be needed to properly disinfect the rooms between classes. Hospitals have a difficult time getting PPE for medical staff, how is the board going to get it for teachers, building staff, and bus drivers? Remote learning 0 line should be done in the beginning and a reassessment don't after 9 weeks to assess case numbers. If case numbers are down and no new cases have been identified for a 14 consecutive period then plan to open for in person instruction. 8/8/2020 Teacher Cabell Winfield I feel like we are not ready to go back to school because 19:03:19 Elementary - cases are still on the rise across the state and country. I Putnam County have immunocompromised loved ones that are also teachers that could be seriously harmed by COVID-19. 8/8/2020 Teacher Marion Suncrest middle My wife and I both have health issues. It is just not safe to 19:19:19 and Fairmont state return to the classroom. When Mr Justice is willing to have in person press conferences maybe we will feel better. Our own WVSSAC won't meet face to face yet we have contact sports and classrooms going face to face. Wanna see PEIA go up in price. Can we live with a student or colleague dying? 8/8/2020 Parent, Service Personnel Harrison South Harrison I am immune compromised, I take care of my elderly 19:35:16 High school grandparents my in laws are immune compromised. I do West Milford not feel safe health wise but I cannot quit my job as an Elementary Special Education Aide. I do not want anyone in my family to contact Covid while at school I cannot social distance from my students who have special needs. I'm also afraid because parents send students to school when sick do not answer the phone when we call to come get sick students. I do not feel safe do not want to send my children back to school. We are also looking into homeschooling our children. r. (.A, 8/8/2020 19:41:32 Parent, Grandparent, Substitute Webster Webster Springs Elementary Cases in WV still rising. spreading. Not enough safety procedures. Not enough testing available. Not enough sanitizing elements available. Bad ventilation. Students who don't take precautions. Families who travel. Travel with sports teams. I am retired teacher, parent of teacher, grandparent, and substitute. I, my husband, and son-in-law all have diagnosed health issues. I can protect 2 year old by providing child care. I can assist third grader with virtual school. I can't protect teacher daughter. 8/8/2020 19:47:19 Parent Berkeley Spring Mills High Simply put - if the rest of the state is not 100% open why in the world do you think it's a good idea to open the schools 100%. #useyournoodle 8/8/2020 19:55:35 Service Personnel Harrison Simpson Elementary Not worth risking one single life! I care for my grandson while his parents work nights. He was recently discharged from NICU on oxygen and has lung issues. 8/8/2020 19:58:01 Parent, Teacher Monongali a Suncrest Middle It's not realistic to keep schools closed. It's 2020. In fact, We can teach virtually and keep schools open all day, everyday. We have to think progressively and outside of how things have always been. I have worked at a school that lost 2 students to suicide 30 days apart. Trust me. Any loss of student life crushes a community. It's not a risk we can take, no matter what the numbers say. Physically, it's not safe to be in schools. Kids won't wear masks. We can't keep them apart. My classes are 90 minutes long - that's 6 times the "exposure" definition of 15 minutes. God forbid one of the 120 I have is positive. Will go to work, and my Little kids Will have to go back to daycare and we'll all be way more exposed than we have been. We now can't see our parents (older and preexisting ,3 conditions) OR my grandparents (super old). And Our state has the highest number of grandparents raising grandchildren because we've been hardest hit by the opioid crisis. If kids take this virus home, they risk becoming orphans. Some Schools in our state don't have toilet paper or doors on their bathrooms. 4 years ago I taught a class of 43. Yes. 43 students. Public schools desperately need more money. This pandemic will not go away after the election. And if schools don't have TOILET PAPER or BATH ROOM DOORS, they certainly don't have money to effectively clean classrooms or protect their students staff when a new virus, without a cure or vaccine, is floating in the air. 8/8/2020 19:58:01 Parent, Teacher Kanawha Point Harmony Elementary; West Side Middle I do not feel like it is possible for schools to follow the CDC guidelines. I don?t feel con?dent in the plans or lack of plans. I worry about the poor ventilation systems, and the fact that students do not necessarily have to wear masks in their core classroom. I worry about them taking masks off to eat. Even with social distancing, it will not matter because of poor ventilation. I think there are too many unknowns that are not being answered. What happens if a teacher or student tests positive? What happens when there is no sub or teacher for a class any given day? Are there really going to be enough cleaning supplies/masks provided on a daily basis? How are students going to be monitored in the bathrooms? How are temperature checks going to be done? Before students get on the bus? Before they enter the school building? How is it going to be possible to social distance on the bus? Other schools have opened back up and have had to immediately shut back down. Is it really worth the risk to staff and students? lam a teacher with an autoimmune disease. lam worried about getting the virus myself, along with my son getting it, and then one of us also spreading it to my mother who would be watching my son after school. i believe we need to do remote learning until cases have gone down, and then when it is truly safe to go back in person, have a fully detailed plan and safety measures in place in enough time so that they can be properly implicated. 8/8/2020 20:02:06 Parent, Teacher Monongali a Suncrest Middle It's not realistic to keep schools closed. It's 2020. In fact, We can teach virtually and keep schools open all day, everyday. We have to think progressively and outside of how things have always been. I have worked at a school that lost 2 students to suicide 30 days apart. Trust me. Any loss of student life crushes a community. It's not a risk we can take, no matter what the numbers say. Physically, it's not safe to be in schools. Kids won't wear masks. We can't keep them apart. My classes are 90 minutes long - that's 6 times the "exposure" definition of 15 minutes. God forbid one of the 120 have is positive. Will go to work, and my Little kids Will have to go back to daycare and we'll all be way more exposed than we have been. We now can't see our parents (older and preexisting conditions) OR my grandparents (super old). And Our state has the highest number of grandparents raising grandchildren because we've been hardest hit by the opioid crisis. If kids take this virus home, they risk becoming orphans. Some Schools in our state don't have toilet paper or doors on their bathrooms. 4 years ago I taught a class of 43. Yes. 43 students. Public schools desperately need more money. This pandemic will not go away after the election. And if schools don't have TOILET PAPER or BATHROOM DOORS, they certainly don't have money to effectively clean classrooms or protect their students/ staff when a new virus, without a cure or vaccine, is floating in the air. 8/8/2020 20:08:59 Parent, Service Personnel Summers Hinton Area Elementary and Summers middle school As a parent, I feel right now is not the time to send kids to school. I know that they are lacking social development as well as education, but the health and well being of my children is of the utmost importance to me. As a cook for the school, I do not know how we are expected to prepare meals for the students that do attend plus prepare 5 days of lunch and breakfast for those that are not going to attend. Service personnel at our schools are treated horribly, like doormats, and this would just be something else for someone to tell us we are doing it wrong. And how are the custodians expected to keep up with normal everyday things plus all the sanitizing. When one child gets sick in an elementary school then the whole school becomes sick. It spreads like wildfire. 8/8/2020 20:11:26 Parent, Foster Parent, Teacher Nicholas Birch River Elementary I do not want to risk my life, my child?s life, or my students lives by returning to in person schooling when there are other remote learning options available. I want to be back in my classroom, but not until it is safe to do so. 8/8/2020 20:18:29 Teacher Harrison Liberty HS There are not enough cleaning measures in place. We have know idea how this is going to pan out in the winter. lam pregnant, have a 4 yo at home and my mother in law watches her and is immuniocomprimised! 8/8/2020 20:21:59 Pa rent Marion Monongah Elementary We are not in the same position we were when schools were originally shut down. We are, in fact, in a much worse position. One with many more risk factors, cases and also information as to how to stop the spread of this virus and flatten the curve. In addition, our schools and staff are prepared to take on the task they are facing. They have not had ample time, training or preparation. As result it is not if there will be an outbreak and a death, but when and at which school? Which child will bring it, which teacher may we lose? How many children may suffer the emotional harm from us, as adults not doing all we could to protect them and keeping them out of a situation until we were sure it was safe. Its not up to the Dept of Health or the CDC to five us guidelines for us to follow. Its up to us as those who obersee the wellbeong of CHILDREN, to say they are MOT guinea pigs. We are not going to take even the slightest risk. We dont gamble with our children's lives! 8/8/2020 20:33:11 Teacher Marion Watson Elementary My husband and I are both music teachers. My husband teaches middle school band in Monongalia County and I teach general music pre-K through 4th in Marion County. Last year, my husband had a total of 280 students in his classes that met throughout the week. I had a total of 347 students that I taught weekly. WE ARE TERRIFIED of going back to in-person learning while it is STILL UNSAFE because no matter how small the classroom sizes will be reduced, my husband will still have a large number of students due to the nature of his job. My risk will be extremely high because while I've heard comments made that everyone is banking on smaller class sizes, I WILL NOT GET THAT LUXURY. I will be EXPOSED to EVERY STUDENT that is enrolled at my school. I teach at a lower socioeconomic school with 89% poverty. The chances of my students staying home to distance learn will be very minute. While I do not value my life over anyone else's, I do have a congenital heart condition that may not be accepted as a legitimate reason to prevent me from having to teach in- person but will increase my risk of having additional cardiovascular side effects on top of what I live with already. In-person learning will lead to senseless DEATHS for some, senseless LIFE-LONG SIDE-EFFECTS for others and many left with emptiness because they will have to say good bye to a child, a mom, a dad, a sister, a brother or a friend much, much too early. After it?s all over, will there ?3 0 actually be any child, teacher or families of either that contracts this disease left unchanged because they were forced to go to a building, with tiny classrooms and teach/learn in-person for several hours a day? 8/8/2020 20:54:37 Parent, Teacher Putnam Winfield Middle I am terrified to go back into the classroom. I am currently 3 months pregnant and am also getting ready to send a 5 year old to Kindergarten. I fear for my daughter, but also fear for my health as well as the health of my unborn child. Women that are pregnant are more likely to be hospitalized and intubated with Covid due to already over stressed cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. As an educator. I feel that I am having to put other people's children before my own. 8/8/2020 21:06:57 Pa rent Mon Morgantown High I personally would like to see remote school continue for now. Im very fearfully for my child. I know some people need school as a babysitter, but those of us with high school age children don't. And needing a babysitter (aka School is not a good reason to put children in danger. We should be just as worried now as we were when we closed school. Because things haven't gotten any better actually they are worse now. Just my thoughts. I pray you can keep my child and all children safe. I thought when Dr Marsh came to speak the meeting on the 16th ofJune he said. 50% capacity only and that even that needed to happen with Social distancing. I also thought he said No band, No choir, No FOOTBALL, No classes ect. the Superintendent and his Asst. have seemed to have forgotten all that. r- Makes no sense to me that After the 7th day school we will fully open at 100% capacity. Just mind blowing. With WVU coming back in person at 60% its just bad news. Please consider remote learning as last for the first 9 weeks. thank you for your Time, and for hearing me out. know I'm just one voice but I needed to say it. One more thing I have had children in this school system for the past 25 years. I'm very happy to say this is my My last child and My Last year at MHS Thank you again Lydia Powers 8/8/2020 Teacher Raleigh Teach in Fayette While I and my immediate family are not considered high- 21:28:04 County at risk lam still nervous about going back to in-person Fayetteville PreK-8 instruction. I teach 5th-8th grade with no less than 25 students in a classroom. There is no way to socially distance in my classroom and I have one of the largest classrooms in my school. Kids will be eating breakfast and lunch in rooms and will be staying in the same room all day long. We have been encouraged to go outside as much as possible, but how feasible is it? Trying to remind them to social distance, keep them on task, bad too much distraction. At the same time however, being stuck in one room, socially distanced, all day long is terrible. How will this affect kids mental health? It may be nice for them at first, but once the dust settled, how miserable will everyone be? I also am not confident in the schools ability to clean and sanitize an entire school building multiple times throughout the day. I strongly believe we should start with virtual/remote learning for the first 4-9 weeks. Georgia and Mississippi are showing us how ?3 bad of an idea it is to go to in person learning right now. West Virginia needs to step up and do the right thing. It's better to be safe than sorry. 8/8/2020 Teacher Kanawha Ben Franklin I have a life long history of lung issues. My room does not 21:28:56 Career Center have a sink for hand hygiene and we have not received any hand sanitizer or disinfectant for our classrooms. We are 215 employees and are already back to work. Staff development that is online and virtual conferences are being watched as a group in one room. Should these not be done individually in classrooms to prevent large groups? 8/8/2020 Parent Kanawha Elkview Middle Go thru one classroom to get to another. Hallways are 21:32:32 Schhol/Shoals going to be crowded during class changes, face masks WILL Elementary NOT BE KEPT ON FACES ALL DAY so therefore Covid will spread like wildfire due to not enough social distancing. 5 days a week, not enough time to sanitize after every class. 8/8/2020 Parent Monongali Morgantown High We have not seen a plan. Our school has 1200 kids. How 21:37:18 a School can you guarantee that all kids will wear a mask? What happens when a kid refuses to wear a mask? What is the plan when a teacher or student test positive? Does the whole class quarantine for 14 days? If any of those kids rode a bus, do the kids on the bus need to quarantine? What is the procedure for contact tracing and testing? Is there going to be temp checks before the kids get on the bus or before they get in school? What happens if the have a temp at that point? Has any of this been thought through and if so why don?t we know about it. Why is the distance always been 6 ft but now it is only 3ft and how is that really going to be ok? Where is the evidence this will work. Every state that has opened up so far has had kids or teachers test positive and have had to shut down. I do not believe with that many kids, the school will stay clean. This virus is highly contagious, kids can still get sick and there is a 4% death rate among children. I do not feel like risking it with my children. I am not sure why we ca n?t start with remote learning with their teachers. Then after Christmas break start a phase in and bring the kids back a couple days a week and then full time. Maybe you will feel that I am being over protective but they are my children and this is a virus that no one really has a handle on and we don?t have a vaccine for yet and again most importantly they are my children. 8/8/2020 21:54:38 Parent, Teacher Cabell Huntington High, Meadows My daughters both have asthma. The older one also has a developmental disorder which puts her at high risk. have asthma and high blood pressure (controlled by meds). If any of us contract Covid-19, we are at high risk of complications/ death. 8/8/2020 21:59:15 Parent, Teacher Kanawha Chesapeake Elementary have a 5 year?old son and teach pre-k. My husband and are both in the high risk group. He has more protection as a cashier at Target than I do as a teacher. This is simply unacceptable! And to think 4 year?olds Will socially distance and keep on a mask or face shield isjust asinine. We'll spend more time trying to enforce health precautions than we will do actual teaching. These children would be better off, educationally speaking, elearning than they would in the classroom put in direct risk ofobtaining the virus or bringing it home. 8/8/2020 21:59:18 Teacher, Substitute] retired teacher Harrison Bridgeport Middle and Robert C. I am 67 years old and have had respiratory issues in the last several years. Though I would like the income that comes with subbing, I am petrified of getting COVID. 8/8/2020 21:59:20 Parent, Teacher Clay Elkview Middle My 13 year old son is on chemotherapy. If we go into the building, I am taking the chance of bringing home a disease that can easily kill him. If I take a leave of absence, I feel like I'm leaving my school, fellow teachers, and students in a bind because a substitute will not be available. Even if everyone wears masks constantly, the bathrooms would need to be cleaned between every student since gastrointestinal issues are the main in the age group I teach. What will happen if a student refuses to wear a mask? To ventilate my room, I would have to leave it open which is not safe due to school shootings. Plus, this would not be feasible when the weather is cold. Lysol and sanitizing products are not available. Since I am supposed to monitor without medical training, how can I know the difference between Covid, flu, a cold, allergies, etc.? Where will the sick students go when the nurse is in another building where she is shared between schools? What will happen when a teacher becomes sick during the day? 8/8/2020 Parent, Foster Parent, Raleigh Hollywood The virus is not under control in this country let alone this 22:00:53 Teacher Elementary Park state. We need to do better. Middle School Stratton Elementary 8/8/2020 Teacher Boone Van Elementary work as a substitute teacher and will be traveling county 22:02:36 wide this is not safe going from school to school and not really know the correct numbers of cases that are going to be reported at different schools and classrooms. This is totally unsafe for substitutes, students, and regular class teacher. 8/8/2020 Parent, Teacher Mingo Burch Pk8 I feel that leadership,from the top down, has not been 22:04:29 clear. I feel like we are putting the horse before the wagon, so to speak. In my county, no masks are required in the classroom, even if social distancing cannot be achieved. Our numbers are climbing daily, and we are an official hot spot. I have had type 1 diabetes for 32 years and I have complications from that. I'm at a higher risk for severe complications and feel we should be doing more, at the state level, to offer more protection for me and others like me. My daughter was supposed to start preK this year, and I'm terrified of sending her because that will double my risk of coming into contact with the virus. One death is too many when we can prevent it. 8/8/2020 Teacher Cabell Huntington High There are more cases now than there were when we closed 22:04:30 schools down in March. We have too many teachers in high risk categories. Our students in WV live with elderly grandparents and while the kids might be in a safe category if we open, they can transmit it to both their teachers and their grandparents who will end up dying from this. Both my husband and I fall into a high risk category. If schools reopen, we are putting our lives at risk. We are currently seeing school after school try to open in other parts of this country only to either have to shut down or have lots of students and staff having to quarantine. Let's not be one of those states. If we focus solely on the disruption to the educational process, doesn't it seem like opening and the closing, opening and then quarantining, opening and then closing, etc. would be VERY disruptive to the educational Wouldn't schools be able to deliver a more complete curriculum for their students if they simply opened remotely for a period of time and delivered their curriculum to the best of their abilities in ONE uniform format that isn't a stop and go attempt at "real" school when "real" school isn't possible during a pandemic anyway? I'm not sure what academic achievements are being gained by opening, watching people test positive, and then closing schools again. I also don't know what academic achievements kids are going to make when their teacher, friend, parent, or grandparent dies because they went to school. A child's grief tends to supersede learning one plus one equals two. 8/8/2020 Parent Brooke Brooke Primary Schools will not be "deep cleaned" on days that students 22:08:09 North not there. No social distancing on buses. What about parents who send the sick child to school and then parent cannot be reached? I care for elderly parents and am afraid my child will bring home the virus. I must work so virtual learning cannot be done. Schools are a breeding ground for illnesses under normal circumstances but these are not normal circumstances. this is a pandemic! 8/8/2020 22:11:27 Parent, Teacher Kanawha AJMS, It is clearly not safe if public buildings and locations are not open to more than half capacity. Our state has rising numbers of active cases and deaths. In March when COVID-19 was scarce and not in WV yet schools were closed, why is it now that it's here and rising we are being considered essential and putting our most precious beings at risk, our children should not be in schools. It is not safe! My own child will be doing virtual for this reason. Our questions are not being answered, what if a student or staff gets the virus? How will staff be forced to use days or be quarantined? We are not prepared. 8/8/2020 22:14:12 Parent, Spouse of a HS teacher CabeH Ona Elementary There are so many obvious factors why school is not ready. Grocery stores, retail stores, and restaurants are still not back to functioning normal. Doctors offices ask you to only bring one parent to an appointment with a child and no siblings as well as wanting you to avoid waiting in the lobby by waiting in your car and getting a phone call right before the appointment time. Court houses in our area are shut down. The church we attend have not opened the children?s department back up for the kids. Splash parks in the area are still closed down. These are just some of the obvious reasons that came right to mind. To continue, football players practicing are coming down with Covid, baseball players, etc. The more activities we start allowing to take place the more it is spreading. Look at the other states that have gone back, they are getting case after case! How can it not be anymore clear that this is not what needs to happen! If they were to send them back, how are teachers going to be able to focus on temperatures, recognizing in kids, making sure they?re spread apart, following all of the guidelines all while doing what they?re actually there to do and being paid for And our poor kids. I don?t think the majority of people hounding he governor to send us back are thinking of children that are in elementary. My kids are in prek, 2nd, 5th. I'm not sending my youngest due to the fact he needs to learn sharing, etc and in a pandemic that just can?t be taught. My other kids will be in a mask all day for 5 days all while trying to stay focused on their education ALL WHILE learning from a teacher behind a plastic wall, covered in a shield, with a mask who is already about to lose kind of education are they going to receive in that kind of environment. My husband teaches at our local high school. He wants school back, he teaches special education and let's face it, that's difficult to do remotely. He however doesn?t want to start if it?s not safe. If we go back 5 days, even ifl kept my kids home virtually, my husband is likely going to be bringing home germs left and right. I?m sick over it. I lay in bed every night worrying. luckily stay at home, so I am available to do any of the options we are given. I want the best education possible for my kids and in order to do that, they need to be in the class WHEN IT IS SAFE for children AND adults. We just aren?t there. If we didn?t head back to school in April or May, it logically does not make sense to start now. I do think they need to be doing schoolwork, but not 5 days in person. That?s ludicrous! 8/8/2020 22:25:17 Parent, Teacher CabeH HMS The numbers of cases are going up in our county. I do not feel comfortable returning to school until the numbers have gone down significantly for 14 days. We do not know all of the long-term effects of covid-19. Health and safety should be the number one priority. ?0 8/8/2020 22:32:50 Parent, Iwas a parent coordinator but that position is gone. WV Doddridge Middle I've tried very hard not to make this political, however, the fact remains that Trump did that for us. I live in Doddridge. Basically the people here care about Trump, God, and football. They don't take the virus seriously and they only believe what Trump says. Every day read posts about how they don?t believe the news and the scientists are being paid off by liberals. I just finished reading about 97,000 kids testing positive and went through hundreds of comments about how CBS is fake news. I cannot trust the school to enforce masks. They are not going to want to anger parents that think it should be their choice. I will not endanger my daughter's life. It breaks my heart to put her in virtual school, I just feel it is my only option. I fear she will be bullied later because it's no secret that my family is not conservative. I fear she'll resent me for missing part of her first year at middle school. I know they've have tried to develop choices for parents, but I feel as if I don't actually have a choice. I can send my daughter, a preemie, to school and risk covid or I can keep her safe. 8/8/2020 22:34:29 Parent, Legal Guardian, Teacher CabeH Milton Middle and Guyandotte have two views. First as a parent I?m returning to my position as a teacher. Therefore, my children need to go to school. I need to have an income to support my boys. While I know that, I'm fearful of the thought that they might catch Covid. One of my boys had asthma. It's terrifying! But they want to return to school. They need the social and emotional interactions. Second as a teacher, lm ready to return to my classroom. I enjoy myjob. I miss teaching. But I have mixed emotions. I have health issues myself. (asthma and I'm a diabetic) My children only have me. I?ve adopted them. Therefore, If I caught Covid it could be fetal. So I?m relying on Gods protection. 8/8/2020 22:37:35 Parent Harison Robert High School We do not yet have any realistic plans or expectations for how re?entry into school can be done safely. The plan at the moment is haphazard and unrealistic. We're told to stay 6 feet apart and wear masks in public, but our children will be unable to maintain a 6 foot distance while sitting in crowded classrooms or while changing classes in hallways inundated with children and will likely be reticent to keep masks on. Spread of the virus is inevitable in this situation. 8/8/2020 22:38:33 Parent, Teacher Nicholas Birch River Elementary Middle School I am concerned about going back to in person learning for many reasons. 1. Kids don't know how to safely do the social distancing thing. 2. Buses will be packed. Even with masks, it will still be unsafe. 3. We have an aging state. Many of my students are raised by their grandparents and in a few cases, great- grandparents. 4. Kids can spread the virus easily because they don't even know they have it! 5. We have a massive shortage of teachers now. What's going to happen when one is sick or has to quarantine clue to exposure? We don't have enough subs and the subs we do have will likely not be accepting many jobs this year. 6. work in one school and my daughter attends a different school. That is exposure to all kinds of people for my family. The kids on the bus she rides, the kids she is in class with plus my students. 7. We had no cases in WV when we closed down. Now we have 100+ new cases PER DAY and we are going back? That doesn't even make sense. 8/8/2020 22:39:37 Parent, Service Personnel Lewis As an employee in Harrison County I am very worried about transmission and students coming to and staying at school sick. I will have a newborn at home and cannot afford for her to get this virus! We have trouble getting kids picked up for lice and simple illnesses. Parents refuse to answer the ?3 '3 phone or say they have no transportation. What will happen then? Will those students the day? 8/8/2020 22:39:52 Parent, Legal Guardian, Grandparent, Service Personnel Marion East Fairmont Active Marion County cases according to as of Aug 7th is 84. 8/8/2020 22:41:26 Parent, Teacher Calhoun Calhoun middle high and Arnoldsburg Elem. live with my aging parents and immune compromised daughter. If I bring this home to any of the three it could potentially kill one or all of them. When we first was called off it was suppose to be until we had 14 days with no new cases. We had very few in the state but it was safer to have a stay at home order. Now we have anywhere from 80 to 200 new cases a day and we think it is safe to put a teacher in a small classroom with 25 small children who may have it and not even tell anyone they feel poor. Remote learning the safest choice or hold off for another little while and drop alot of requirements for the school year. 8/8/2020 22:42:34 Grandparent, Teacher Wood Vienna, Franklin, Emerson, Neale, I worked in the county public school system for 30+ years. My children and grandchildren have all attended. The building are all old, and never very clean. Every year, new students pass around every bug and virus, and new (sometimes older)teachers get every illness from students. This year is deadly, with no vaccines or medication to help. Our staff and students have been (mostly) isolated for five months. This virus will spread like a wildfire. If it's too dangerous to expose our adult students to college classes, lawmakers to the press and each other, and for our county /city buildings to open, why will our children be safe? Is the county willing to risk our children and adult staff to provide babysitting? I have not talked to one adult who they no?s this is a good idea. Please consider online education for al. Students will not suffer from a few more months. They will suffer if they are ill, or have to watch parents and grandparents due, because they brought the r. virus home. I am a strong believer in public education, but our teachers, and support staff are underpaid already. They should not have to add more work and stress due to this. In my own family, there are four couples, and half of the adults are working from home, because it?s not safe. Do not send their children in to schools. I beg you to think of children, not Federal funding. 8/8/2020 22:47:56 Parent Monongali a Brookhaven Elementary Our ?leadership" has done NONE of the things that should've been happening all spring and summer. There is little plan (that's been shared with us peons) for actually acquiring the proper PPE, health insurance, containment protocols, etc, etc, To go back now, when cases are surging, is absolutely irresponsible. 8/8/2020 22:48:59 Parent, Teacher Wood Jefferson Elementary 1. There is not enough adequate PPE for all staff and students on a regular or daily basis. 2. There is only one nurse in most schools, and their jobs are already overwhelmed by daily needs from students before this We need more than one nurse in each schooL 3. Teachers are leaving the field by taking an absence or retiring due to There is already a lack of substitutes available, and this will only get worse. 4. It is going to be quite a task to get children to social distance and wear a mask most of the day. 5. What happens when multiple teachers, staff, and students have to quarantine due to encounter? 6. lf a bank teller or a grocery store cashier can have plexiglass guards, why do teachers and staff not get the same for when they are working with students? 7. Why is the DMV and other government buildings only allowing appointments or so many people in at a time, but schools can open to hundreds of students? My precious school just merged with the school I am going to begin ?3 '0 working at. There will now be around 700 students and at least 100 staff members. 8/8/2020 Grandparent, Service Kanawha Dunbar Middle Because We need No Positive Case of the Virus for 14 -21 22:52:13 Personnel days and we need to have enough time to set up all school for them to be safe to enter and the flu season is high in the October November December months so at this time till we get everything taken care of and in Place for the school builds we need to do remote learning to see what the virus will do and how many more cases there could and will be 8/8/2020 Parent, Teacher, BOE Berkeley Valley view It is not safe I have lupus diabetes and gastroperisis 22:52:16 Member 8/8/2020 Parent, Counselor Raleigh Independence I resigned be of my 16 month old daughter having to be in 22:52:47 Middle daycare and 81 year old father in law. 8/8/2020 Grandparent, Service wood PHS, Kanawha Statistics say 6 thru 12 grades are more susceptible to 22:53:48 Personnel contracting Covid19 yet the schools plan to have students change classes instead of staying with cohorts. That is too dangerous. Not enough PPE. 8/8/2020 Parent, Teacher Harrison Norwood and If it was unsafe for us to go to school March, April and May 23:02:15 Adamston when are numbers were minimal then it isn?t safe to go now when our active numbers are worse. Our babysitter is my parents (so my kids grandparents) who have my grandparents living with them (my kids great grandparents). My grandmother is very ill as she is undergoing chemo and radiation treatments. If my kids and I would contact Covid and pass it to any grandparents or great grandparents they would not make it because all 4 are autoimmune. I feel we should not go back until there is 14 days with no cases. We should be remote and teacher should be able to work from home. Hold the teachers accountable for their work just as if they are in school. I check track of every phone call, message or email I had with all my parents. (A r. (a 8/8/2020 23:06:16 Grandparent Kanawha Dunbar primary/Dunbar Middle Number of cases state/county getting daily. Small business, churches, state and federal gov offices can't open but they want to open schools. Read. Listen, everywhere schools have opened kids parents and teachers have been infected. What makes Kanawha County think they can open with out the same problem? I?m sure schools have not me properly sanitized nor enough PPE has been made available for every school. Here?s a idea, go All virtual till at least Jan 2. Let's let this virus clear out(hopefully) and if it does Orr eases up then go back to classrooms, and closed work places. Another concern. buses. There's no way your going to get them sanitized between trips. Some buses run 3-4 routes morning and evening plus sports, bands etc. not enough hours in between to properly do 50. Kids will not wear mask all day in class rooms. Properly anyway 8/8/2020 23:13:02 Legal Guardian, Grandparent West Virginia (WV) Chamberlain Elementry School I'm a grandparent raising 3 grandbabies. They have bronchial/asthma and I have copd. Health issues is my main concern. 8/8/2020 23:21:56 Parent, Service Personnel Berkeley Berkeley Heights I am concerned that we are just now working on the details of school opening. My local BOE says they are communicating with teacher and parents, but a survey is not having a conversation. I question if those in charge of making the decisions to keep the students safe even remember how a classroom functions. I understand that we need to take precautions and agree. Our Governor and his health advisor is telling everyone that students will be six feet apart in the classroom. This is simply not possible with 23-24 students in a classroom. We are asking teachers to schedule every minute ofthe day, cut recess in halfand have no idea what to do with special needs classrooms. We are banning parents from the buildings and not openly telling them what it's going to look like, which will pin parents against teachers in a no win situation. Our BOE can't have a meeting open to the public, but we will put hundreds of children in a building in a month and cross our fingers. We can?t go to fairs, concerts or tractor pulls, but we can open schools? We listen to the health department and Governor who continues to tell us to social distance and follow the rules. What does it teach the students of our schools if the rules are different therewant nothing more than to send my children back to school. I want to go back to work too. My questions are how much learning will happen? How much stress will this create? What will the discipline practices be? How will we follow if there is an outbreak? How do we stop making this all fall on the teachers and create accountability where it belongs within the central offices? How will attendance effect students and staff? What happens when there is no substitutes? Why are the rules different for schools? I understand these are complex times with no great answers. I understand that there may be more questions than answers. Parents have a job to teach their children morals and ethics. Will our schools teach our children that those things don?t matter as long as our leaders can bend the guidelines and say they are following them? 8/8/2020 23:48:18 Independent citizen advocate Kanawha Kanawha County Schools My biggest concern is spreading the coronavirus to at risk students, school staff, families, and other community members. There is no way to eliminate this risk if we reopen schools. They need to remain closed for on-site use until there is widespread use of a vaccine. We need to invest in high quality home-based learning and child care as needed instead of trying to reactivate schools. We can create a stable and safe situation for everyone by focusing on this kind of investment. 8/8/2020 23:48:20 Parent, Teacher Randolph Third Ward, North Elementary I am scared for both myselfand my children. With staggered schedule, I don?t have care for my children r. (. where they will also get schoolwork done. I feel that covid will run rampant through schools shortly after it starts 8/8/2020 23:55:13 Teacher Cabe? Huntington East Middle School Our numbers are still too high, people Are not taking precautions seriously, I have an 83 year old grandma With high risk health concerns that I care for and going back to school will put her at risk. I have multiple immunocompromised coworkers and family members. It is not safe to go back in-person. 8/8/2020 23:56:08 Parent Monroe Mountain View and James Monroe It is not safe. Has anyone who makes these rules - mandates - ever actually been around a child? This is not a scenario where you have adults shopping in a store. These are kids! They do not have boundaries. They want to be social in all ways and do not understand the seriousness of covering coughs and sneezes, distancing from others, etc. Begin on September 8 remotely and watch the numbers, but please do not send thousands of children and adults back face to face in a petry dish of germs in a school building. 8/8/2020 23:59:23 Teacher Harrison Washington Irving Middle School This hateful virus known as Covid, is very dangerous, and unpredictable. Every day we learn more about it. Also, every day there are people being diagnosed and/or exposed to it. Much to my surprise, I?ve learned many are not quarantined, stating"everyone is going to get it anyway.? At the same time I?m hearing truthful accounts of people greatly suffering due in Covid infection. I am 56 years old, and I AM IMMUNE COMPROMISED. Since November I have spent 3 months in the hospital with Asthma and lung infections. My condition was very serious. My doctor says this virus very well may kill would take is one sick student showing up in the classroom (and we all know it happens) to start a chain of events that could effect every teacher and every student in the school. The school is very outdated, so I would also be nervous about air circulation. It?s just not safe to send .3 '0 anyone to the classroom yet. I feel strongly that we should spend the first semester on line. 8/9/2020 0:13:23 Parent, Counselor Wood Parkersburg South and Edison Too many uncertainties and unanswered questions. It is too unpredictable right now to go back to brick and mortar schools. I'm less concerned about myself and my family. I am mostly concerned about our students and their families and overworking our school staff. 8/9/2020 0:17:42 Parent, Teacher Monongali a North elementary We do not have the capability to socially distance our students. We have not been told whether the students will have temp checks, will there be Covid testing for employees, students? We do not know enough about this virus and how it is transmitted to safely return to full occupancy at our schools. All are being effected, students and adults. I work I Mon co, which is a ?hot Spot?, how can we safely go back to 7 hours a day in a small, not properly ventilated room, with 24+ students?? Please can we not open our eyes and look This is a moment in time, we should stop and do what is best for the moment. And that is keeping our students and teachers healthy. We are able to educate remotely, lets put our focus on that until we are safe. 8/9/2020 0:26:23 Parent, Teacher Cabell Barboursville middle/ salt rock Elementary With numbers continuing to rise and cancellations continuing how can we say it is safe? I have a child who is prone to respiratory illnesses and I will be traveling between schools encountering possible double exposure. There are too many questions about how blended models will work. The system already has tremendous trouble with kids being sent to school sick during a normal year, why do we think this won?t continue? 8/ 9/ 2020 0:43:39 Parent, Teacher Boone and Lincoln Madison Middle and Duval PK8 I am currently having tests ran to find out if I have breast mom was just diagnosed with lung husband has several health sets of parents are older in r. (A 8/9/2020 0:46:59 Parent, Service Personnel Jefferson Washington High and Driswood Elem I'm pregnant and am worried about getting sick. I also have 2 parents that are older and if they got sick, they wouldn't make it. I hope we can keep our kids safe and ourselves safe while maintaining a relationship with our students at a distance, virtual is the way to do this until COVID is no longer an issue! 8/9/ 2020 1:06:54 Parent, Teacher Logan Chapmanville Regional High School Logan. County is experiencing quickly increasing cases of community-spread Covid-19, with at least 33 local hospital employees infected .Since I have heard no specific plans of how the board will keep the school employees safe and our superintendent has stated that we will be in classrooms all day where students are not required to be masked, I do not feel that we should begin ln-person school at this time. Because students will apparently be allowed to be in classes without masking and without other safety measures in place, my husband (who is a teacher), my daughter, and I will most likely be exposed to the virus. It is unacceptable to put us or the children of West Virginia in this position when beginning school remotely is a viable option. Also, because I am on immunosuppressive therapy for Crohn?s disease, I could easily become one of those who is most affected by contracting Covid?19, and I could die, leaving my 14-year-old daughter without a mother. This is an unnecessary and unacceptable risk to take, especially since we could easily begin school using a remote learning model. 8/9/2020 1:09:43 Teacher Jefferson Spring mills- Berkeley county I think we are ready if people are willing to take precautions and wear masks. 8/9/ 2020 1:24:08 Parent, Teacher Hardy EHEMS Having been a grade teacher for the last 21 years, social distancing is NOT possible. Not enough room. Not enough precautions taken. 8/9/2020 1:53:25 Parent, Teacher Boone Boone County Schools My family is all high risk. Both of our incomes for our home come from us being educators. We want to work, but we do not want to have our lives put at risk when it can be prevented. We do not know the long lasting effects of this illness. There are no guidelines for social distancing or safety that is a sure thing. They keep saying that the distance is now 3 feet, but still on the website it says 6 feet! Also, all meetings on all of these issues have been remote or limited numbers, but yet we are going to open schools while we are still mandating low numbers in stores, businesses, etc. We need to stop this madness and go remote until it is safe! 8/9/2020 Teacher Cabell Winfield We are not ready to go back into the school building 2:20:47 Elementary because cases are on the rise, and large groups of people in Putnam County one building means a spike in cases. I have immunocompromised family members and loved ones that are teachers, and I worry about them. I lose sleep over them being in danger. 8/9/2020 Kinship Relationship, Kanawha St Albans High have multiple autoimmune disorders and I am very scared 2:47:47 Grandparent School for her to catch it and bring it home. I had seen on the news last week no restrictions on school buses still 2 to a seat no skipped rows and where we live the High School kids ride with the Junior High kids in the morning and the elementary kids in the evening. 8/9/2020 Parent Monongali University High, The virus is not contained, currently spreading, spread by 2:49:24 3 Cheat Lake children and by adults. It's an absolute no- Elementary brainer that we shouldn't be sending children back to school on site. Schools that have started are having massive outbreaks, major league sports with all their money and testing aren't able to contain it with adults attempting social distancing and practicing outside. Logically, then, there's no way a bunch of children can do it. WVians are dying every day. Why make it worse? We lost a 22 yo. former high school football player last week and a 38 yo. woman just yesterday. We don't need to start losing children. 8/9/2020 Parent, Counselor 3:05:17 Logan Logan Elementary, Hugh Dingess, Chapmanville Primary Logan County have had an increase in positive cases in the past month. I am a counselor and travel between three elementary schools that puts me at more risk - approximately 600 kids. I have a son who has asthma, my dad has COPD really bad and will be starting dialysis soon. They are the reason I am concerned. lfI am exposed to 600 kids a week, and bring home the virus to my family - that is something I can not imagine How can I be supportive to the staff and children and do myjob effectively when I am terri?ed for my own life and families well being? What can I do? Nothing. I have no say unless I leave my job that I love! Counselors have had no say. Counselors and nurses need to be at each school this school term. The ventilation at some of the schools are not up to date. How about disinfectant wipes and spray - are they available? How can we put a price tag on someone?s life? This is unprecedented times, we can go back in January in hopes of a vaccine. Please consider what you are asking your educators to do to their families. 8/9/2020 Parent 6:30:40 hampshire hampshire high numbers growing to much 8/9/2020 Pa rent 7:25:10 Lincoln Duval have so many concerns about going back. I have seen no specific plans about anything. I know that my school building has terrible ventilation. We had previously been told to open our windows each morning to improve this. This was prior to the pandemic. Now we are being told that we will need to open our windows 4 inches. My window does not open. I guess my air quality doesn't matter. We?ve been told that no matter what, we will report to work, even if school is entirely remote. I do not understand why we would take unnecessary risks for something that could be completed at home and forces us to ?nd childcare. We?ve also been told that we are to report on the cleaning days and will have to assist with the cleaning ,3 and sanitizing. I fear for my students, my children, my coworkers, myself, and my family. I do not feel that our safety is the priority at all. 8/9/2020 7:35:37 Grandparent, Teacher Wyoming Pineville Elementary I am my moms sole caregiver. She has asthma, copd, diabetes, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, and other issues. I am relatively healthy but I have no choice but to tend to my mom on a daily basis. If I get sick from school and take it home to her, it would most likely kill her! ljust don?t see a safe way for us to be in school at this point! We have so many students in our district being raised by elderly grandparents who could take this virus home and possibly cause death! What happens to the students then? These are just a few of my concerns, I could go on and on but these are my main points of concern! Please reconsider opening the schools! We are better equipped to do remote learning than we were in the spring, let?s be better safe than sorry!! 8/9/2020 7:49:21 Pa rent Putnam Hurricane High School I'm not sure our state/counties have the resources to effectively implement necessary precautions to keep students and staff safe. 8/9/2020 8:05:23 Parent, Teacher Wayne CK Elem The amount of cases keep rising. Just seeing what is happening in other states that have gone back to the building is enough for me to say I don?t want to go back. My county does not require a mask for students. They encourage masks for grades 3?12. I teach 2nd grade. I would feel more comfortable if my students were required to wear a mask, if ALL students were required). I would feel more comfortable if my students had shields on their desks but I am not going to buy these myself. I don?t think my county has taken enough precautions to make me feel safe in my room/building. I also have elderly parents. I do not want to get sick and pass this on to them. My dad has cancer. If I passed this on to him, I would never forgive myself. I am concerned about my students. Will they follow all the new rules? Can they stay 6ft away from others? There are so many unknowns. 8/9/2020 8:30:59 Parent Harrison Nutterfort Primary We ARE ready. Safety plans are in place, and too many families are incurring additional crises because they can?t work with children out of school. Distance schooling isn?t an option for everyone. I have yet to see a survey that asks if a capable adult is available to support the child during remote learning. How many grandparents are we compromising because parents need to work and they are the only available childcare? And how many are able to support the educational needs of the children? 8/9/2020 8:41:53 Parent, Substitute Raleigh Hollywood/all My county is going 2 days in person and 3 days remote. We are also offering virtual and you can homeschool if you wish. I think the did a great job providing options for everyone. I am currently pregnant with an 18month old and 6 year old. I'm also a certified teacher. To ensure my child is successful she needs in the classroom learning. Parents and teachers with documented medical conditions causing them to be higher risk should be able to have options available such as the virtual or working remotely. if our parents, teachers and kids can go shopping, go on vacation, go to restaurants, attend union meetings and conference there should not be an argument about going back to school. My husband has worked this entire time. I plan on subbing once school starts back, and my child will be attending school. As a parent it angers me that multiple options are available to everyone, yet people are still complaining and want all or nothing. Everyone doesn?t want all remote learning. If options of non remote can not be made available for those of us that do not want it, then I would like to start seeing school choice legislation. 8/9/2020 8:50:00 Parent, Teacher Jackson Kenna elementary As a mom of a special needs, medically fragile child I am panicked over the reopening. Our son's doctors have told us not to send him or our other child, due to the unknowns of the virus/lifelong detrimental effects of the virus. So, we will be keeping our 15 year old and 11 year old home. My teach 2nd grade. In my county, 2nd graders are not wearing masks. So there are zero precautions for airborne spread in my classroom. I am not able to spread desks 6 ft apart in my classroom. I have taught for many years and we all know that parents send kids to school sick. They give them Tylenol and send to school. This won't change with corona which is Exposing more children and staff to illness. It's not safe for me to be a classroom of kids and go home to my fragile child end of day. have asked the county to allow me to work in virtual position and no response. We are not babysitters for these parents. if it comes down to being forced to choose between keeping my family safe or teaching, I will resign. There are already numerous openings in our county due to retirements and resignations from the unsafe conditions we are being expected to be in for 8 hours a day. doubt they be able to fill all the vacant positions with willing, qualified people. How will they fill all the spots when staff are quarantined, hospitalized or dead? 8/9/2020 Kinship Relationship Hampshire Hampshire High Many school age children live and are supported by 9:15:02 grandparents who are at risk already. We can?t afford to chance the lives of our children and their families, nor the lives of teachers and other school personnel. 8/9/2020 Teacher Berkeley Tuscarora I don't think the school system will make it safe for us. 9:39:46 8/9/2020 Parent, Teacher Logan Chapmanville In my county, COVID is increasing by pretty significant 9:50:30 Intermediate numbers daily. We are considered to be a Hotspot. Going back into the school building puts my child into a situation, I do not feel he is ready for. could choose virtual for him, I would. I, however, do not have that option because i am the care provided for my family. He has no one to stay with. I feel that we have problems controlling things like the flu, strep, and lice every year. How do they think they will be able to control this. Also, I do not feel comfortable with they way they are handling contacts and quarantining. Then we get into the whole issue with ventilation systems and some schools not having windows to open. We have hospitals having outbreaks and i bet their ventilation systems are much better than the schools. Everyone wants things to go back "normal," but they don't realize there will be nothing normal about school. They mention socializing, but kids aren't going to be able to socialize. Think about the little kids, they don?t understand 6 ft. I have taught kindergarten in the past, there is no person space in kindergarten. That is not the only grade that will have that issue. If you look at Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, safety and security is one of the biggest portions. It comes before belonging and friends. Many parents feel they are having to choose between their child's needs. Many teachers feel that they can't choose their child's safety because if they are being made to report in person then they have no where else for their children to go. I find it interesting, that the teachers that do have help are choosing virtual for their children. We already have a problem with teacher burnout, clue to the amount of work and requirements teachers face on a normal year. Think about what the teacher burn out will look like now. The calendars are jam packed with very little breaks, plus you are asking them to do twice the amount of work with the blended models. We have to teach the students in person, while also helping the ones at home, while also live teaching for the ones at home, while also redirecting and refocusing the ones in person, while reminding them to stay 6 feet apart. While they are also worrying about their safety, their child?s safety, and their students' safety. I could keep going, but I feel that this is long enough. 8/9/2020 9:53:02 Parent Ohio Tridelphia Middle with rhe increase in case numers, the lack of physical controls, and children's normal social behavior, it isjust not safe. We are increasing now, and many of rhese children have not been in social situations since March. I do not think the state considers how much person to person risk there is. Here is my personal example of how many people are directly impacted in ly family bu direct contact and how our families direct contacts could affect others: My boyfriend and I share a home. We have shared custody of 4 children; two his and two mone. We have all 4 kids every other week. Our kids will be in 2 different schools in 2 different states. I am a nurse in the northern panhandle 45 minutes north of my house, and my boyfriend is an essential worker in Ohio. His ex?wife busy primary care practice but lives in Ohio. She is married and they have shared custody of another child who goes to a different school than the 4 other children. My ex-husband is a specialty in a practice that sees over 50 patients day has 5 employees, with families, who eat lunch in the same break area. That is not mentioning all the co-workers of the rest of the adults in this scenario. Then you have various opinions on how restricted contact should be in the 3 homes in 2 different states, with 5 different adults, 5 total kids, and 3 total schools. We have kids that at various times, in 2 states, go to dance, cheer, Boy Scouts, Rainbow Girlssports during the school year. My point is, pur state buts up against several states, all of whixh have different rules. Shared parenting is pretty common as are other types of kinship and fostering situations that cause kids to be in multiple homes. Parents who are essential are in multiple places of employment with different levels of risk and contact. Every single point of contact creates a new opportunity to becomw infected and pass the virus on. We are then going to place all these kids who are not very mindful about touching objects, touching their faces, washing their hands, or staykng distant from friends in an enxlosed area with often poor ventilation and limited bathroom availability together for 8 hours a day. They then come home to groups of people in different homes and different states who then go to work and have, collectively, contact with potenitally hundreds of people a day. The risk is real. Contact tracing these situations would take over a week just with our family alone! With community spread on the rise, school is just not safe at this juncture for all of our community. Please give some good direction and let's open up slowly and safely. 8/9/2020 Grandpa rent Marion Watson 10:43:39 Elementary We are older with breathing issues and afraid granddaughter will bring COVID home to us. We don?t go anywhere unless necessary. I know it's going to be hard feel it's the safest choice. 8/9/2020 Parent Lincoln Midway elem 11:01:00 I am a parent of twin girls whom are starting 1 st grade and my boy will start eighth grade. We reside beside my dad their Pappy) whom they see everyday and are very close to. I have been my dads caregiver for the past year as he has Stage IV lung cancer. If he contracted the virus, it would most likely kill him. Therefore, if my children attend in person classes, they can not spend time with their pappy at this difficult time nor can I be around them because if I got the virus, there is no one to take care of my dad. I think it is reckless, irresponsible, and frankly, criminal to force children staff, and parents to play Russian roulette . Staff and kids should not return to school until it is safe meaning a vaccine or pos new cases under Instead of roads, The Gov should spend the money we received from the feds on child care for parents so they can work if they are an essential employee, hazard pay for them, and resources to ensure every child has the technology they need to learn remotely. I will not be sending my kids to the school buildings in September. Thanks 8/9/2020 Teacher Marion Monongah I feel the counties are not equipped with the supplies 11:37:44 Elementary needed to go back. (Cleaning supplies, staff to support new routines) Not to mention the lack of support training for elearning. 8/9/2020 Teacher Berkeley Spring Mills High There is too much Discrepancy between Dr. Clay Marsh, 11:40:53 School Gov. JJ, Burch State Superintendent of WV, and our county BOE when it comes to guidelines on safety. Marsh says six feet, Burch said not always possible, and Our BOE is shoving 25in a classroom. Who will take the blame when guidelines aren?t followed and children and teachers become sick? I don?t think they are being truthful to parents and employees. 8/9/2020 Teacher Berkeley Washington High It is going to be impossible to social distance, especially in 11:47:51 School? Jefferson secondary schools with large class sizes and crowded County (I hallways during class changes. Our classrooms are small, commute) our windows don?t open, and we are required to keep doors closed. It is going to be incredibly difficult to keep things sanitary, especially with students eating in the classroom. Teachers will not be able to keep up with the constant need to sanititize everything and we will run out r, of supplies quickly. The new schedule has moved our lunch and planning period until the end of the day, taking away any chance to use the restroom. We will have to hold it until 2 PM. I also know many teachersjust won't have lunch now since they feel it is unsafe to be eating with the students in the classrooms, unmasked. I also have yet to see a plan regarding mandatory masks for everyone. They said it was "mandatory" but have offered no way to enforce it. If everything has to be this complicated and convoluted, it would be safer and easier to do online the first 9 weeks at least. I am not high risk, but I know many of my colleagues, students, and their families are, and I want to keep them safe. 8/9/2020 11:51:12 Parent, Teacher Monongali a Morgantown High School I do not feel that schools are safe at this time. have asked countless questions regarding safety practices and plans. These questions concern adequate air [ventilation systems in our building (the windows don?t open, have the systems even been checked?, are we going to have the recommended filters used and replaced?) availability of cleaning supplies and protective equipment does the county have enough to provide to every and concerns about cleaning staff we only have 2 day time custodians for over 2000 students, faculty, and staff daily in the buildings). Additionally our classrooms are overcrowded and social distancing is not possible. Furthermore, no answers have been given about testing, quarantining contact tracing, lack of substitutes, and non-compliance with safety protocols. I am immune compromised and no accommodations are available to allow me to continue to do my job safety. My only option so far is to take a medical leave of absence and use sick days to be paid. I also am a parent and am deeply concerned about my daughter's level of exposure and risk of illness. 8/9/2020 Parent, Teacher Logan Man Middle Our area is not observing guidelines very well, and it is 11:52:45 Man High reflected in our number of covid-cases. My wife and parents (majority of my WORLD) are high-risk. A very high percentage of my students are raised by grandparents with other issues. The only reason numbers aren't currently higher is that students have been out of school. That will quickly change if schools don't remotely open until numbers are under control. With our current community spread, this is madness that can only result in failure. 8/9/2020 Parent Taylor West Taylor This virus is no where under control. lm scared to death to 12:02:45 elementary, Taylor send my children back. Alls it takes is 1 student, 1 teacher, County middle, 1 person to slip by and bam we have an outbreak. People Grafton will die. Our children can die, Teachers, staff, grandparents raising their grandchildren, parents. Why cant we do virtual learning for the semester and then reevaluate in January? Why are we taking such a huge risk and chance by opening schools? 8/9/2020 Teacher Monongali Suncrest Middle I do not feel that schools are safe for children or teachers. I 12:11:46 3 School am a teacher and given my current class numbers I will not be able to safely social distance children even at 3 feet apart. Data shows that children ages 10 and up can be and spread the virus readily. Monongalia County is a hot spot and approximately 50% of cases are ages 20-29 with approximately 15% of the county cases in the age group 10-19 and I teach 8th grade. I believe that schools should be entirely remote until there has been a 14 day decline in cases within our county. When we went remote in March we had no cases at all. From July 8 - Aug 8 the state has gained approximately 3000 cases and Monongalia county has gained approximately 500 cases. Why would we go back to in person learning under those conditions? I also feel that if we are remote that teachers should be permitted to teach from home if they wish to. Other professionals are permitted to work from home. (. Teachers are professionals also and should be treated as such and with respect. At this point in time I feel more disrespected than I have ever felt as a teacher. I am considering changing professions and I am still 2 years from retirement. I also know quite a few teachers who, if we are required to go back to in person learning, will immediately retire and I know other teachers who are already applying forjobs in other professions. 8/9/2020 12:26:04 Parent Lincoln Hamlin Elementary My county has not even release a plan. They are communicating with parents through a facebook page. They are supposedly calling parents to ask them to choose plans without providing information about what the plans will be. (Although I have 2 children starting Pre-K and K, no one has called me). Rumor is that I can choose virtual or possibly 2 days a week in-person. have NO information about steps that the school is taking to make the environment safe. Many schools in my county have ventilation issues. I do not know if my children will be provided with tablets or ifl should be purchasing one. (We only have work laptops and not a home computer). I have less than a month to figure out how to balance work (2 parent working family) and childcare. I do not know if it will be safe for grandparents to provide childcare. I do not know what childcare I will need in terms of days, hours, etc. I am a program manager at my work with 10 staff depending on me. It is NOT safe to open schools but if schools are open parents will be forced to choose between keeping their jobs and exposing their children- or potentially losing theirjobs. This is not a fair choice for families! Our schools were inadequately supplied pre- pandemic. I have 0 confidence that the schools will be made safe, especially with no planning, preparation or funds. They could have been planning for re-entry since March, not waiting until now for the governor to take 2 ,3 ,3 more weeks to put a plan in place. This will be an experiment in futility and our children and school employees will be the victims. 8/9/2020 12:33:41 Parent, Foster Parent Kanawha St Albans High, Hayes Middle, Lakewood Elementary We are ready for kids to be back in school to have normalcy. Also I do not see teachers willing to give up salary for the time they don't respond to kids with school assignment questions. We just went through a horrible summer school online learning experience. Its all about wanting paid to sit in the recliner at the house at this point. I will stand with teachers on raises and peia but this I will not and teachers need to be in the classroom. 8/9/2020 13:18:19 Teacher Wetzel New Martinsville Our school, New Martinsville School, has pre?k-8th grade. We have roughly 850 kids and about 110 staff members. The rooms are not big enough to socially distance appropriately. Also, with kids under 3rd not being required to wear masks, how will you keep these students and staff for those grades safe? There are not adequate amounts of restrooms, nurses (we have 1), school counselors (we have 2). There has to be some set rules and regulations, not "a toolkit with suggestions?, for all schools in WV to follow. How will classrooms be sanitized? What?s the procedure for sanitizing? Sanitizing during the day while students are present, how will this be done? What?s the protocol when someone tests positive in the school, what about kids going on vacation and coming back to school, transfers from out of district? These and many, many others need answers before we put our kids back into the schools. 8/9/2020 13:37:04 Teacher Monongali a Suncrest Middle School I do not feel that schools are safe for children or teachers. am a teacher and given my current class numbers I will not be able to safely social distance children even at 3 feet apart. Data shows that children ages 10 and up can be and spread the virus readily. Monongalia County is a hot spot and approximately 50% of cases are ages 20-29 with approximately 15% of the county cases in the age group 10-19 and I teach 8th grade. I believe that schools should be entirely remote until there has been a 14 day decline in cases within our county. When we went remote in March we had no cases at all. From July 8 - Aug 8 the state has gained approximately 3000 cases and Monongalia county has gained approximately 500 cases. Why would we go back to in person learning under those conditions? I also feel that if we are remote that teachers should be permitted to teach from home if they wish to. Other professionals are permitted to work from home. Teachers are professionals also and should be treated as such and with respect. At this point in time I feel more disrespected than I have ever felt as a teacher. I am considering changing professions and I am still 2 years from retirement. I also know quite a few teachers who, if we are required to go back to in person learning, will immediately retire and I know other teachers who are already applying for jobs in other professions. 8/9/2020 Parent Berkeley MHS Close contact 14:05:34 8/9/2020 Parent Monongali Cheat Lake I believe we need to have remote only education in WV at 14:39:26 3 Elementary, least the first semester of this school year, if not the entire Morgantown High year. There is too much risk involved with The science behind the rapid spread of this disease is out there, whether it is or not it will spread and it will spread and spread to those in high?risk situations. This is some thing that we cannot take this is something that we the people will not put up with letting politicians let politics and the economy stand in the way of putting the safety and welfare of not only our kids, educators, service personnel parents, grandparents alike and the rest of the community at risk. We live in a household with a very high risk parent, one of 0 my children has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression and is very scared to step into a school building. Note that this has nothing to do with the education because that child of mine is extremely ready to get back to school, misses her teacher misses her friends. We are all in this together and we all need to stand up for one This should not be something that we need to debate about over and over - we just need to stand up and do what is right and take care of each We the parents demand that our children get high-quality education through remote learning. It is imperative that our children get the quality education they need and get that remotely in a safe environment at home, I want both of my children to be able to see and engage with their teachers online throughout the year while we battle this disease. Sadly, if this cannot happen, I will choose virtual school for my children through the public school system. Thank you for hearing our concerns. 8/9/2020 15:57:40 Teacher Nicholas Substitute Teacher 1 am a substitute teacher and my husband is also a teacher. I am a little dumbfounded that reopening the schools is even up for discussion during a global pandemic. This pandemic has been proven to be extremely contagious, and schools are breeding grounds for illnesses. Our county is interpreting the state's reopening plan as saying that once kids are in the classrooms then they won't need a mask. I am beyond scared for my safety as I am an asthmatic. We cannot have teachers walking around classrooms with teens who aren't wearing masks (I don?t think we should be even if they are wearing them). I believe that remote learning can be done well, but it takes planning. And we are wasting precious time with the in person nonsense. Let teachers do theirjobs well from a safe distance. These are unprecedented times and unfortunately education will be one of the sacrifices that will be made, but we can put a huge dent in the deficits if we start planning now. have a two year old daughter that i am terrified is going to grow up without her mommy if I get this. We have made great sacrifices since March to keep our family whole, and the half thought out plan presented by our govenor and our county is going to put my family in great jeopardy. Nothing is worth the life of a teacher, service personnel, student, or their families. 8/9/2020 17:01:25 Parent, Service Personnel Berkeley Spring Mills High Covid 8/9/2020 17:05:22 Substitute teacher/community member CabeH Huntington High, Huntington Middle, Southside Elementary I see no evidence that subbing in the high school or middle school will be anything approaching safe. Covid19 levels are rising, not falling. Class sizes are unlikely to be limited. Ventilation is not sufficient in most rooms. The policy I've seen doesn't require masks in the classroom, even though there is evidence of airborne transmission. I haven't seen an attempt to modify schedules to reduce daily contacts or number of students in halls for changing classes. I'm over 50. My husband is over 50. Even if we don't get seriously ill, there seem to be long-lasting effects. I don?t want to be part of speeding up community transmission or get sick. My kids will be home from college again in November, and I don't want to bring it home to them, either. 8/9/2020 17:06:20 Teacher Randolph Elkins Middle Schhol Our school is not adequately ventilated. We still do not have solid plans for daily movement of students. Everything feels haphazardly scraped together and incoherent. Until we actually have solid plans for all eventualities in the school day, we need to go virtual to protect our staff, students, parents, guardians, and communities. 8/9/2020 17:06:34 Grandparent, Teacher Randolph Coahon Elementary The plan in my county isn?t well thought out. There are so many questions and potential problems that it is causing my stress level, as well as fellow teachers, to sky rocket. Knowing how poorly the Hybrid and Distance Learning plans have been crafted have little confidence in the safety portion of the plan. Also I have been teaching 36 years. People send their children to school sick. Our country has no provisions that allow hourly workers to take care of their sick children without being penalized at work. 8/9/2020 17:09:17 Parent, Teacher WV Explorer Academy and Spring Valley High There are too many risk factors for both students and staff. The related disease to covid for kids is the and there may be long term effects on the brain, heart, and other organs. There is no reason to send kids back in person at this point until the virus is under control. I cannot fix a dead student or dead teacher/staff. I can fix anything else when it is safe to do so. 8/9/2020 17:09:52 Parent, Grandparent Kanawha South Charleston High The cases keep going up, schools that have opened up are experiencing problems, eg: students not wearing masks, not social distancing, and a uprise in Covid-19 cases. Our students are not guinea pigs or lab rats. Until there is a vaccine available for all then the schools should not open! 8/9/2020 17:12:09 Parent, Teacher Mercer Bluefield Primary Our schools do not have the means to safely social distance. Also, you get students who do not understand the severity of the situation will not follow guidelines in the way that?s needed to keep the virus spread down. I have a child at home in addition to senior parents and an elderly grandparent help care for. I do not feel safe working as usual and bringing the virus to all the them. 8/9/2020 17:12:42 Parent, Teacher Upshur Union Elementary SchooL Buckhannon- Upshur High School There are too many unknowns to the virus and I?m concerned about protecting my young children. r. 8/9/2020 17:13:00 Parent, Teacher Kanawha Andrews Heights Elem. Hayes Middle School I am risk. 3 feet apart is too close! graders in a mask ALL Too many people still sick and it is spreading. 8/9/2020 17:13:46 Parent, Kinship Relationship, Grandparent, Service Personnel Raleigh Park Middle and Shady Spring Middle I am 61 and an asthmatic since the age of2. I worry about being struck with COVID and bringing it home to my 67 year old husband or my 16 month old granddaughter. I also worry about my daughter that will be teaching in a classroom ,she may bring it home to any of us. We have worried since this all started policeman and he?s out being exposed. I do not feel that we are ready to be back in small rooms even with low numbers in the rooms. We have far to many grandparents raising grandchildren to chance either age population. We really need to be remote for the first 9 weeks. Assess things at the 9 week time and move from there. Do not let our children, teachers and service personnel be test dummies 8/9/ 2020 17:14:00 Parent, Counselor Raleigh Bradley Elementary My family has many who are immune compromised. While I know no plan is perfect, I believe with the growing rate of cases we should begin virtual and re-evaluate after the first 9 weeks. We are in a worse position now with this virus than in March when schools closed. Even if was still to report, I would feel safer knowing that The chances of me bringing this virus to my son and other immune compromised family would be slimmer. We all want to be back in school and for things to be normal, but please allow us to do it when it?s safer and cases are trending down. As a counselor I worry about my students social-emotional well being during this time, but so many of our students are being raised by grandparents which are in the high risk category. I don?t want to think of the potential repercussions of this virus on those families. W. ?0 8/9/2020 17:16:29 Teacher live in MD BPS I live in MD and work in WV. I cannot find daycare for my kids who will be doing remote. I still think with all the uncertainty we should do remote. 8/9/2020 17:16:48 Parent Braxton Little Birch Elementary, Braxton County Middle, Braxton County High The numbers are not going down. We have a lot of elderly raising their grandchildren due to the drug problem. Any type of illness spreads through the schools like wildfire. If these children carry this home, they may be fine but their caregivers may not. Who will care for them then. My children have asthma and my husband has health issues including heart disease. We can not afford for anyone to get sick. I have buried a child. I know how devastating it is. I understand not everyone has internet, ours is out more than it is on, but there has to be a better way. Could we not make packets and set a due date for them to be turned in for a grade? How about downloading the class books onto iPads or laptops so they can actually do the work? I?m sure teachers would be willing to do lessons and have them recorded and put on cd or to send home with the kids. If the kids have questions then they should be able to call Or email the teacher for help. Some of our teachers fall in the high risk category. While I commend the effort everyone is putting forth to keep everyone safe, in reality it is not feasible. Walmart is allowed 250 people, how do you plan to put 700-800 in a building that is smaller? My 5 will be learning at home rather that be remote, virtual, or homeschooling. 8/9/2020 17:17:14 Counselor CabeH Highlawn, Huntington East, HHS I am worried for the health of myself, my family, my school staff, my students, and their families. We need to go to school remotely until it is more safe. 8/9/2020 17:20:11 Parent CabeH Village of Barboursville Elementary I want my children to be in school as much as anyone else. I trust our teachers and administrators to keep them as safe as they possibly can, but I don?t believe there?s a safe way to return to school right now. Despite the belief that COVID doesn?t affect many children, we still don't know what type of long term effects it may have. We are putting teachers and other staff members at risk, who may have their own risk factors but have no choice ?nancially but to go back into the school building to teach. If we return to the school building on September 8th, my family as well as many others will be forced to make the decision to separate from our local school and enroll in virtual school in order to protect the health ofour children and families. I also suspect that in person instruction won?t last long due to COVID outbreaks. Why not start remotely, safe from home, until we?ve had no new positive cases for 14 days? 8/9/2020 17:20:47 Grandparent Harrison Liberty It?s hard enough for grandparents raising grandchildren then comes school. I would feel more comfortable having a computer class to homeschool my grandchild. I can?t help with math or English but ifl could be taught to go into the computer to see if the work is getting done; that?s our biggest struggle. I hear, ?I?m done with homework? only to get a note from teachers that nothing was turned in. 8/9/2020 17:23:24 Retired teacher; Substitute teacher; Read Aloud volunteer Kanawha Piedmont Malden Elementary Schools For the in?school option, in order to reduce physical contact between staff and students, have innovative scheduling ideas (mostly for secondary students) been considered? Ex.: Half-days; extending the school day; secondary school classrooms staying in home rooms, while teachers switch; student-differentiated schedules; different school start and end times; modified instructional calendars; forgiving the senior year for qualified students; and secondary schools Multi-Tracking Systems 8/9/2020 17:25:36 Parent, Grandparent CabeH Milton Middle and CMHS We have increasing infection rates there will be people in the schools who have traveled or otherwise not followed guidelines (masks, etc.) already stories of other school starts not going well if we have church outbreaks, how much more likely will there be school outbreaks going into fall we will have so many other illnesses with coughing and sneezing ventilation and air movement will defeat '3 distancing/ many teachers are older, some with high risk conditions as grandparents, we provide child care and we both have high risk conditions. 8/9/2020 Parent, Legal Guardian, Harrison nutter fort there is to many sick people and to many people dieing I 17:28:11 Kinship Relationship, just dont feel its safe Grandparent, Foster Parent 8/9/2020 Teacher Berkeley Spring Mills area I have an 80 year old mother who is at risk of this disease. I 17:28:34 am at risk being diabetic. see photos of students, parents, teachers out at parties and not social distancing putting my health at risk being we are forced back into the classroom. I am being exposed to all this when I have been so careful and followed the recommendations for staying safe. We are not prepared to go back to school SAFELY. It's not a matter of if I agree the disease but WHEN I get it, and I?m deathly afraid for myself and my family. Being older adults also puts my family at risk. 8/9/2020 Parent, Teacher Brooke Brooke Primary We can not keep staff and students adequately safe. 17:29:28 North 8/9/2020 Teacher Wood Parkersburg South Simple. We went out for much less than this. We shouldn?t 17:33:53 be risking all of the grandparents of students that are no longer raised by their parents. If we can go virtual, why endanger students and adults alike. I don?t see how this is a hard decision to make. Yet here we are. 8/9/2020 Former teacher and Berkeley Worked at Our county has one of the highest numbers of positive 17:40:01 administrator, now retired Martinsburg for tests. We have not had a 10-14 day decrease in and mother of a teacher 30+ years positive test numbers, yet. While I'm sure there are WV counties who have not had these numbers, this county has and should not risk the health of its students and staffs. I would suggest that we consider something that another state is planning. They are scheduling their secondary students for online instruction and then spreading their elementary/intermediate students throughout the county?s existing school buildings so as to provide the social distancing suggested for health safety. I would include the r. lower functioning students with special needs in this group, as well. This would be somewhat awkward, but for one semester (hopefully, only one) it is a doable solution. 8/9/2020 17:40:36 Parent, Teacher Harrison Bridgeport Middle Wilsonburg Elementary I feel if the public limits customers or participants and requires face masks in order to obtain entry then the schools should also limit number of bodies and require face masks. I do not feel that splitting groups of students up to accommodate those requirements can be met without causing a concern for segregation. was ok with middle school virtual in the spring and my elementary teaching virual in the spring. I feel 1 semester of virtual teaching my own students would be the best choice considering the of positive new cases is not declining. In the school setting, students will be limited to sitting the majority of their time on campus and social distancing is not and easy task for them or the public in general. 8/9/2020 17:57:33 Parent Gilmer Gilmer County High School We just brought back a select number of college students. Already one is positive. Can you imagine? They?ve been in meeting after meeting face to face with all the same students on campus so now they should all quarantine. It?s a crying shame that we can do things from a distance but make the choice to be face to face. 8/9/2020 17:58:13 Parent, Teacher Harrison Mountaineer Middle, Liberty High School There are too many unknowns with children?s risk and long term effects for all. I am scared to bring this disease home to my family. My husband is high risk and so are my parents. i can?t understand why we don?t allow students in school if there aren?t vaccinated but during a worldwide pandemic, we?re just going to throw everyone all together. 8/9/2020 18:02:02 Parent, Teacher Marion Jayenne, West Fairmont Middle My husband is a diabetic and has a TBI. The likelihood of bringing the virus home multiplied by 4 with all three of my children in school and with me tracing in the schools in Harrison County. My children are doing distance learning to decrease the chances of exposure, but I?m at the mercy of the BOE. I am itinerant and visit 9 schools in the County. Looking at states who have opened schools and now have had to close as a result of COVID cases rising, WV needs to close schools before we experience the same situation! 8/9/2020 18:07:42 Teacher Wood Neale Elementary I feel that our school buildings are not able to promote social distancing and proper ventilation. It will be next to impossible to maintain 6 ft. distance within the classroom and other shared areas such as the restrooms. One sick child or teacher runs the risk of infecting so many others because we must share common areas. I fear what will happen to my young son if I were to bring home the virus and infect him. I have been so careful with all my interactions and feel that going back to school will increase my risk exponentially. I want life to return to normal as much as the next person, but schools should not be our test subjects. 8/9/2020 18:09:51 Parent, Teacher Randolph Elkins High School, Elkins Middle School There is not enough cleaning supplies, students will not wear masks all day, there is not enough space to social distance students in classrooms or in cafeterias, students will not be able to work in groups or do labs without enough materials/equipment because they can?t share, it will increase stress on staff and students, must be ready to be fully online at any day, numbers of cases have not yet been below 2% for 21 consecutive days, testing is sparse and voluntary so we don?t know the actual numbers; constant use of disinfectant without gloves, respirators, or sufficient air flow can damage lungs and skin; not enough support for teachers to design blended courses when starting from scratch which means making two lesson plans for each day and course (double the work), triple if you consider the students without devices or internet (these will NOT be ready when we return on the 8th) who will be at home at some point in a blended environment or when we shut down 8/9/2020 18:09:52 Kinship Relationship Kanawha Dunbar Primary The re?entry school plan is sorely missing fundamental information among other things. I read all of the check this, and plan for that, but nowhere is it said that an exact plan has been made to the point that everything is explained in a clear and concise manner. Most schools have antiquated ventilation systems and windows that don't open but, there are some schools whose windows still open, however, if the windows are open, it is a violation of the fire and safety code. Does the re-entry plan address this problem? We, as the public, are told that 6 feet much be maintained for safe social distancing, but are now told that 3 feet is a safe distance for desks. From what I can remember, 3 feet is what the desks have always had between them, so how can a deficiency of 3 feet still be considered safe social distancing? Everyone, who has ever been around children, knows that it is impossible for them to not touch their mask let alone wear one for hours. Children are always in each others space, touching and sharing. Most of the teachers time will be used for reminding the students about this. How is that a good use of educational time? What about all of the itinerant school personnel Nothing is mentioned about how the plan will keep them safe. These people travel from room to room and school to school. They will not be confined to just one group of children, like the main teacher is. Who is going to supply them PPE and how many masks will they receive a week per school and who is expected to supply them? Who is going to supply the materials used for music, art, P.E.,since the students are not allowed to share material? How are teachers suppose to teach a classroom plus learning at the same time? How are buses suppose to transport children to school, internet hot spots, sports, and everywhere else the 0. Governor said the students would be transported to? There are just not enough buses or drivers to handle this kind of load and even if there was, how will the buses be sanitized with all the traveling they will be doing? According to the Governor, there will be a color coded map of some sort telling where each county stands with positive cases and school districts. He never did explain the map we saw nor did he tell us when to expect an exact explanation. And how many students and/or teachers have to test positive before the school goes to remote learning? What happens to all the families that these students who have been in contact with an individual that is positive? Does everyone have to be in self quarantine for 14 days? That's going to cripple a lot of businesses with workers out and put more stress on the older members of the family. I have checked out the WV Education webpage and the county webpage. Both have a lot of preliminary plans listed and suggested check off lists, but nothing that will really show that students, faculty, service personnel and the community are truly more important then politics, sports and economic growth in this trying time. 8/9/2020 Parent raleigh shady no vacine. Autoimmune disease. Sick grandparents. We 18:10:47 can do remote 8/9/2020 Administrator Mineral FAP - 2 schools, no child will be mandated to wear a mask. 18:11:30 Schools with no physical room to have a nurse's area/quarantine area. 1 custodian that works a split shift. 8/9/2020 Parent, Teacher Mercer Bluefield My son should be starting kindergarten this fall, but I can?t 18:12:09 Intermediate send him to a school building and risk him getting sick or bringing home the virus to his siblings or grandparents. Yes, (- I want him to go to school, but his precious life and the lives of my family mean more to me than anything. I am more concerned with safety than anything else. I am also a special education teacher and my students have moderate to severe disabilities. They do not understand social distancing, nor will they wear masks. My students need constant help and supervision and require hand-over- hand assistance for so many things. I also have students who wear diapers and need to be changed several times a day. I can?t social distance from them when they need my physical help for so many things. I couldn?t live with myself if I got one of them sick. These are scary times, and school will not be normal for a long time, I?m afraid. I am praying that all schools in WV will start out the year virtually, and move to in-person instruction as soon as things become more safe than what they are now. 8/9/2020 18:18:15 Kinship Relationship Harrison Bridgeport The first semester should be virtual. They are essentially sends teachers, staff and students in as an experiment. In WV, many kids are raised by their grandparents and this virus is worse on the elderly and the immunocompromised. 8/9/2020 18:20:04 Kinship Relationship, Administrator Nicholas Richwood Middle, Cherry River Elementary, Richwood High Our schools in Nicholas County have a unique situation since we are currently awaiting the beginning of construction. With students in temporary pods, our buildings are not adequately sized to allow social distancing. We do not have sufficient staff to monitor and provide the necessary modifications to keep our kids safe. We do not have the space available on our modular classrooms to allow separate isolation spaces when students become ill. 8/9/2020 18:21:54 Parent CabeH Village of Ba rboursville Elementary I am concerned about my child being exposed to this highly infectious virus as well as a the spread of covid19 throughout the state and my community. ,3 8/9/2020 18:22:47 Teacher Boone Sherman Elementary I am concerned about the possibility of transmission due to crowded conditions in the classroom. I don't feel there is any way to properly distance small children in a classroom setting. Many people are still working from home when possible. Many offices, banks, government agencies, and businesses are still closed to the public. Even board meetings are being held remotely. If adults are not able to meet in?person safely, how can we expect children to do so? I provide care for my elderly father. If I would get sick, I would not be able to provide him with the care he needs due to the fact that he is in the high risk category. I think everyone in the community would be safer if we would start school remotely and then move to in-person classes after the active cases decrease. 8/9/2020 18:26:44 Parent, Teacher Logan Logan This virus is a killer. School children CAN STILL GET IT. They are not immune. They may not all die, but some will. Teachers and other staff will die. You are not considering your teachers and staff who are high risk and immunocompromised like I am. There are hundreds of us. You are not even considering students raised by grandparents. You are not considering our safety at all. Shame on you! You call yourself Leaders don?t put lives in danger? Do the right thing. Go remotel! 8/9/2020 18:29:55 Parent, Teacher Jefferson Shepherdstown Until our HVAC system does not use recycled air AND until classroom sizes can be adjusted to less than 13 for social distancing of a FULL SIX FEET, we are NOT ready to go back to in person instruction. 8/9/2020 18:38:17 Parent, Teacher Mineral Primary Both my daughter and I are high risk. As of now there has been no safety equipment installed in our rooms plexiglass etc). For the past 6 years I have had to beg parents to provide my room with wipes and tissues. How can I know the county or state will now finally provide for me? When it is in short supply? The residents in my community refuse to wear masks as it infringes their freedom, so we have had a lot of community spread. Students will not have to wear a mask in my classroom. How will we stay safe? I just found out today I have been exposed by a community member that I purchased masks from! How will we keep What if I become sick and I had just spent the last week teaching these kids and exposing all of them? I could never live with myself if I was the cause ofa child dying from this disease. 8/9/2020 18:41:17 Parent, Foster Parent, Teacher Raleigh Bradley I'm concerned about not being able to properly social distant and remain safe for myself and to keep my children safe. My personal children, foster children and the ones in my class. 8/9/2020 18:42:35 Parent Harrison Bridgeport High School I feel that the first semester of this school year should be remote learning. I do not feel safe sending my child to school with the current levels of community spread in my county. I do feel that the schools have not prepared for social distancing enough. I worry about the number of students in my son's school specifically which is already overcrowded and with normal school attendance social distancing will be impossible. I fear that mask mandates will not be enforced. I hear so many comments from people in my community about fall sports and I fear that fall sports may be the reason we are rushing into this decision. I believe opening schools when we still no very little about this virus is irresponsible and dangerous for our teachers, support staff, students and their families. It's simply just too soon. Remote learning can work he tr if teachers and staff are given adequate time to prepare. 8/9/2020 18:44:21 Pa rent CabeH Barboursville Middle I am concerned with the amount of time for parents to be notified when our children are exposed to COVID-19. I am not comfortable with the school system passing this off on the Health Department. Positive test results and contact tracing could take up to 1 week or longer 8/9/2020 18:46:32 Service Personnel CabeH Vobe I feel our standards are low. The county have never follow up on complaints dealing with cleanliness and now we except them to keep our school clean when we have zero consequences for janitors not doing their job. We can?t get trash to be take. Out? Second, some special ed classrooms doesn't have bathrooms putting them at more risk because they have to leave their environment causing them to be expose to more germs. Third, no one has ever discuss special needs in any press release. Do you have a plan to make sure these students get services and will receive make up service from this spring. Finally I don't feel safe because Cabell County has never follow POLICY when it comes to SAFETY. They allow teachers to continue to teach while being investigate and in some cases when found guilty still allow to teach. Does Cabell plan to handle the virus the same way? Wait and see what happens and do nothing. Sound crazy. Right? Yet last week assistant supertendent Kim Cooper wife test positive for covid. He continue to work there. Mr. Saxe was aware. It wasn't until everyone was talking that he sent Mr. COOPER home a few days. If they can't follow school policy now what makes us think they can follow policy that protect us from the virus. 8/9/2020 18:54:10 Grandparent, Teacher Ohio Bethlehem and Triadelphia Positive cases are increasing by the day. It?s not worth the risk. One life lost is too many. 8/9/2020 18:57:49 Parent Raleigh Mabscott No adequate room to separate 6 feet only 3ft crap lunches because of situation unstable ever changing in irons environment my daughters immune system is compromised my mom is 75 8/ 9/ 2020 18:57:53 Pa rent Raleigh Mabscott No adequate room to separate 6 feet only 3ft crap lunches because of situation unstable ever changing in irons r. environment my daughters immune system is compromised my mom is 75 8/9/2020 19:03:44 Parent Harrison Washington Irving You have had teachers, personnel, students who been traveling in state at gatherings and out of state. What is the preventative measure when Christmas break? How many kids had lice, strep throat, the flu or any other virus? Will there be extra staff to help clean in between class? Will there extra counseling for kids and staff who have personal had to deal with How do you keep 500 plus kids healthy,safe and convinced that everything is ok? What are the people who are making decisions for our kids, what If it was child? What would you do? 8/9/2020 19:13:43 Service Personnel Berkeley Opequon Right the cases are to high and there is not enough people (I think) that will abide with wearing face masks. Also I am compromised and extremely worried about getting severly sick. 8/9/2020 19:15:44 Student Mineral, but I go to school in Hampshire Hampshire High Even though I am a student and have the option to go virtual, my parents are teachers and feel that if they have to go back, then it won't matter if I am able to stay home. I am worried that my parents will get this disease and pass away, and I have no immediate family that can take care of me. We should wait to go back to school. 8/9/2020 19:23:55 Parent, School bus driver Marion Mon county schools as well as pleasant valley school in Fairmont. We are not ready because out state has failed us in coming up with a reasonable outline. We have pulled my kids into distance learning because my dad has no immune system and watches them 3 days a week. Stop trying to force this and just keep them out! 8/9/2020 19:27:15 Parent, Teacher Berkeley Rosemont Elementary and Orchard View Intermediate If it wasn't safe in March, why is it safe as our numbers climb? I am a teacher married to a teacher. If one or both of us gets sick, our only child has no one. She's 8. Companies and other jobs are going remote, why can't we? '3 The job force is changing as a result of remote, why not change with them? At the end of the day, I can write a novel, but i won't. Protect our students and staff, allow us to start and stay remote until is under some kind of control. Please 8/9/2020 Teacher Putnam Eastbrook There are too many unknown factors to open schools 19:28:02 Elementary safely! 8/9/2020 Parent Harrison Bridgeport Middle The only adults in my sons life are myself and his elderly 19:53:18 grandparents. We are all higherisk. My son would never forgive himself if he brought this virus home to us. And, if something happens to me, my child is an orphan. An orphan! Remote learning is necessary until we are safe. 8/9/2020 Kinship Relationship, Mason Beale Elementary, Active cases are on the rise partially due to people traveling 19:57:17 Administrator Point Pleasant out of area and partially due to the refusal of people to Primary, Point Pleasant Junior Senior High School wear masks/appropriate PPE. Yes, there will be some who test positive who have been compliant and not travelled however that number is very low. We absolutely know we serve families who will NOT support their child?s compliance mask wearing and social distancing protocols we have in place. We will not financially be able to provide enough disposable masks for the students and families who refuse to wash send them back daily students to school. We know from years of experience that many many parents knowingly send students sick to school and either make themselves unavailable or simply refuse to come pick them up when they are too ill to remain at school. We know parents very very often purposefully medicate students to keep their fevered temps down while sending them to school, again school policies. The students tell us as much and very often the parents admit to this also. We also absolutely know that children are in fact carriers (some super carriers) and many do in fact suffer negative health issues when they have the virus. We do not know the absolute long-term effects for either children or adults however what we do absolutely know right now is that there have been proven negative longer lasting effects which rise to the level of health threatening in most of those individuals who have acquired COVID-19 and have ?recovered?. What we absolutely know is that many parents will send their children to school knowing they exhibit numerous associated COVID - we know this because they do the exact same thing when students have influenza, strep, fifths disease, hand foot and mouth, and every other illness known to man. Even with the best laid plans, we simply cannot ensure that students or staff will be safe. We especially cannot manage the behaviors of school age children, even in small groups, which are critically necessary to keep them healthy. In the best of times most are simply non compliant to rules and practices regardless of the reason for said rules. This is not new - what is new is the level of risk we would be assuming for everyone having students in school using any kind of face-to-face model. So this begs answers to questions Exactly what level of liability/litigation risk are you comfortable with assuming in regard to potential legal action from any of the stakeholders groups? Remember, parents cannot waive the rights of their minor children ergo it could be years before the actual litigation ends from health damaged children. Exactly what level of serious illness or Lord forbid death is an acceptable loss in any of the stakeholder groups? Think carefully on that. It is a beyond legitimate question and very possible reality. Help me understand why it is perfectly acceptable from the DHHR standpoint to reopen schools on a face to face model when the government itself isn?t meeting face to face due to lack of safety? And those in government (and others) are non compliant children. Help me understand why the Governor?s mask and social distancing mandates apply to everywhere EXCEPT children staff in public schools? Help me understand why, when we have the power to educate children virtually, we are not doing so to simply serve our communities? We need to use our power to help people thrive, to help a disease spread and damage. Are we (adults) really such concrete thinkers that we do not believe that the VERY positive opportunities we have right now to begin positive change in education are possible? Are we so happy/comfortable the status quo that we will keep preparing students from our past instead of their future? If that?s the case, shame on us!! Bottom line? It?s not safe for any of the stakeholders. If they don't have the sense to protect themselves and their families then you must If for no other reason than to limit liability for the SEA 56 LEAs (including the School for the Deaf Blind in my count). If you need a reason beyond that, look toward the meaningful change in educational delivery this can/should lead to, in better serving the learning of all students in the great state of WV and their families. "In the end, we it will be impossible to know if we overreacted or did too much, but it will be quite apparent if we under reacted or did too little.? Hear those words, my friends. (A. r. 8/9/2020 19:57:56 Counselor Harrison Robert Children have to feel safe before they can learn. They do not feel safe at school during this pandemic. Every moment of their day will be a Reminder that they are not safe. Remote learning is the best for all involved right now. And, we won?t lose amazing teachers bc they? re afraid to return to work. 8/9/2020 20:27:55 Legal Guardian, Kinship Relationship, Grandparent Harrison Norwood elementary I think 4 days of virtual school is going to be really hard. We live where we don't have good internet access. I really believe that my grandsons education is going to be jeopardized. I would send him to a private school but the parents would not allow it. My husband and I both work so going to an area for internet availability would be extremely hard. In addition to the 8 year old we have his 2 year old twin sisters. If they go back to their parents I fear for their safety. If he is in school there would be other eyes on him. 8/9/2020 20:51:32 Parent, Kinship Relationship, Teacher Mason Not able to properly social distance (high schools in our area will still have approx. 600 students with only half going), not all children are going to follow guidelines either due to rebellious nature or because enforcing is nearly impossible especially with small children who don?t understand. Some staff such as myself will be exposed to every classroom in the school building. With cases spiking, this is not ideal at all. I have opted for my child to do county virtual schooling this year because of this. I fear the possibility of contracting the disease and giving it to my older parents, my pregnant cousin or my very small nieces, not to mention my children or husband. How many lives are worth the risk of going back, when it is very possible to still give children a quality education remotely? 8/9/2020 21:02:16 Teacher Jackson Ravenswood High As a newly expecting first time mother listed as having a "high risk pregnancy," I am concerned first and foremost with the wellbeing of our child. There are absolutely no studies into the long-term effects of Covid during early ?3 pregnancy. Secondly, my husband is a retired Army Captain who developed a disorder in the line of duty, and as a result receives a treatment which lowers his immune system. Thirdly, my father is in his third year (of statistically four) of congestive heart failure. I've always been willing to take a bullet for my students, but I am not willing to bring that bullet home. 150 plus students per day is a feat asked of no other profession, and I believe it is reckless to ask it of us. 8/9/2020 21:06:18 Parent Mason I think it would be wise to begin the school year with distance learning for the most part due to the rising number of Covid cases. I also know that children are not likely to wear masks or even grasp the necessity of them so we cannot put too much faith in PPE requirements. I fear for our staff being exposed and large numbers being infected, unable to be in the classroom and having to rely on substitutes. Those are just a few of my concerns. I strongly feel the best plan is to start the year with distance learning and if cases go down in-person attendance can begin at some point during the school year. Thank you. 8/9/2020 21:32:12 Teacher Berkeley Middle I do not feel that schools can be opened safely. I have been told that is enough for social distancing - which the CDC does not agree with. I have been informed students will be eating in my room with me: which means they will not be wearing their masks all day, so why wear them at all? 7 minutes to clean my room? And who will be watching the children during those 7 minutes? How in the world will hallway transitions work? Temperature checks when the kids arrive, but have already been on the bus? Students who are sick (normal sick) routinely are left at school because "no one" can come get them - what happens when that kid is suspected of Covid? Click and Brick teaching? Being asked to do two jobs is highly inappropriate. Schools were NOT designed to be medical facilities and a medical facility are the only places designed to handle a pandemic. Our government offices are not open for safety reason and yet we feel schools are safe? Not to mention by returning to work I am being forced to essentially tell my husband that he can not see his father (78 and immunocompromised) because I can not promise I am not bringing it home with me. I care for my grandmother who will care for her when I am being exposed daily? Who will care for my family when am in quarantine because we expect children to behave better than adults have? We are knowingly asking teachers and students to expose themselves to a pathogen we have yet to even begun to understand scientifically. And for what reason? I can not come up with a single reason that justifies the willing exposure of children. Children are not essential workers. 8/9/2020 21:40:49 Teacher Berkeley Martinsburg High School The general public is not following guidelines to the level that would make me comfortable to be confined to a room with 30 of their children for extended periods. States that have gone back have seen enormous spikes almost immediately. The plan in place at the moment is going to be a logistical nightmare for staff and dangerous for everyone involved. 8/9/2020 21:46:34 Kinship Relationship, Also a general community member who would be affected by a localized spike of Coronavirus as schools opening puts everyone at risk. Berkeley Rosemont, Burke St, Martinsburg High, Berkeley Heights, Because there is not a vaccine available and a single sick child attending puts the entire school at risk. Believe it or not, some people even contract it without showing any That doesn't mean the people who come in contact with that person will have the same reaction. You are gambling with lives as a thousand people die daily from this illness, not to mention the irreparable damage many suffer even after "recovering," especially children. Now ?3 please stop putting our children, teachers, and families at risk. 8/9/2020 Parent Putnam West Teays I am not comfortable sending my child to a possible death 21:49:44 situation in order for her to have in person instruction. There is not enough funds to adequately protect our kids in a situation like this. Also, I worry about the developmental appropriateness for her to experience the responsibility of staying safe in order to stay alive. That year old. 8/9/2020 Grandparent, Service Clay Clay elementary If there is a way to work remotely, separate from others, I 21:54:28 Personnel would like to try that. If school opening is pushed back further to give the nation a better chance of finding a vaccine, and finding a new normal in our school system. No one wants to mourn the death of any one person. 8/9/2020 Parent Bdrkeley Opequon We are not ready because it is impossible to socially 21:54:41 County Elementary distance, the kids won't keep masks on, and Covid cases continue to rise in the US. While my healthy 7yo might survive, if he brings Covid home, his 2yo brother who needs breathing treatments for severe asthma would not. lam not ready nor willing to bury any of my children. 8/9/2020 Parent Cabell Barboursville Seems to be no clear plan for parents, students, or 21:57:10 Middle teachers. How many students will be in each class? 8/9/2020 Parent Ohio Bridgestreet It is not safe, we have already had one positive case in our 21:57:39 household. My child has a low immune system. We do not have enough substitute teacher's for this.Numbers are rising very high daily! It is not safe 8/9/2020 Parent, Counselor Roane Spencer I do not believe reopening schools in person on September 22:07:22 Elementary, Roane 8th is a wise decision due to possible health risks for my County High children, myself, and all children and educators in WV. We have no clear directives from our county level staff on the logistics of reopening, and there is not enough time or staff to meet the WVDE guidelines for reopening. If I choose a virtual option for my two elementary children, childcare will need to be provided, which will put a financial strain on my household. 8/9/2020 22:10:42 Teacher Marion Fairview Middle Conditions are worse now than when we closed in March. The virus has mutated and is now infecting children whereas at the beginning the elderly were the targets. Children can become infected and carry it to their parents and grandparents. I am an "at risk" person who is eligible, but not ready to retire. lam also not ready to be an experimental guinea pig! 8/9/2020 22:15:20 Teacher Boone Van high I think we should go back to school if it can be done My sisters children go to a private school and when I read their return plan I realized exactly how unprepared our public school system is. In my school we don?t have a school nurse. There haven?t been any conversations about how sick students will be dealt with. Who will take care of them? How can teachers be expected to take a sick child to the office while watching 20 others Why can our boa rd of education meetings 0 my have 17 peOpIe attend and the room is 3 times as big as my classroom yet we?re told that the health department doesn?t give guidance to classroom safety. We don't have the money to be as prepared as we need to be. For example our school Is small and we could separate children and make it safe, however, we don?t have the staff to cover these classes. And we certainly don?t have the busses to transport them safely. 8/9/2020 22:25:26 Parent, Teacher Kanawha West Side Middle Riverside High ldon't think a 5 day schedule is feasible at all. I?ve seen no plans to limit class size other than offering ?e-learning? in hopes to move some kids out. I live on the same property as my 66 year old father with a history of cardiac issues making him particularly high risk. As a teacher I?ve seen no plans to provide adequate PPE and I find it hard to believe ,1 ?3 a system that can?t supply pencils and copy paper year round that they are capable of it. 8/9/2020 22:28:42 Pa rent Jefferson Washington High There are many reasons going back into school buildings is not safe. Large gatherings with no mask mandate are *exactly* how COVID spreads. Kids are not going to abide by the mask mandate, and there are not enough teachers to police hallways and other high traffic areas. We have several elderly relatives locally, with whom we are in frequent contact. My child cannot risk exposure that can be passed to these relatives. 8/9/2020 22:46:52 Parent, Teacher Putnam Hurricane Town Elementary I?m very worried that we are not equipped to handle sick children. During the year so many have colds. How will we distinguish that from If children are coughing, do they go home? If my nose is runny, can I no longer teach until I?m tested? In a typical year I get a cold multiple times, as do the children. There are times in my classroom when children are using tissue after tissue. Will they have to miss out on instruction until tested? Or will we keep them in the classroom and risk us all getting Coronavirus? l?m worried about spending so much time trying to keep things safe and everyone healthy that I will be distracted from teaching. Cleaning, social distancing, masks And do we plan to keep children 6 feet apart even during recess? It sounds cruel, but then it sounds even crueler to just let them spread Coronavirus to each other and then their families. I?m very scared of catching COVID. I'm having a lot of anxiety about starting back. 8/9/2020 22:47:25 Parent Putnam West Teays I am not comfortable sending my child to a possible death situation in order for her to have in person instruction. There is not enough funds to adequately protect our kids in a situation like this. Also, I worry about the developmental appropriateness for her to experience the responsibility of staying safe in order to stay alive. That year old. 8/9/2020 Teacher?s wife Berkeley Martinsburg High The schoolrooms are not large enough for proper social 22:55:06 School distancing. Although data suggests that students will not be impacted as much if they contact Covid?19, the teachers, some of which are older with underlying conditions, are being totally disregarded with regard to their safety. Students MUST be required to wear masks at all times. If they cannot wear a mask, they should not be allowed to participate in the ?brick? curriculum. There should also be stringent consequences for not following imposed safety protocols. If a student is a carrier, there is no practical way to "trace" all those who had contact with him/her. Opening schools, before a vaccine is available or the virus is under control, may lead to unconscionable consequences. As there are many successful online academies across the U.S., we have successful models to utilize for online/virtual learning. Working parents find childcare for their children during summer break. There is no reason childcare can?t continue until it is safe to bring children back to school safely. The mental stress of facing the possibility that myself or my husband may contract Covid because of the school system?s negligence is beyond comprehension. Do the right thing implement total virtual learning until the vaccine is distributed. 8/9/2020 Teacher, Substitute teacher Marshall All My father is 90 and has health problems. I want to be able 22:57:03 to visit him in assisted living without the fear of exposing him to the virus. 8/9/2020 Teacher Berkeley Spring Mills High The county has yet to supply a plan. They have also failed 23:22:09 School to detail what in their planning has lead them to believe we can adequately socially distance at school. Their belief that a teacher can simultaneously teach online and in person with zero pay increase or extra support structures is laughable. 8/9/2020 23:38:32 Parent, Service Personnel Lincoln Too many unanswered questions. We need to know all safety guidelines prior to even staff going back. Also if there is a way to allow each grade level to go one day a week and the the next day a different grade and clean in Wednesday the. Two mire classes at the end of the week. Deep clean on Friday night. 8/9/2020 23:49:41 Legal Guardian CabeH Milton Elem Numbers are continuously rising. There's is no way they can keep children six feet apart. They are children, they are not going to keep mask on, not touch others items, sit still in place all day. A lot of the kids live with grandparents, they could bring the virus home to there grandparents and possible lose there care giver and you expect a child to live with the thought that they killed there grandparent. Children with disabilities scare me because they may not be able to fight off the infection. Our little man had 515 this past winter I don?t know what Covid-19 would do to him if he would get it. If he runs a fever of 100.5 we have to take him straight to the ER. We have took every precaution to keep him safe so far. I know parents that send there child to school with runny noses, cough etc. How do you plan on transporting kids. 6 feet apart on a bus. How many trips do you plan on a bus driver making to get the child to school safely. A lot of times already there isn't enough seats for the students now. I don?t have the answer but I do know it's hard on parents trying to keep heads above water and do what?s right for there family, but going back to school Sept 8 I feel is not the answer. 8/9/2020 23:53:41 Parent, Teacher Logan Hugh Dingess Elementary and Chapmanville Middle School Cases are surging in my county. All business and government buildings are closing. Churches are closing. Our hospital is even seeing a large outbreak. If we go back into the building it is not if we catch it but when we catch it. Even without students staff will be exposed to each other. 8/10/2020 2:20:01 College student Logan Logan high school Schools usually carry a lot of germs in general and considering there is a global pandemic, this doesn't make anyone feel safe. Having a mask isn?t gonna help because kids will be touching things all day. No public place can actually be clean. It's better for people to stay home with the people they're always around because if they accidentally get exposed without knowing it, there won?t be an outbreak between possibly hundreds of kids. There are a lot of people that live with or near elderly people and they are at most risk, so there is also a very big problem. I stayed sick about 75% of the time at school because we get in trouble for not showing up on days that we don?t have excuses but we can?t always get to a doctor. That?s why kids show up sick to school constantly because they don?t want them or their parents to be punished. Therefor, I believe if kids are sick, they?ll come to school no matter what. Also, if they do have coronavirus they don?t always have like a fever so how would you even detect that. It?s nearly impossible. 8/10/2020 2:55:31 Parent, Legal Guardian Loga Logan senior high school The cases in Logan county wv have went up tremendously. Our active cases here are in the triple digits. 8/10/2020 5:22:55 Parent Cabe? Cox Landing We simply don't have a good enough handle on this Virus to risk our kids and teachers and staff. I do not understand why solid plans for actual, local teacher led, remote learning haven?t been being worked on for the last several months. We could have started the school year solidly. The BOEs could have worked to involve parents and teachers in their plans, to address access and equity issues, and concerns. Instead, parents are rushed to make a decision without proper information. 8/10/2020 6:42:09 Parent, Teacher Monongali a MHS have been socially distancing since May. Aside from going to store I haven?t been around very many people. I didn't go to a friends wedding. I didn't go to the Fourth ofJuly cook out. But even with all my care, on July 7th I was ,3 diagnosed with COVID. This was a Wednesday. I thought I had a sinus infection bc my head hurt so much and my sinus were flared up. I get these often. Had this been in September I would have gone to work bc that's what I always do when I have a sinus infection. Had this been September I would have gone to work for three days before I even got tested. Had this been September I would have infected/exposed approximately 300 students and staff, one of them who doesn?t have half of their immune system. Had this been September I would have effectively shut down my school. Now, as September is approaching and I look at my roster, where I have 48 students in one class, I can only imagine just how infectious we will all be. How many of us won?t return bc of fear and death. I got lucky with my bout with COVID but I can?t guarantee I will be lucky again. I can, however, Guarantee that I will indeed get sick again and so will students. More than we can we predict. And that will be on the hands of the governor and on the hands of this board. 8/10/2020 Teacher Monongali MTEC I will be 68 years old this year and my husband is 75. We 7:25:33 a live in the university city and are worried about a spike when those students return. Naturally, many high school students interact with college students. Most schools are too small with inadequate ventilation. I don?t believe we have the funds or the time to correct that situation. 8/10/2020 Teacher Berkeley Martinsburg North We are not ready to go back because the people of WV do 7:53:40 Middle School not understand the importance of social distance or the need for mandatory mask wearing. 8/10/2020 Parent Monongali University High Specific to Mon. County schools, we are influenced greatly 8:31:18 3 School by the ebb flow of WVU. With WVU set to resume on Aug. 26, starting public school on Sept. 8 is dangerous. There will not be enough time to determine how much the COVID cases will rise between those two dates with the arrival of the out of state students. Although, WVU is especially with the current outbreaks in Logan County, that are getting worse daily. There are countless adults who proudly say they do not and will not wear masks, and think this virus is all fake, they will spread not only the virus but also their ignorance onto their children. These children will bring in the virus from their parents to school and before they even know they are positive, the whole school will be infected. I?m not willing to risk that happening to my kids. There will be no way to keep it under control in a school full of children. It?s delusional to think otherwise. 8/10/2020 0:24:46 Parent, Teacher Logan Logan Newborn baby and my wife has intense asthma. COVID has devastating and dangerous potential to harm my family. 8/ 10/2020 0:45:58 Parent, Teacher Mingo Williamson pk8 Our county is a hot spot, we are scheduled for 4 day brick and morter and masks are pretty much not required in the classroom, even when social distancing isn't possible. Our board members said as long as kids are facing the same direction they are fine. That is how they interpret the state guidelines. That is not what the guidelines say. This plan, in our current situation, is going to kill people. We should be remote. 8/10/2020 1:10:41 Pa rent Logan Logan High Logan county is a hot spot, this will expose our children to the virus. The state needs to be on lockdown now more than ever! 8/10/2020 1:15:28 Parent, Teacher Logan Logan High My only childcare option is my grandparents, who are both extremely high risk due to both age and medical complications. It is impossible to say that every child will follow safety guidelines even if we had adequate ventilation or rather, the most likely scenario is a mass outbreak, resulting in student, teacher, and family deaths. While numbers continue to rise, it isjust not safe to return to in-person instruction. 8/10/2020 2:18:29 Legal Guardian, Kinship Relationship West Virginia Logan District, West Virginia it's quite simple: Putting them in school puts them close together. Teaching at home keeps them distanced. Safe choice, smart choice. ?3 3 If I catch this I will also end up spreading it to my wife and kids as well as possibly my high risk parents that I have to help do things on a regular basis. Education is extremely important but nothing is more important than health and life. Schools across the nation even that are taking precautions are seeing outbreaks. We will not be any different. Please take the right steps to protect students and staff. 8/9/2020 Parent, Teacher Berkeley Martinsburg high, First of all, there is almost no way in which to adequately 23:55:23 north middle, provide for social distancing opportunities within a school eagle school building. Second of all the HVAC systems within the school intermediate buildings are not adequate means of circulating air according to Covid policy. For example the air system in the school in which I teach circulates the air from inside the classroom versus from bringing outside air into the building. Third of all, The red, green, yellow, system of school buildings being open and closed will provide absolutely no consistency for students. It would be incredibly difficult for learning to not know from week to week potentially what manner in which he will receive instruction. I do understand that many students are in unfortunate situations, however the same students will also not receive adequate medical care should they contract Covid. Please reconsider your position of opening buildings. 8/10/2020 Parent Logan Hugh Dingess We have been shown over and over again that even adults 0:10:12 Elementary are not capable of following even the simplest of guidelines when it comes to In hospitals with trained medical professionals, this virus is unable to be kept from spreading. Yet, we are expected to send children (as young as 3 years old, if you count Head Start) to school and trust they will be safe. Our teachers and school staff are amazing, but kids do not listen as well as we may like. it is UNSAFE and irresponsible to open schools back up, (x planning to do a majority of classes online, many of those out of state students are still returning back to Morgantown due to having already signed leases on apartments and parking. I feel that, at the very least, schools should not have in person learning until we can see how WVU impacts our numbers. 8/10/2020 8:53:05 Advocate Logan Logan The rise in cases and lack of proper protocols make it nearly impossible to return to school while preventing new cases of the virus. 8/10/2020 9:18:50 Grandparent Logan Hugh Dingess It is not in the best interest of the child to put them in a classroom, if one child gets this virus it is too many. If you decide to put them in this dangerous situation you will be the one responsible for every case whether child or adult that results from it. 8/10/2020 9:19:38 Parent Logan Chapmanville have two elementary age children that would be returning. My fear is they would be returning into an unsafe environment that would not be good for their mental or physical health. The return to school safe is just not possible at this point. There are just to many factors at play. First off when you put that many children into one building it is impossible even for the best staff to keep it clean. Second there are to many shared touch points. Third they are children they are going to get into each other?s faces and talk no matter what age group they are. Both my children previously walked down the hallway hugging or holding hands with their best friends and even if your are able to put a stop to that what will it do to their mental health. Some children including mine tend to have anxiety and are deep thinkers returning to the projected school year that has been thought up will not be good for them mentally at all. My eight has already had nightmares over this virus and had to be insured over and over she will not catch it and die. But if I send her back to school she just might or a teacher, friend, or some other school staff she ?3 A) has grown close to. This comes down to do you really want even one possible death on your hands. Fairmont Middle School 8/10/2020 Teacher Berkeley Musselman High I have a wife that currently has a high risk pregnancy, and 9:24:47 School will have a newborn in November. I also have parents over 65 and a grandfather with Alzheimer's. I need to have regular contact with them in order to take care of them. 8/10/2020 Teacher Brooke Brooke High Lack of cleaning supplies, lack of communication to staff 9:29:43 School about safety, classrooms too full 8/10/2020 Kinship Relationship, Harrison WM ES All the testing they find 97,00 kids have it and some do pass 9:39:46 Grandparent, Foster Parent away from it. You have to about the grandparents that?s raising grandchildren 8/10/2020 Teacher Berkeley Martinsburg North If we go back to school in person now, children, their 9:41:35 Middle families, and teachers will be infected. My husband has serious health problems that will make contracting this virus extremely dangerous. I don't want to be the means of my husband's injury or death. 8/10/2020 Parent, Legal Guardian Logan Logan Elementary Corona cases are still rising in our little community and 9:42:27 County town. Until they stop rising I do not feel safe sending my kids to a classroom full of kids where its impossible to social distance. The classrooms at Logan are small as it is, way to small to space them all 6ft apart. My kids leave their masks on good but, I'm not sure how they would do with them for 8 hours in Elementary school. 8/10/2020 Parent Marion East Dale While my family has typically been a two income home, as 9:50:29 Elementary East of Spring 2020 I was forced to stop work and assist in my children's education. It would be nice to return to work, but not at the expense of my family's health and safety. My aging parents often care for my children throughout the year and because of not only their age, but recent health concerns they have had limited contact with my children. This has taken a mental and emotional toll on my parents and children. Since we have tested and have began visiting again, I will not be sending my children back to (n "brick and mortar" schools until it is safe to do so. In- person schooling will not be safe until a vaccine is available and required of students, or the state has 14 consecutive days without a positive case. It is absurd to expect teachers, service personnel and students to be sent into the hell fire just to appease government officials who have no connection to the education community and are looking to put profits and the economy over human lives. Quit playing politics with our babies, their teachers and staff. 8/10/2020 Parent Logan Heritage Primary 9:52:24 Christian School Our positive tests rates continue to rise and what will happen when a child or teacher has it and brings it home to an elderly person . Plus kids won?t stay apart or won?t not touch stuff all the time? How are we supposed to make a child keep a mask on 8/ 10/2020 Parent Logan CRHS 10:04:55 With the numbers rising, instead of decreasing or even "holding steady" I feel it best to delay the start of school, until there are NO reported cases for at least a month, then decide the safest way to return. I am not against going back to the traditional classroom, I have a senior this year and he will be going, it scares and worries me. However I believe that while the cases are still increasing that we should just batten down the hatches and patient and just do nothing would be far better than start back and realize that it was the wrong decision. I know in my area there are SO many Grandparents in the parental roll, and in my house alone we have immune compromised individuals. I also know teachers that are struggling wiht the decision of work or no work out of fear. I have no answers, I wish I did, but I think that we should just "Be still" until the storms passes. Delaying the start won't "hurt" anyone but one case of Covid is too many in our schools. ?3 8/10/2020 Parent, Grandparent, Wetzel New Martinsville Not enough PPE and space in classroom to keep social 10:12:18 Teacher School/Paden City distance. Elementary 8/10/2020 Parent, Counselor Mingo Butch PK8 I am school counselor and a parent to a second grader. 10:14:31 have grace concerns both as an employee and as a parent returning to school. Especially in the Southern counties the amount of positive cases is skyrocketing! School re-entry plans are not requiring masks even when social distancing can not occur. Please do not make my child be a guinea pig by sending him to school when it is not clearly safe! 8/10/2020 Parent, Grandparent, Foster Ohio Woodsdale I am worried due to my age and breathing issues . I also 10:15:24 Parent, Service Personnel have a 2 year old at school. All three of my children will have to go to a daycare(if I can find one). Daycares scare me right now too! Too much uncertainty with this virus right now!! 8/10/2020 Parent Cabell Village of I believe in-person education as well as other services 10:16:12 Barboursville provided by our local schools are among the most Elementary, important facets of raising a family, and I believe, when Barboursville done well, they are vital to the well-being of the whole Middle family. I also believe the goal of resuming quality, live, in- person education is paramount to mitigating and alleviating the full gamut of mental health issues that will be traced back to 2020 and the pandemic. That being said, I believe it is dangerous, both to the physical and mental health of our students, teachers, families, and communities to thrust students and teachers into a classroom setting without being able to ensure, to the highest degree possible, their safety. The risks to physical health, although somewhat obvious, include, but are not limited to, contracting and spreading this lethal virus, not just among their peers, but spreading it to their teachers, families, and grandfamilies as well. The mental health risks are too numerous to list, so I will simply stick to the ones that worry me the most. How many kids will face bullying for wearing masks to school? How many will face bullying for not doing so? How many kids will be threatened when they show of seasonal allergies, the common cold, the flu? How many fights will break out because one student intentionally coughs on another? How many students will bring COVID home to a grandparent/guardian who will succumb? How will they recover from the knowledge that they, at least in part, contributed to that death? Of course I want my children in school, they should be there! They should be learning from teachers who can hug and high five them. They should be able to sit with their friends at lunch and laugh about what happened during gym. I recognize that at this time, it seems, most children have limited most children recover quickly, most children bounce back. I also know that my wife's father has COPD and her mother is Diabetic, and they puts them deeper at risk for larger complications should my children bring that home to them. I want to navigate the return to school. I want to send my children to school. I want to know that they will be safe. I want to know that their risk is as minimal as it can be. Not a hope or a wish, I want to know. lam for a SAFE, Healthy and Equitable return to schools, but until there is a concrete plan to do so, it's just gambling with the physical and mental health and the lives of students, teachers, families, and communities. 8/10/2020 10:25:40 Parent, Teacher Mingo Burch Mingo Central lam ready to be back in the class room and send my own children but only when it is safe. I am the primary care giver of a cancer patient and if I am exposed then I can possibly carry that home to them even before I am Give us a month to plan the best remote ?3 ,3 teaching possible and a month for parents to work out a plan for their children. 8/10/2020 10:40:10 Parent Monongali a Mylan Park Elementary and Westwood Middle have several reasons why think returning to the school buildings are a bad idea. First, the cases in Mon County are too high right now and we haven't determined if there will be another spike in cases once WVU returns. Secondly, both my youngest daughter and I have health issues putting us at an increased risk of contracting the virus. Third, the schools haven't been able to get a handle on the flu or lice so how are we to put our trust in the school system to prevent the spread of covid. Lastly, the phase in plan for Mon County doesn't make any sense, all students in a single grade will still be in school on a certain day meaning no social distancing in the classroom as that would be difficult to achieve with 20 kids in each class. On that same note, families with multiple children will be sending a child to school while the others stay home making it impossible for working parents. My daughter is the only 7th grader on her bus so on the days when only 7th grade goes to school are they going to run a bus solely for her? I'll answer that question for you, no. We depend on bus transportation. These are issues that I personally find the most relevant but I assure you that many parents feel the same. 8/10/2020 10:48:24 Parent Logan Logan High School It is not safe. A gathering of this many diverse people will rapidly increase the rate of spread. We could be killing children and teachers,neither of which is remotely acceptable, no matter in how small a number. 8/ 10/ 2020 10:59:07 Teacher Monongali a Suncrest Elementary It is clear that being in close proximity, like a classroom, bus or cafeteria, spreads the virus. We are not health professionals and therefore cannot be expected to know all the proper protocol needed to keep ourselves and our students safe. Masks are helpful, but do not fully stop the r. spread of the virus, especially when worn incorrectly. I have two small children at home that I will now be exposing. We have an option in this county to allow students to work from home and we can build off the successes we had last semester while addressing some of the aspects that need work. This is the exact same situation we would be in if we were in the classroom, but everyone will be safer. 8/10/2020 11:03:19 Parent, Teacher Logan Chapmanville Intermediate and Chapmanville Middle As a parent ofa 3rd and 6th grader, I?m most worried about my children becoming ill. At both schools, the standard of cleanliness maintained by the custodial staff is ridiculously low. Teachers and parents complain about it, but nothing changes. Both schools have visible "stuff? on the walls, like food and human waste. It isn?t from a missed cleaning day; it is long-term and seems to be beyond the control of administration. They know. They correct. Nothing changes. Also, masks being optional in the classroom puts my children and their teachers at risk. It should not be permitted. Parents will send their children to school sick. We already know that. They?ll knowingly and unknowingly send their sick children into the classroom with my children, which I cannot permit. Therefore, my school-loving children will not be at their home schools. One will be at a smaller private school that I can?t afford, while the other leads himself through virtual learning. That?s a tall order for a 6th grader. As a teacher, I feel it not safe or acceptable for me to return to the classroom for a lot of the same reasons. I feel I will not receive the training I need to teach children at home and in the classroom simultaneously. Will I wing it? Yes, but I shouldn?t be winging it at this point. I work for people who do not take masking seriously. They conduct meetings without masks, and they have all .1 summer, and I don't expect they will enforce rules on students they themselves do not believe in. Our current quarantine plan is more lax than the local Wendy?s. Currently, if I work all day with a student who is positive, I can?t quarantine. I have to wait and see if I?m positive, too. It?s the opposite of CDC recommendations. Also, I haven't been told anything about the supplies I'll have to protect myself. I?m spending money left and right that I don?t know if I even need to spend because we have been told nothing by our administration about any actions related to our health and safety. I have emails about where CE is located and what time to be there, but nothing about how I?ll be kept safe when I go. It?s criminal how little we know. Do I need my own gloves? Bleach? Air purifier? I?m working in a room with no ventilation. My windows don?t open. Am I being moved? Is a fan being installed instead? Am I a deep cleaner on Wednesday? How large of a group can we keep kids in before we admit we don't have enough staff to keep all of us safe? Or do Governor Justice?s 25 people max in a room plans not matter in schools? We are unsafe and unprepared because no plans have been made known to teachers. have to execute the plans. Shipping is slow. If I need to buy things to compensate for their inadequacies, I needed to know in July. If we have to live with this virus, we should be doing so with wisdom and as many precautions as possible. 8/10/2020 Parent Boone Chapmanville have an autoimmune disease and I am considered very 11:11:34 intermediate high risk 8/10/2020 Parent, Teacher Kanawha Mary lngles I am a pregnant reading interventionist in an elementary 11:29:57 school and have been told I have to push into every class. This means I?ll be exposed to every child every day. This is NOT No teacher should be asked to push into every room everyday. That includes art, music, special education, etc. r. 8/10/2020 11:31:54 Kinship Relationship, interpreter Kanawha Kanawha, concerned for Boone as well lam an interpreter and fear for my own safely and that of students are we do not know who is My grandparents (80 and 75 old with a plethora of comorbidities) have grandkids in their home but do not have control over whether they stay home or go to school. If proper mask wearing was strongly enforced everywhere perhaps we?d have a chance but as it is not this will continue to silently spread and if schools reopen I expect a subsequent shutdown will occur but not after many are sickened, likely a large percentage being our precious grandparents. Statistics suggest that 50% of grandparents in WV are raising their grandkids. Some don?t have legal rights so they aren?t being included in this number. 8/10/2020 11:35:17 Grandparent Logan Chapmanville Middle and Village of Barboursville We are grandparents that pick up our grands in Chapmanville and Barboursville. We both have underlying conditions and my husbands 87 year old father lives with us. He is lmmuno compromised, he has lung cancer. We have to help our sons so they can work. There is no one else to pick them up but us. We have to make the decision weather to chance it or tell them no we can?t take that chance. They could lose theirjobs if we don?t help. There are so many grandparents that are raising their grands or like us pick their grands up from school. To do this could be deadly to so many elderly grandparents. Also the kids are at risk as well. There is no way to social distance a bunch of kids no matter the age group. Thank you and God Bless and my prayer is that you all consider all avenues and make the right choice for all. 8/10/2020 11:36:33 Teacher Cabe? Huntington High School I am the mother of a newborn, my sister is due with her first child in December, and have an autoimmune disease. These are my biggest reasons for feeling it is currently unsafe to return to in-person education. Our numbers of positive cases have only increased since we originally closed in March. It does not seem wise for us to return to ,3 school at this time, even on a blended schedule. feel that since we have the resources to utilize online learning, we should take advantage of that now when we need it the most. 8/10/2020 11:40:06 Parent, Teacher Putnam/ work in Mason Conner St. Elementary/ Hannan Jr. Sr. High School In my home we have three people and each one is in a risk category. Especially vulnerable is me - I have 2 autoimmune disorders as well as asthma. I am a teacher and a parent. I'm worried about my own health concerning this because I know schools are not as prepared as they should be for re? opening. Many of the PPE have asked about for myself and my classroom either have not been ordered or cannot be ordered. My son is so afraid he will bring home this virus to me and he's cried every time we talk about school. In my mind, I cannot see how this is better for our students' mental wellness. One person dying in our school system because of this is one person too many, especially when it could've been prevented. I urge consideration of remote learning for the first 9 weeks and then reconvene to plan further. At this rate, we are well over the numbers for cases that we saw in spring - and as you know, we were all at home. If you value economics, you will probably push to open. If you value public health, you will play it safe instead of sorry with the lives of our students and faculty. 8/10/2020 11:45:16 Parent, Teacher Monongali a Mason Dixon Please keep our kids safe. The schools are not kept clean and sanitized on a regular basis. We have no set plan in place to keep our kids 6 ft apart. Most classrooms are only equipped to keep 8?10 kids 6 ft apart. The learning can be done safely in a remote environment until it is once again safe to return to school. I have elderly grandparents and a nephew with special needs that would most likely not be able to fight Please don?t make families choose between school and keeping families and kids safe. Do the right r. r. 8/10/2020 11:45:19 Grandparent Kanawha Ruffner elementary I'm worried about the kids keep on a mask. I have a kindergarten and an ADHD 4th grader. I know it?s going to be hard to keep a make on those two. They come home to me 2?3 times a week after school and I have a compromised Immune system and worry about what germs might come home with I don?t want my Grandchildren or myself coming down with COVID-19. I am very very worried about the children going back to school please reconsider opening on September 8 8/10/2020 11:47:25 Teacher Kanawha Carver, Capital, Hoover, Riverside, GW I heard today that counselors at one high school in our county are telling students that masks won't be mandatory. l, as a teacher, have a real issue with that. It makes me very uncomfortable. I hope that is not the case at my high school. If students are choosing to attend school then they should be agreeing to the mask mandate. Many teachers like myself have underlying health conditions, and I shouldn't be required to be in a room for extended periods of time with anyone unmasked. 8/ 10/2020 11:47:45 Parent, Teacher Monongali a Mountainview Elementary We have not yet reached a safe period for thousands of students to return to in-person instruction. We have seen numerous examples around the country of schools reopening only to have to close again quickly due to COVID infections among students and staff. We have a large percentage of students who are being raised by grandparents, who are at higher risk when it comes to COVID. Much of our teaching population - myself included - is at higher risk of the disease. We will also likely see a spike in cases when WVU students return to campus. We should be proactive and plan for remote learning until we are in a safer position to resume in-person academics. 8/ 10/ 2020 11:49:03 Parent, Teacher Ohio Elementary As a teacher, I fear that I will not be able to keep students 6 feet from me. I will have students who don't understand, I will have have students whose parents don't take this seriously, I will have students who just need a hug. There ,3 are no windows in my interior classroom, there is not proper ventilation. As a special education teacher, I will not be provided the same materials as a classroom teacher in the way of sanitizing products. My principal doesn't take this seriously, and he doesn't wear a mask, so he is creating a culture where others won't wear masks either. I fear that when I go back into the buildings, and I am around 400+ people a day, that I will become ill, I fear that I will get my family sick. I fear that my son will have to watch me struggle to breathe. As a parent, I am not sending my child back into the school building, which means that I will have issues with childcare. My mom is retired, and can watch my son, but she has had a heart attack, so I can not risk her contracting the virus, when I inevitably get it. I am signing over temporary custody to my mother of my son, so that I can keep them both safe. 8/10/2020 11:58:00 Teacher Randolph Beverly I would like to schedule a meeting with retirement Board and PEIA. They?re not open to the public along with a lot of other offices. Our county Board of Ed is not open to the public. Is your office open? My classroom is so small with 25 students I can barely put any distance between them. I don?t see how I can keep up with virtual learners and those in the classroom. I have no extra time before or after school. That leaves me with 40 minutes a day. There's no way I can accomplish everything your asking me to do. 8/ 10/2020 11:58:43 Grandparent, Teacher, AFT local president Mingo Burch PK 8 and MCHS Mingo counties reopening plan does not require masks in the classroom, regardless of social distancing. The high school will change classes and no time to clean desks inside and out, doors pencil sharpeners etc in the 3-5 min class change and do hall duty and only requiring masks while in the halls . This goes against everything we've done since March to stay safe. Virtual learning will not make classes smaller, if I have 20 kids and 10 do virtual and the other same grade teacher has 20 kids and 10 do virtual, then one of us will be the virtual teacher and one of us has 20 unmasked kids that can?t social distance . 8/10/2020 12:00:27 Service Personnel Mason ijshs I care for my elderly mother and I also have a brother that has suffered several strokes that I?m also responsible for. They are both home bound and I'm the caregiver for both. How can I risk their lives? I work with special needs children and I feel I?m extremely high risk due to the fact masks won't be worn and my students can't tell me when they feel feel like I'm at a point I have to pick my job or family. 8/ 10/2020 12:03:40 Parent, Teacher Lincoln Midway Elementary work in Logan County at Man High School. My wife is an CRRN at CAMC General. My oldest will be a student at Midway Elementary in Lincoln county. My wife also provides some some care taking services for her mother, who is extreme high risk having COPD and ongoing bouts of MERSA in her lungs. If me or my eldest child get exposed from school, my wife will also have to quarantine. This will not only be financially devastating, especially in the event of multiple quarantine periods, but will also have detrimental to my mother in-laws well being. Officials stressed the importance of being able to teach remotely under far better conditions than what we have now, but suddenly it's ok to but ourselves and our students at risk under in a much more hostile situation?? That's counterintuitive. Officials stress the importance of staying at home and social distancing, but now it's suddenly ok for teachers and students to be out directly in the fire. If a teacher can do their job from home, why must they be forced to be brought to a building with increased risk of exposure? This has been the last straw of disrespect for me "3 ?0 '3 personally in the teaching field as other professions trust their people to do theirjobs from home. 8/ 10/ 2020 12:04:57 Parent, Teacher Raleigh Woodrow Wilson It?s not safe to send our children/teachers/staff into the schools right now. Too many lives have been lost recently. I think we need to start remotely until the numbers decrease. Why in the world would we start now with the increase in numbers recently when we closed with nothing back in March? 8/10/2020 12:05:42 Parent, Teacher Harrison Nutter Fort The reasons to start remote instruction are endless. Students, parents and teachers need to feel safe and the current plans do not allow for that. They plans are vague and too many unknowns. Schools are not equipped to social distance and still allow for a quality education. The buildings are old, windows do not open, some classrooms don?t even have windows, ventilation systems are inadequate and often don't work on a normal basis. If we are return to in person instruction too soon the lives negatively affected can never be changed. Why not be safe and ease into the school year by remote instruction? A routine can be established and more time will allow for a better and safer plan to return to in person instruction as the covid numbers decrease. My immediate family includes two immune compromised loved ones. I don?t want to be the reason they become ill. Please, keep everyone safe. 8/ 10/ 2020 12:12:00 Teacher Live in Barbour, teacher in Monongali a Suncrest Middle What have we done to limit school staff's exposure? What about students? Yes, they are more likely to recover, but it is not a guarantee. We will lose students, this is inevitable. What about the students being raised by grandparents? My classroom is tiny. I will have classes of at least thirty two students. It is physically impossible to distance them even three feet apart. Masks are only "strongly encouraged," so there won't be any protection there either. All of the hand sanitizer in the world won?t matter once the virus is in the air (assuming there is enough hand sanitizer to sustain us). r. Not to mention the quality of education I?ll be able to provide without betting able to get close enough to help students, without them being able to collaborate, without the games that make learning truly stick. We?re all so concerned about the effectiveness of distance learning, what about COVID learning? I?m thrilled that students have virtual options in most counties, but again ask, what about the staff? I don?t have that choice. Even if I get the virus and survive, whose paying those bills? Giant retailers limit the number of staff and customers. Ulta, for example, is an extremely large store. They limit the people allowed in the building to 25 at a time, including staff. Are you really going to tell me that Ulta cares more about its staff and customers than the state of WV cares about its students and teachers? i feel expendable. I've been searching for another career. I can?t explain to you with enough detail how it feels to be so hated by the public and so expendable to this state. I love my job and I love my students, but that love doesn?t stop COVID in its tracks. At some point I have to worry about myself and my family too. 8/10/2020 Parent, Teacher Putnam 12:20:35 Our school system has no definitive plan on how to follow the guidelines nor are they providing PPE for students and staff. We have many grandparents raising children. We recently had an outbreak related to a basketball game. There is no way that students are going to practice safety measures 100 percent of the time and they will walk into a building without proper protocol or PPE. It?s a dangerous and scary scenario for students, staff, and the community at large. 8/ 10/2020 Parent, Teacher Berkeley 12:22:25 Hedgesville Elementary and Hedgesville Middle I am deeply concerned, both as a parent and as a BC educator, for my children and to head back to school in a brick learning environment. For my children my concerns are heavy. Obvious concerns for their health safety are mixed with concerns from a parent/educator point-of-view. Who will watch my children should I have to return to the building but they don?t? How will they adjust mentally to school looking completely different from anything they've experienced? Will they continue to enjoy school? What if they are will my child be required to quarantine? For how long? Will they be required to login to virtual school if they are sick? If I want to move them from brick to click within the first 9-weeks because I feel brick is not working or is too unsafe will I have to homeschool or home bound them since changes can?t be made? From an educator stand point, as a specials teacher I will be pushing in to every classroom. If I am exposed or get sick does this mean the whole school will have to quarantine? Will I be required by my admin to fill in for sick teachers if we cannot secure substitutes? Will classroom teachers be in the room with me while I'm teaching their class? If I?m made to quarantine for 2 weeks I understand there are 80 hours for me to use in place of sick leave, but what happens if I'm made to quarantine twice? Will I be sent home if my temperature is above 100.3? If so, do I have to use sick leave? What if my child is forced to quarantine from brick do I have to use sick leave to stay home with her? I feel at this point in time there are far too many questions with unknown answers to return to a brick learning environment for both students and educators. 8/10/2020 Service Personnel Kanawha Dunbar The schools in the whole state are not set up in the right 12:24:41 ways that we have ask for and we keep seen positive case of Corvid 19 and in my area it?s the highest right now or 2nd highest 8/10/2020 Parent, Teacher Raleigh Na In recent weeks, the news has shown us that children can 12:25:02 and do get covid 19 and die from it. If we reopen schools, we know exactly what will happen. Hundreds of students (t and school staff will become exposed and need to quarantine. Some will die. Why take chances on the inevitable when it can be avoided by going remote until it is truly safe to return to a fully functioning in person academic environment? Some say that only a few students may die. Are we really willing to risk that? How is this looking out for our students? 8/10/2020 12:25:51 Teacher Jefferson Jefferson High School It is not safe to return to in person learning at this time. It would be much safer and logical to do remote learning for the time being for multiple reasons: 1. Districts that are reopening around the country are reporting cases of students, teachers, administrators, and staff members that have caught COVID-19 within a week or two of opening. A recent study illustrated that around 100,000 children were infected with COVID-19 during the last two weeks of July as schools in some states reopened. 2. The emotional health of our students will be much more negatively impacted by going back to in-person learning than it could ever be by staying at home. A student cannot learn effectively if they are worried about contracting a virus. A student cannot learn effectively if they catch a virus. A student cannot learn effectively if the spread a disease to their family members and feel responsible for doing so. A student cannot learn effectively if they spread a disease to a teacher and feel responsible for doing so. A student cannot learn effectively if their teachers, friends, or loved ones die from a virus they contracted at school. 3. Remote learning this fall will not be the same as the remote learning this past spring. We had almost no time to plan for the remote learning. If we were to announce remote learning now, a month before school starts, it will ?3 provide educators with the time to properly plan. We can make this as close to a real classroom as possible for students. I would argue that it would actually be more productive. With in-person learning, substantial amounts of instructional time are being lost for temperature checks, modified class schedules, early dismissals, larger times for class changes, etc. With remote learning, we can provide full instruction to our students. 4. It is notjust our students that are at risk. Reopening schools for in person learning will lead to community spread, families being infected, staff being infected, teachers being infected, administrators being infected, etc. Please take the above points into consideration. If we are to beat this virus, we need to do everything possible to combat it. That, unfortunately, includes having school being done remotely at this time to stop the spread. 8/10/2020 12:27:25 Teacher Upshur Buckhannon? Upshur Middle School It is clear that returning to school as normal is not working in almost every other state that has tried. Students and teachers have had to quarantine after only a week back in the buildings. For my school and many others in WV, ventilation is a huge issue. Many of the schools are older and some even have windows that won?t open. This will make it very difficult to filter air appropriately. Personally, I have a father and mother in law with underlying health conditions who I see often. This will put them at risk. In our county, we also have many students who are being raised by grandparents. Going back into the classroom will put them a significantly higher risk of also becoming infected. We have a small community and if the virus begins to spread in our schools, I fear it will go through our community quickly and potentially spread to the point (2 where our one local hospital can't handle the amount of people being infected. 8/10/2020 12:29:33 Pa rent Logan Chapmanville Middle School Chapmanville Primary School We have a horrible outbreak in Logan county right now. There is no way, no matter what guidelines have been put in use, that we can keep these kids healthy while attending school. Especially young kids! It's a disaster waiting to happen! School will be a hotspot within days! 8/10/2020 12:31:39 Teacher Jackson All Jackson County Schools I am worry that safety measures like the wearing of masks and smaller class sizes will not be properly implemented. If students are required to wear masks, I worry that it will not be enforced to avoid conflict, endangering other students and staff. I worry about bringing the virus home to my asthmatic husband or my immunocompromised mother. I worry about students intentionally disobeying safety guidelines because their parents have told them the virus is a hoax. I worry about my students having to deal with the aftermath when their teacher, bus driver, favorite custodian, or classmate dies. I worry about the number of students who will have no caregiver when their grandparents, their only guardians, contract brought home from school. One death is too many, especially when we can prevent it by starting remotely. 8/10/2020 12:33:57 Service Personnel Berkeley Opequon I do not want the children, parents or guardians or teachers risking their health just to be in a school building. The consequences can and most likely will be deadly especially since most teachers are older and most are caring for their parents and also the kids are being cared for by their grandparents. I feel that at least going the first 9 weeks remote. 8/ 10/2020 12:39:51 Pa rent Marshall Glen Dale Elementary I am writing to express my concern that opening schools for in?person learning is extremely negligent and dangerous to our children, teachers, and community. As the spouse of an educator, this decision to re?open schools does not sit well with me. ,3 Just off the top of my head I have a few questions that need answered. How do you plan to enforce social distancing in classrooms? How are children going to sit for 7 hours a clay wearing masks? How is recess going to be monitored for social distancing and masks being worn? What happens when there are not enough teachers? Have the HVAC systems in all schools been upgraded to recirculate clean, safe air? What about classrooms with no AC, will fans be permitted potentially spreading infected air? Will teachers who become very ill be docked pay for missing days? How do you propose to bus children to school safely? What procedures are being put in place for parents that refuse to have their children wear masks? There are a million more questions that need answers before you should re-open schools at this time. As a family, we have done our part to flatten the curve by remaining at home, forgoing seeing relatives, wearing masks when absolutely necessary to go out and not gathering in unsafe situations. Now, all that we have tried to accomplish to stay safe is going to be thrown out the window with the return of schools opening for in-person instruction. As a result of this ridiculous decision we have decided to keep our children safe and participate in remote learning. With that being said, while we try to remain safe, re- opening schools and sports will undoubtedly ignite a firesltorm of community infection. This is not fair to those of us who have taken this virus seriously and tried to do what is right. I have no idea how anyone can believe that opening schools is a good and safe idea. How do you really foresee this going? Can you honestly sit back and think this is good for kids, teachers, parents, elderly folks and our communities. What happens when a child gets sick and dies? A parent or a guardian or a teacher? How do you live with the knowledge that your decision possibly lead to the loss of a life? Schools do not need to re-open right now. There is no harm in admitting that this is a serious situation and remote learning will not hamper our children. This is about what?s right and protecting the people of West Virginia. To me, this is not a political issue but rather a lesson in doing what is morally right and safe. We have seen numerous reports of schools in other states that have opened and infections immediately spiked. Let?s not put our children, teachers and families through that trauma for no reason. Let's sit back, take some time and start with all remote learning so we can see how this virus goes. Take the time to put forth better plans. This re- opening seems to be getting gone at an unsafe, off the cuff pace. I liken the decision of re-opening schools at this time to throwing children into a snake pit for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week and just hoping none of them get bit. Does that sound safe or fair? Would any parent be willing to do this? lam begging you to stop the re-opening of schools until there is a better grasp of what is truly going on with this virus. The narrative of children not getting "that sick? has been pushed. The other narrative of kids ?not dying" from this virus is another issue being pushed. However, children have died from this and more kids are getting sick, especially in areas that have opened for in person schooling. What if it was your child that got seriously ill and/or died? Please step back and take an honest look into your hearts and think if re-opening schools is what is best. I am pleading with you to do the right thing. Opening schools at this time is just not safe for anybody. Thank you your attention and time. Sincerely, Chad Cline 8/10/2020 12:45:04 Teacher Lewis PCES I am a 52 year old teacher going into my 23rd year of teaching. I have diabetes and have had 3 surgeries this summer to help me breathe. This last one was very painful and has left me very weak. I love my students, I learned quickly last April how to reach them and get their work to them. I have been training all summer to get ready for the chrome books that my students will be using. Mon County offered a chrome book boot camp that lasted 3 weeks and WVDE offered the math4life training. Our county also had us map our weekly lessons in Reading and Math so we are all doing the same things on Schoology. I know it is not the perfect scenario for schools to be remote, however, with the virus still out there, it is the only safe approach to take. School will not be the same, kids will hate it, and so will the staff. The fun activities, that we cannot have, are the things that make kids want to come to school. Please think hard, I do not want to lose a friend or child because the government says we must open schools. It has to be 8/10/2020 12:49:04 Teacher Randolph Jennings Randolph I'm not against going back to school however some things need to happen before our children return. 1. Adequate ppe including plexiglass for our tables, gloves, cleaning materials, sanitizer, masks, no touch filler stations, and usable paper towels (not the brown ones) 2. Adequate ventilation with schools being checked. 3. Remote teachers. We can not do both in class and remote. (c 4. Half capacity until further notice. 5. Complete plans for when staff, children test positive. 6. Sick days that don't take away from our saved days if we test positive or have to quarantine with full pay not 2/3 of our pay. 7. Adequate cleaning staff. Starting school and staying in school will be expensive and that burden shouldn't be placed on the teachers and staff. 8/10/2020 13:04:18 Parent, Kinship Relationship, Teacher Wyoming Wyoming East High School There are still too many active cases, and there are more coming out every day. Other school systems across the country that have opened already are seeing multiple cases in one school and are having to shut back down because of quarantined staff and students. My husband and are both at risk?especially my husband. His kidneys function at 40%. While I desperately want to go back to the classroom and lead a normal life, I know we just aren?t ready yet. It is in our best interest to start out the year remotely and assess things at each quarter before we bring students and staff into close quarters. 8/ 10/ 2020 13:05:03 Parent, Teacher Greenbrier Crichton/WGMS I am not comfortable with no social distancing at the elementary level in our county's plan (elementary all attends 5 days per week). I don?t feel we are ready to go back to school with the rise in cases and businesses and offices not being opened back to anywhere near normal. There have not been options made clear to staff with health issues yet. BOEs are still meeting virtually. Other states are already having issues with in person instruction. 8/ 10/ 2020 13:09:18 Parent, Teacher Berkeley Mountain Ridge Intermediate During a normal year when illnesses like the flu or strep start going around they don't stop in one classroom, they make their way through the school. This is impossible to prevent with any illness, and I think we are kidding ourselves that there is a "safe? way to return right now. We have been told we won't be utilizing our cafeteria, yet we have 3 bathroom stalls for girls and 2 for boys for an entire grade. Even if we schedule times for the bathroom and somehow find someone to clean between classes without any additional staff, there will still be students who need to go to the bathroom outside of their "class time." This is just one specific example of a problem that we will encounter with students from various classes intermingling. We need to be realistic about the obstacles we are facing. As soon as teachers need substitutes we are in for a world of hurt. During a normal year I have had 4 and 5 different staff members cover my class during one day because no sub picked up the job. lam assuming this would be unacceptable under Covid guidelines, but we may have no choice. I want nothing more than to return to school and have my children return to school. Teaching online is hard for all, but given the current circumstances I feel it is the only realistic option because it is only a matter of time before cases start appearing and spreading in schools, and then we're right back to closing down anyway. Only then we have to hope and pray that none of our families are faced with hospitalization or death. 8/10/2020 Parent Monongali Cheat Lake, I won't feel ready until there is a vaccine. Remote learning 13:11:37 3 Suncrest worked really well in the spring. Keep doing that. 8/10/2020 Kinship Relationship, Jefferson Blue Ridge Covid-19 spreads fast in close contact which is 13:16:53 Teacher Elementary School operates in that manner. Masks worn properly, PPE, hand sanitizers, temperature checks, windows that do not open, shared desks, the numbers in class are more than 10 students, students being and spreading the disease in school and their homes, seeing more than 300 students a day would be difficult to contact trace are a few reasons that we are NOT ready to open. We know this disease has no (A boundaries and is continuing to mutate. Children are not immune from contracting this disease. Some cases have reported decreased health after recovery which seems unfair to place our future, our children in a condition as this. Children are prone NOT to follow rules and in this can be life or death. Education provides experiences that show the difference by making smart decisions. I feel healthy and monitor myself but am at a vulnerable age have A positive blood type; and previously had an auto immune disease. I socially distance outside; wear a mask and limit my exposure to others because I like my health and consider it vital. 8/10/2020 13:41:52 Pa rent Harrison Wilsonburg elem, mountaineer middle, liberty I have twins in elem school that have asthma. Every year at the beginning of the year we have issues because the school has been closed up. This knocks down the kids every year how am I to handle that and COVID concerns. Then if I send my other two kids to mountaineer and liberty they can come home and expose the kids I am keeping home. Also with 4 kids that is 4 different schedules I am trying to keep straight. At the moment 3 different days for the kids. At three different schools. Also the consistency of learning/schedule is very stressful on my kids. It took us a while to find our with remote learning but I had already developed a relationship with my teacher and so had my child. We knew expectations they had for assignments. If we send kids one day a week I am only getting heresay directions from my child on what is too be completed via remote learning. Or if my child forgets assignments or books at school we are out of luck for the rest of the week. I would rather have all remote learning where I can watch the videos and help explain what is being assigned. Have books all in one place. But the key .3 item to me are books. Virtual learning dont have books (except ebooks) for kids to use. 8/10/2020 13:50:26 Teacher, Counselor Marion Suncrest Middle in Mon count Until we have 14 days of no cases it?s not safe. This is just not feasible and it's impossible to make it safe. We need to be full remote first 9 weeks and then evaluate. 8/10/2020 13:51:27 Parent Harrison Wilsonburg Elementary This is my thing you all ripped our kids out of school when WV only had 3 to 5 cases and now we have an extreme amount and you all wanna put our kids back in harms way. You seriously are looking out for the kids and Do 9 weeks learning like they did for a few months. See where we are then . My kid will NOT step foot into school. Read the news. Other state that are back look at what?s I support it kids and our 8/ 10/2020 13:53:04 Teacher Kanawha MCS West Side Elementary My students are often raised by grandparents, great grandparents, and great aunts. have a compromised immune system and I am a preschool teacher and was told I don?t have an elearning option as a preschool teacher. I don?t know that I can fight this virus if I get it. Both my parents are in their 705 and in poor health and I am the only person they are around. cannot risk exposing them to the virus either. Students need to be learning at home. It is not safe at school. 8/10/2020 13:53:47 Teacher Monongali a Clay-Battelle I do not feel that proper safety measures are in place. The students are only required to be 3 feet apart, which is not the distance recommended by the CDC. As a teacher, I have been told I may not be getting a duty free lunch or planning period, which is required. lam worried about my safety and the students safety. It is going to be very difficult, if possible, to prevent the spread of disease with full time 5 days a week education. Students are likely to be carriers who can spread the virus to many others without their knowledge. If I have to go back to work with students, I will have to isolate myself from my family as I worry that I will spread a disease to my elderly grandparents. lnaddition to school, I think it is very irresponsible to allow sports to continue as it is going to be a perfect storm for spreading the virus. We have been asked to do a lot as teachers, and have been willing, but knowingly putting teachers and students into a dangerous situation is wrong. Please do not require in person education at this time. 8/10/2020 13:55:23 Parent, Teacher Harrison Bridgeport Middle My daughter who is a 7th grader at BMS has Crohn?s disease which puts her at risk, I am a teacher in another county and am at risk with my diabetes. I'm not only putting myself at risk, but her as well. (and many of my teacher friends and colleagues) have been working (WITHOUT being told to or paid) on seeking out ideas and PD to better accommodate our students remotely! I think we need to be remote for at least the first semester or at least first 9 weeks. Fully remote with teachers working from home as well. 8/10/2020 14:01:23 Parent, Teacher Harrison Simpson Elementary I feel we should be working and attending remotely. My son will have to stay with my elderly parents on the off days. They have many underlying health issues. Daycares in our area are full. If they decide to send teachers to the building, then please consider 1/2 on Mon-Tues, cleaning day on Wednesday, other 1/2 on Thursday- Friday. I also do not feel it is safe to have large faculty meetings. We could have our meetings through teams. Why take the chance of it spreading throughout our building. You have to make an appointment for the DMV, many at the FBI are working from home, only so many allowed in the court house at one time, Walmart has a limit of approximately 350, doctors can have teleconference with patients, but they still want to send 600- 1000 students and staff into 1 building. Please reconsider remote learning at least the first 9 weeks. 8/10/2020 Parent Harrison NFI and W.I. I've decided to homeschool my children because we don't 14:08:19 middle school feel it is safe to go back into the school buildings. We ended up in the hospital over H1N1 when it hit us. We don't want to take chances and risk my children becoming another statistic. Even if they get Covid and make it through, the lasting complications aren?t worth sending my children to a crammed school building where if safety guidelines are followed, will feel more like a prison then a place of learning. 8/10/2020 Parent, Legal Guardian Harrison South Harrison We do not have the proper ventilation. We do not have the 14:14:18 Middle School proper ppe for our teachers or our students and lam a parent that has 6 auto immune disorders and if my child catches covid I will die. I also do not feel we should lose any child in this state. My list could go on for days. This is not fair to our kids or our teachers. Our teachers did a great job in March and I dont know why they can't continue to do that wonderful job now. Oh and let's not forget about the school busses they are not sitting our students far enough apart. 3 feet apart is not far enough apart. This is not acceptable! 8/10/2020 Grand parent Harrison Nutterfort WI, Please give me 1 good reason why YOU think it?s safe to 14:16:04 County RCB send kids back to school because I know parents/ grandparents can give reasons why NOT to send kids back . What about kids who has health problems Think it?s fair for them to wear a mask all day What about the mentally handicapped kids think it's fair for them What about the grandparents who are raising their grandkids who already has health problems Think it?s ok to put their lives in jeopardy? For the love of God close the schools What about kids that has to ride the bus 1 to a seat or is it still going to be 2-3 to a seat like it?s always been . Is the school going to be disinfected every day and everything the kids has touched Some state jobs including the DMV is only seeing people By appointments only but they can open schools Iol. Intelligent huh 8/ 10/ 2020 14:19:07 Parent Harrison Lincoln Middle and Lincoln High With cases and deaths climbing, we are not ready to resume school. I beg you to go remote, even if it is for a few weeks. People keep saying it does not affect children, but it does! Even if it did not, it will affect teachers and parents. I fear for my child's life and safety. As much as you are trying, there is no possible way for these kids to practice social distancing, and you won't get them to wear a mask the entire time. There is NO way to keep them safe. Things were not this bad in March when schools closed, so it is extremely upsetting to be sending them to the lions den now. PLEASE don't send our kids into this sickness. 8/10/2020 14:20:20 Grandparent, Service Personnel Lincoln Harts pre-K-8? County Chapmanville regional i work with severe and profound students, who I love and miss but, they are nonverbal, autistic etc. These students will not understand social distancing and would not wear a mask. They spit, hit, and bite me and other staff almost daily. Some has to be restrained. We have to work closely with these children..hand over hand, and lifting them to the changing table to change their diapers. I cannot see working this close to children could possibly be safe for them or the staff. I myself have a lot of health issues. But, these children can?t tell me when they are sick, and I couldn?t live with myself if I brought COVID in on them unknowingly. We love our students, I love my job!! But, it cannot be done safely at this time. 8/10/2020 14:25:37 Parent Harrison north View I have a child that is high risk and 2 siblings that can not get sick 8/10/2020 14:28:29 Parent, Teacher Monongha University High lia School Covid 19 poses a very real, statistically significant risk of death. This can be mitigated by temporarily delivering instruction remotely. Failing to make a small change in order to reduce the number of those harmed or killed by the virus would be negligent. W, 8/10/2020 14:34:39 Grandparent, Teacher Morgan Warm Springs Middle School Numbers are gradually going up in the county and state, in addition to increases in deaths. We have counties with high numbers on either side (Berkeley Co. Washington Co., MD). I take care of a school-aged relative who's a student, and my husband I both have health issues. I don't think the schools are prepared for this and there are going to be many deaths. Tens of thousands of kids have tested positive in the US, around 400 dead of mis-c, even infants 8: toddlers are testing positive and it's too dangerous to think about opening school right now. Also, if a student tests positive in 1 class and the class has to isolate, what about the related arts teachers and therapists that will be in and out during the day, the kids drivers on the buses they rode in on. You won't be able to just isolate that class, but everyone they've been in close contact with. Teachers are retiring early, subs and bus drivers are scarce as it is and retired teachers are saying they're not going to sub anymore. It's just not safe to be in?person until there's a vaccine. 8/ 10/2020 14:44:58 Parent, Teacher Mingo Williamson PK8 Mingo County schools has no plan for hybrid, no plan to reduce class sizes and masks are not required at all times. We are currently a hot spot, surrounded by hotspots, with a large elderly population and older teachers and support personnel with underlying health issues. People are going to die here if we do not go remote. 8/ 10/2020 14:48:15 Parent, Service Personnel Berkeley Berkeley Not safe for the kids or school personnel .Kids won,t wear masks or social distance. Start remotely then wait 9 weeks and reevaluate. 8/ 10/ 2020 14:49:57 Parent, Service Personnel Kanawha Mary Snow Westside Elementary and others Still too many unknowns. Too much risk for compromised staff and students as well as possible exposure to elderly or compromised caregivers and extended families. 8/ 10/2020 14:52:17 Parent, Teacher Monongali a Westwood, SkyView, South You can't adequately tell me that we have enough equipment to keep everyone safe. Teachers are being told (1 they have to buy their own plexiglass to put up at kids school won?t get me desks so I can adequately space my kids out. I have 25 kids in every class 7 periods a do you expect that to alone my kids child?s middle school has 800 kids in my 7 year old is not going to be able to keep a mask on for 8 alone not have a true send their kids to school sick ALL THE now aren?t even going to tell us ifa kid has will that work?!?! The rule makers aren?t even in the classroom so how do you know what we deal with?!?! My husband is if he gets it from me or my what?!?! No answers and no solution. It?s not us have the first 9 weeks to see what 8/10/2020 Teacher Harrison 14:57:28 County Mountaineer Middle West Virginia has the unique, but concerning situation of many students being raised by grandparents - a population too fragile for such unprecedented times. Don't put our elderly at risk over a game of politics. If the state of West Virginia cannot get a handle on the opioid epidemic, then how can vulnerable students be protected at school? If you say, "Well, school is the ONLY place these kids feel safe" then maybe the state needs to examine what is really going on and the role schools have adopted in caring for children. Maybe the state of West Virginia needs to step it up since the virus has done a great job bringing to light problems students face and teachers have seen daily for years. Now do you believe it? 8/10/2020 Parent Harrison 15:00:22 united high school united technical center Our case numbers continue to rise. Until we can go 14 days with declining numbers very few active cases it is not safe for students nor staff. My son is a senior. We'd love for him to return BUT we know the health safety of our whole family is priority number 1. My husband/his dad is at high risk due to severe asthma. Teachers students should .3 be home until it is safe preferably when we have a vaccine. 8/10/2020 Retired educator Cabell All of them Not enough data to insure it is safe for children to be put 15:01:37 into crowded situations. Children need to be in school, but waiting another 9-18 to re-evaluate will help get better answers! 8/10/2020 Parent Randolph Elkins middle and Unable to contain any spreads and parents constantly send 15:05:33 Elkins high children sick. How do we know we aren't exposing our elderly. 8/10/2020 Parent Harrison Norwood My son (7) has panic issues which has us worried about in 15:06:45 elementary and person school because he would be forced to wear a face Washington Irving covering. My daughter (12) is nervous because so many of middle school her classmates have gone out of state,to hotspots, and not taking the virus serious. I have a toddler in the home,close elderly family members, and other babies around often. We spent the entire summer AT HOME, i think with the numbers rising in cases along with those who don't consider others health,it would be foolish to undo the precautions already taken for the last several months by sending them to school right now. Remote would be the safest way to go. 8/10/2020 Parent, Teacher Logan Omar Kids spread disease so quickly in school. have a mother 15:19:18 who is receiving treatment for breast cancer and I?m afraid of bringing the disease home to her or my 2 year old son. 8/10/2020 Parent Upshur Buckhannon My girls are typically developing teenagers. They don't 15:20:03 Upshur Middle have what most think of when you say special needs. They are children with severe PTSD, ADHD, disabling anxiety and depression and one with very serious medicine concerns. I've looked at the different options for educating my daughters this fall and while I don?t expect a perfect fit choice, I don?t see even an acceptable option. My biggest questions are what about those with exceptionalities? From those with significant needs to those with differening needs. Has there truly been serious considerations given to how do these students receive a fare education? Please help me understand. 8/10/2020 15:28:49 Kinship Relationship, Volunteer Harrison Big Elm. Lincoln Middle and Lincoln high There are way to many cases of the virus at this time and we left school with just a few. Also other states thathave gone back has had to shut down and a lot of kids sick. Also kids can bring it home to us their families and with a lot of grandparents raising kids this could really turn bad. 8/10/2020 15:35:46 Parent Moningalia Mountainview ES, South MS, Morgantown HS It?s not that I don?t think the school system is ready. I think that the problems i that I worry about will be hard to remedy. I feel that enforcement of the plan/guidelines will be difficult. You can have the best plans laid out, but as we all know, kids don't always follow those plans. Enforcement will be extremely difficult for anyone and unfortunately with this virus, the smallest faltering from the guidelines could be very dangerous. I worry especially about the older kids who won?t care about the plans and will think it?s funny to cough or spit in kids faces. I worry about those kids who will wear their masks under their noses until a teacher catches them. I worry about those educators that may not feel the virus is a problem and therefore aren?t as disciplined to enforce the rules. I worry about my kids not feeling safe and getting picked on for being concerned and following the rules. I want my kids and their teachers to be able to focus on their education and I think that will be very difficult for everyone amidst this outbreak. 8/10/2020 15:37:38 Grandparent HARRISON NORWOOD ELEMENTARY WI MIDDLE It is deeply concerning to me as a grandparent that my 7- year old and 12-year old grandchildren are potentially being asked to attend school in poorly ventilated buildings with anywhere between 25? 30 other people (when gatherings for everything else is limited to less), in rooms way too small for social distancing (at least 6 ft), for 6- 8 hours a day (prolonged exposure) while we are simultaneously keeping Courthouses, the DMV, the FBI, NASA, medical, dental and hospital facilities, etc., safe by utilizing numerous precautions (online access only, by appointment only, working at home/zoom, telemedicine, and a plethora of other limited access). For much of this pandemic, I (begrudgingly) questioned my decision about not voting for you and gave you praise for what appeared to be an appropriately aggressive and citizens-first response unlike most of your Republican counterparts. Then, primary election day and the kick-off of summer came and you folded to re-opening pressure faster than a cheap lawn chair. It truly bewilders me that you can see the numbers steadily, consistently and inevitably rising but are still willing to put teachers, service personnel, students and their baby siblings (like my 15 month old grandson), elderly grandparents (sometimes the only guardians) and potentially high?risk family members in jeopardy. In NUMEROUS states we have observed skyrocketing (100,000) cases in children because schools reopened. We also know that there is a real concern about children (and adults) recovering initially only to suffer scary and potentially permanent residual damage weeks and months later. We already ask teachers to put their lives on the line everyday because we refuse to take action against gun violence and now you are asking them to throw in their family's lives to boot??! Based on the present course of action you are considering, my praise for you was most definitely misplaced. 8/10/2020 Service Personnel Harrison Washington Irving I'm mostly concerned about contacting the virus and then 15:47:45 passing it on to vulnerable family members. have five members of my family over the age of eighty, with many underlying conditions. 8/10/2020 Parent, Teacher Harrison Lumberport If you look around the country at the places that have 16:06:41 Elementary, reopened schools, you will see that many of them how now Bridgeport Middle School, Bridgeport High School gone remote. Even in other countries this is happening. We closed schools down in March before there was ever a case in WV. To open schools back up now before our case/death count decreases significantly seems to make March-June pointless. Exposure to children and our teachers/service personel is too dangerous. Schools are often crowded, lack proper ventilation, and are breeding grounds for germs on a good day. Some counties are not offering a remote learning options for students. The state Virtual School program was not designed for full time students and the passing rate is minimal. All counties should provide the same options for families. 8/10/2020 16:13:50 Parent, Physician (Internal Medicine) Harrison Harrison As a physician and parent, I am concerned that schools will not be able to provide an adequately safe environment for my children and their teachers. It seems nearly impossible that schools can provide adequate distancing, ventilation, cleaning, and enforcement of masking among other things. Case numbers in surrounding states are rising. There is increasing evidence that children are able to transmit and become ill with Covid 19. Although I understand the difficulties for working parents and the negative consequences of not being in school for some children, I do not believe that it is safe to continue in person schooling at this time. In addition, I would recommend that remote schooling be continued through the first semester or until vaccines or treatments are better developed. Making week by week decisions on the return to school only makes things more difficult for parents, teachers, and students. Thank you for your consideration. 8/10/2020 16:20:01 Parent, Service Personnel upshur Academy elementary There is no set plan on what to do when a student or staff get sick. We have no guidelines on how the busses will keep the kids apart. 8/10/2020 16:25:01 Teacher Wyoming Mullens Middle Our cases are on the rise everywhere. With students in other states, testing positive, this just shows that they're vulnerable too. My county isn't requiring masks, and this terrifies me. We also don?t seem to be doing anything to reduce class sizes, so I feel like I?ll be working in a large gathering every day. Most of our students are also raised by grandparents, who are extremely vulnerable to getting this and struggling with the long-term repercussions of that. With our county's plan of one virtual day a week, it will be up to my parents to take care of and oversee my niece and nephew as they work. That terrifies me. I have so many concerns. We are not ready for this step yet. 8/10/2020 16:28:31 Parent, Nurse Berkeley Valley View Elementary and lnwood Primary From a nurse standpoint: I feel that it is unsafe to return to school because there are still too many unknowns. If a student presents with of covid or is diagnosed with covid an entire classroom, the nurse, teacher, specials teacher, etc should be quarantined. There is definitely not enough nurses to do this and we will be on the front lines of exposures and illnesses. Some of us, myself included, have immunocompromised children and elderly parents that live in our homes. This is reckless and too dangerous to take these chances. We also do not have adequate area to isolate students who have Ventilation in some schools is not adequate to be handling these serious exposures. Vulnerable and immunocompromised staff work within the buildings as well and staff with spouses or family members taking chemo who have no immune system to fight. I truly feel that anyone going back into the building right now is taking an unnecessary risk when we have other safer options. As a parent, my child, as I stated, is immunocompromised and homeschool him as a result of this. However my daughter is asthmatic and is in a very old school with poor ventilation and I have many concerns with sending her back into the unknown. Virtual learning should be done for at least the first nine weeks. Why would we risk our kids and our families when we really have no idea what WILL inevitably happen. Someone is going to be exposed, someone is going to become very sick and potentially worse. It'sjust a matter of time. Please please please reconsider bringing everyone back together too soon. There isn?t supposed to be more than 25 people together so why would we bring a staff of more than that back together and then bring many students into the mix as well? I pray that you will reconsider and go full virtual for the first nine weeks. Don?t make us or our children guinea pigs to see what will happen. Thank you so much for your time. 8/10/2020 Parent Harrison South Harrison I am a single Mom and I love my child more than words 16:31:09 could ever express. We lost a great friend and student to an incident that could not have been helped or stopped. We now have the power to stop something bad from happen to all of the other great students in our schoo .Please don't send the kids back to school yet. I was once a student years ago and I can remember when one student got sick many more where to follow it was a breading ground for every germ imaginable. I know how much they want to see their teachers and friends. But it isn?t worth dying for. Our kids are our future so please protect them and do not send them back to school until they can be 100% safe from this terrible deadly virus. I want my child to be around for years to make this world a better place. Thank you, From a proud and Loving single 8/10/2020 Parent Logan Hugh Dingess Of course my children's health is my concern. It is not safe 16:36:43 Elementary and for our children, teachers,and staff. In the county I live in (Logan) our board of education meetings is not even open 0 Chapmanville Middle School to the public due to Covid-19 they have their meetings virtual but its OK and they agree for our school to be open. What's the difference,they are afraid of the chances of getting in contact but its OK for our children to be exposed. Its not. Please reconsider for our beginning of school to be remote,for the safety of our children and school staff. 8/10/2020 16:40:18 Parent, Teacher Wyoming Berlin McKinney in recent weeks as more children venture out of quarantine and into the public we are seeing a disturbing trend, not only can they catch Covid but it can also make them very ill or kill them. On top of this we have also seen they can and do transmit Covid to other people. As a teacher and mother I do not want to see once child around me get sick or heaven forbid die. We need to protect our children and go virtural to save lives. 8/ 10/ 2020 16:43:07 Teacher Putnam Anonymous My county is not requiring students in to wear masks and I feel that exposes me, my students, and our families to an unsafe work and learning environment. We would potentially be exposed to virus particles for 7 or 8 hours a day and this is unacceptable. 8/10/2020 16:47:12 Parent Ohio Woodsdale, Tridelphia, Steenrod We are not ready because no one at a county or state level can give concise answers for what happens when kids, staff and teachers start testing positive. We are not ready because no one can explain to me how we will reach the most vulnerable..those without internet or food or a parent who isnt able or willing to help. We arent ready because other than completely vague, ambiguous answers no one can tell me about accountability for teachers and students. We arent ready because my county believes that two kids to a seat for more than a half hour on a bus is a safe option. We arent ready because at graduation last week, graduates had to stay six feet apart at all times but we believe it is safe for 8 year olds to be in a classroom with 10 other kids( or more when speaking of 50%capacity) and that they will keep a safe distance, if that is even possible in our already (. overcrowded classrooms. We arent ready because State and local BOE meetings are closed to public but in 3 weeks classrooms will be We arent ready because no one can outline specifics for me of how a kid with an OT IEP who has to stay home for safety of themselves and their family will get the services they are legally entitled to. unavailable 3 weeks I could go on for days..i am willing to rearrange my life to make sure my children are safe AND many administrators can truly say this "plan" serves the safety, well being and education of EVERY student?? 8/10/2020 17:05:09 Parent, Teacher Greenbrier Ronceverte and Alderson Elementaries I am a traveling elementary Art teacher and love my job! One of the best parts, in a normal year, is getting to spend time with more than 500 students at two schools every week. I love that amount of interaction and sharing my passion for Art with students in grades PreK through 5th grade. In Greenbrier county it has been decided that elementary students may return at full capacity five days a week (with a daily early release). My middle school aged child has ongoing health and immune issues and though I have elected to keep him home, I am terrified about my own quantity of exposure and what I could bring home to him. My school level principals and county level administrators have not seemed responsive to my expressed concerns. Honestly, I do not like the "local control? that is widely touted. I see corners being cut with very weak safety protocols. When social distancing clearly isn't possible in a tiny, poorly ventilated classroom with 28 fourth graders, the whole thing becomes a joke of sorts. I really wish that someone with more authority could lay down some real mandates that ensure safety worded in a way that does not say ?if possible?. From what I am seeing, if possible means if convenient, which means you don?t have to bother. I would be far less terrified with half capacity elementary classes and live instruction. 8/10/2020 17:09:44 Parent, Service Personnel Upshur Upshur As both a parent and a bus operator I am very worried this virus is going to grow out of control if we put kids on a bus or in classrooms. I'm immune compromised and have pretty bad asthma. I am also a single parent. I'm beyond stressed at the decision to go back to work or stay home with my children! 8/10/2020 17:34:54 Service Personnel Upshur Buckhannon Upshur Middle School i am spraying dishes so of course we will be the first ones sick. There is no way not to get the dirty water in our face. 8/10/ 2020 17:39:45 Pa rent Logan Chapmanville Middle Hugh Dingess Elementary feel that the schools should go full virtual for at least the first semester. Covid 19 is spreading rapidly throughout our county and state. Schools were shut down back in March and we didn't have as nearly of the cases as we do now. I don't want to lose a child or a family member because of this, our children are our future. Flu season is right around the corner and we know how that spreads in schools and we have this virus on top of everything. If you watch the news look how many children have already gotten this 100,000 and lot of them is related to opening schools. Schools that have reopened are having to shut them back down faster than they opened them and that is what is going to happen here. You say you want to keep our children safe. Putting them back into school is like throwing them to the wolves. Quit worrying about the mighty dollar and politics and think of our children teacher's and service staff. Thank you and God Bless WV. 8/ 10/ 2020 17:40:30 Teacher Logan Logan High School I feel that the children cannot be distanced enough and that teachers and their families are at very high risk. We should begin online and then by January transition over to in school, provided the Covid cases are down. The cases in my county are rising and I am not sure about going in person. I get literally everything the kids have, every year. I have never, never, went to the doctor like I have since becoming a teacher. I moved back in with my mother and since she is all that I have in this world and high risk, I will not be bringing it home to her. I would have to move back out. Please consider a total online start to the school year. 8/10/2020 17:46:18 Grandparent Logan Chapmanville Middle Chapmanville High Hugh Dingess Elemantary I feel like they should do vitural learning for the fist semester to see how this virus ls going to be, we all know in the fall its flu season ,this virus is nothing to play with our children grandchildrens life matters most of all ,there has been so many lives taken because of this virus children siblings from other schools can bring it home to the little ones, we need to stop playing with politics and be concern about our children's lives and be a role model to them instead of throwing them into a lions den Logan County is running rapidly here in hospitals, nursing homes churches, what makes you think it won't happen in our schools 8/ 10/ 2020 17:54:34 Service Personnel Kanawha The reports so that children are spreading the rapidly where they are in close corders with one another. The staff and students have some family members with chronic conditions. We need to go virtual for the first semester. 8/ 10/ 2020 18:32:11 Parent Logan Chapmanville Middle School, Hugh Dingess Grade School Continued rise in cases in our area. There are individuals that are not taking the appropriate precautions and I don?t feel safe sending my children back to school at this time. 8/ 10/ 2020 18:50:03 Teacher Mercer Mercer Hello, I would like to begin by saying it is not that I don?t want to be in the classroom. In fact, I want nothing more. There is no better way to assess a student?s well being! However, I?m terrified to be in a classroom, with 30 students, where ?7 safe (6 feet) social distancing is not feasible. Also, being departmentalized, I would be exposed to another group of 30 students. That?s 60 students who have the potential to expose me to a virus that could potentially kill some of my high risk family members. Therefore, I would feel safer and more optimistic for the upcoming school year, if Plan was implemented and departmentalization was optional. In fact, any information you can provide/address on teacher rights ,when it comes to departmentalization, is appreciated. 8/10/2020 Parent Harrison Adamston I?m afraid once school starts that a lot of our kids/teachers 18:51:22 will be sick 8/10/2020 Teacher Berkeley James Rumsey We are not able to safely physically distance on buses are 18:55:25 County WV Technical lnstitute' in the school buildings. I am high risk due to age and minor health problems. 8/10/2020 Parent, Teacher Wyoming High school, As a parent and an educator, have many concerns. I?m 19:18:24 Elementary, and concerned about the return to school as well as not Middle School returning to school. Some concerns I have about returning as cases continue to rise: how will children and staff members socially distance in the building and specifically in a classroom: have the ventilation systems been upgraded, or will they: what is being done to limit exposure and contact for everyone. Currently, we know this disease is air born, how can we not address ventilation, and how can we enforce wearing masks and social distancing? 8/10/2020 Foster Parent, Teacher Wood Martin I am afraid to go back for the health of my family. I have 19:19:59 asthma. My husband is diabetic. My 1 year old has had respiratory difficulties. My kindergartener, is healthy but touches everything and will carry it home. When my children are not in school they are watched by my parents, who are 60 years old, who also care for my grandma who will be 100 years old in October. I truly hope that those who are making choices will think about the full scope of (A. what they are doing. I love teaching and want to be back in the classroom, but is is worth sacrificing a child?s life? This siblings? Their parents? Their great grandparents? 8/10/2020 19:22:06 Parent, Teacher Wood Parkersburg High Approximately 1800 people have access to my building, one of the largest campuses in our state. There?s no way to make this safe. Because I am required to be there, it is pointless to have my child stay home, as I will be exposed to so many people and bring that exposure home to her. It would be much better for everyone to stay home and have access to their classroom teachers, as opposed to some students struggling with virtual learning programs. 8/ 10/ 2020 19:45:41 Parent, Teacher Mason New Haven and Waha ma feel with numbers still going up and opening back up too soon we will end up out as soon as we go. I have colleagues who have suppressed immune systems who are at risk. We don?t know where everyone is being exposed. Some people are traveling and not taking precautions and more likely to expose someone who is at risk due to health issues or age. We aren?t able to distance exactly how we should. I just overall don't think we can safely return to school as we stand right now. 8/ 10/2020 19:54:01 Parent, Teacher Marshall I work in a different county. I am diagnosed in my mid-20$ with multiple autoimmune disorders. I am already more susceptible to illness. Additionally, I work with multiple high-need and medically fragile students. Any exposure I have outside of that which I can control can adversely affect those students as well. I may survive if I contract COVID. My nonverbal students with autism and severe genetic abnormalities likely will not. Without desiring to sound melodramatic, I would be devastated if I had to bury one of my students this year. That said, those same students cannot learn remotely for a variety of reasons including behavioral. For that reason, I am prepared to return in some capacity to work with these students as is safe for them and their families. My county is doing well at trying to work out plans that are mutually ,3 beneficial. But, at what point do we consider sacrificing our most vulnerable casualties of war rather than precious children we have a ethical and moral responsibility to protect? I hope we do the right thing before we find out we didn't. 8/10/2020 19:56:46 Parent, Teacher Mason New Haven and Wahama I have children going to two different schools. So there is a risk of cross contamination. Then, having to find childcare for my 4 kids off the 3 off days runs the risk of potential contamination and possibly unknowingly carrying it home or to others at school. If someone has a case at school we?re all infected. I don?t feel a make and face shield lessens the risk. I would still not be comfortable remaining in school. I should not be made to choose between the lives of my family members or myself and my job. 8/ 10/ 2020 20:38:07 Pa rent Harrison Simpson Elementary, United High School our home has immunocompromised individuals as well as children on autism spectrum who have sensory issues with regards to masks. the increased amount with each out of the home encounter, risk of contagion increases as well as exacerbation of autism related behavioral issues. 8/ 10/ 2020 21:11:04 Teacher McDowell Welch Elementary With the number of cases of COVID-19 rising in the southern counties, McDowell including it is obviously not safe for our students, teachers or support staff at this time. Most of the positive cases in McDowell County have been community spread. There were a total of 12 positive cases last Thursday and Friday of last week. (Aug. 6&7) A lot of students in McDowell County are either living with a grandparent or in a multigenerational home. If these students get infected, they will most definitely spread it to the people in their household. What about our veteran teachers who have underlying medical issues or who are in the age group who are most vulnerable? (50-65) What about teachers like me who can retire, but would like (1 to continue to teach, and still love to teach but is so afraid to return because I know I could die ifl contract I love teaching and I truly want to continue, but I'm afraid for my life. I don't want to be forced to retire because I'm afraid for my life. What about teachers who have elderly parents at home who they are taking care of? We as teachers love ourjobs and want to be back in our classrooms more than anything, but we only want to do it when it is safe. We as teachers know how quickly strep, flu and other illnesses spread throughout our schools and I feel it will be no different with Please consider starting our school year remotely so that we can keep everyone safe. 8/10/2020 21:21:23 Pa rent CabeH Huntington high school I want my child to be safe and I want her teachers to be safe as well. She did well in the spring and it's asinine to bring her into the building at this time. Remote is the most sensible option for her and her teachers. 8/10/2020 21:29:56 Service Personnel Wyoming Berlin mckinney We here in WV are.un ike any other state. We have coal miners whom have black lung. I would guess 25 to 30% of those retired are rising there grandkids. There is not 1 family who doesn't have a husband. Father. Father in law. Or son who isn't a miner or was a miner. And black lung will wipe us out. Period black lung doesn't DO COVID 8/10/2020 21:31:48 Teacher Marshall Bridge Street Middle School Bridge Street recently renovated the school building and put in new windows. These windows no longer open and given that the school is older, its classrooms are smaller and more compact without adequate ventilation. Students are crammed into small hallways between classes. I don't see how students could go from class to class without interacting with one another in an extended fashion. If I caught COVID-19 because of being in a classroom, this '0 A) 0 would affect my son who has a history of lung problems and gets sick very easily. He's not even two yet and I fear for his life and the lives of all my students. 8/10/2020 21:33:30 Counselor Kanawha Out of county counselor School aged children need two things from adults. Consistency and to feel safe. The current plans for school openings provide neither. 8/ 10/2020 21:33:39 Legal Guardian, Grandparent, Service Personnel Kanawha Sherman We have to many children that is being raised by the grandparents and great grandparents. The school ventilation is not good on a normal day. We don?t have enough personnel to do it effectively. We teachers and service personnel can not live with the thought of ONE of our kids died on our watch. Who will be responsible if we catch it or bring it home to our kids or our parents. Will you have full time nurses at each and every schools. This is not a job for a secretary or a Teacher-aide with heanh. Will you have thermometers at every school. Just the is going cost the county or state how much. To provide at least 2 for every student and every personnel. Why just 8/10/2020 22:35:28 Grandparent West Virginia Logan Hugh Dingess Grade School, Chapmanville Middle and High School Our children our precious gems of West Virginia don't need to go to school in person to learn! This virus is deadly, we shouldn't take any chances with our children contracting this virus whatsoever! Here we pulled them out in the spring for fear of the virus, and now for some reason we want to dare send them back! The virus has gotten worse! It hasn't gotten any better! Children can contract this virus and take it home with them and spread it to their families, this would soon and easily get out of hand! We don?t want our children to get sick or die, nor do we want to see this virus spread! Let the children learn by internet but not in person! LEts protect our Teachers as well and our children and the rest of the population! We do NOT need to experiment with our children. We have seen on the news of other schools who reopened only to have to shut down because children caught the virus. PROTECT, We have to protect! Sure it takes work to learn remotely but we can do it. We have to do it till this virus is under control! 8/10/2020 22:48:41 Kinship Relationship Mingo Mingo central HS Feel you are ready 8/ 10/ 2020 22:55:06 Teacher Cabell, Teach in Putnam Winfield Elementary I do not feel safe going back, mainly for my immunocompromised friends and loved ones. i work with cancer survivors, people with lupus, asthma, etc. Putting us together in a building with potentially poor ventilation with many young students that may not fully understand the severity of is dangerous. If hospitals do not allow visitors being the most controlled sterile environment that we have, then it is too much of a responsibility to put on staff to open schools. have lost sleep over the thought of my friends and loved ones being put in danger reopening schools, and I will probably continue to do so until a decision to go remote is made. 8/10/2020 23:25:45 Parent, Foster Parent Boone Ramage grade It is not safe 8/10/2020 23:38:44 Parent, Teacher Harrison Johnson My oldest daughter has asthma. I also do not want to send my pre-k child and grader to go to school in a setting that is probably going to frighten them. They should not be subjected to having to sit at a desk with plexiglass preventing them from socializing with their peers when school is all about socialization at that age. As a teacher, I am not comfortable being exposed at work and possibly infecting my entire family. My husband has been told to work from home until years end. Why are we being forced '3 ?3 back in the classroom when numbers are higher than they were in March when schools were closed? 8/10/2020 Parent, Counselor, BOE Berkeley Valley View It is not safe and it will be hard to stay healthy. I am a 23:40:51 Member elementary teacher with a some chronic illnesses such diabetes, lupus and gastroperisis. It is not safe for our students to stay healthy especially my special education students. 8/10/2020 Parent, Legal Guardian Harrison Nutter fort and I feel that children will not be ready to remain 6 feet apart 23:52:41 Wl or keep. Mask on. I know and have seen what Covid-19 does to people and I am terrified that my children will get it and bring it home. I do not want my children getting 8/10/2020 Parent Monogalia Mountainview I do not feel we are ready because its still not safe. Having 23:52:53 all these kids back at one time is crazy. All it takes it for one person to be positive and spread it around. It effects my family because my daughter has health issues and for one of my other children to test positive and spread it to her or her getting it herself. 8/10/2020 Teacher Cabell Huntington East I teach 7th grade in a school where most students will end 23:53:28 Middle School up choosing yo attend school 5 days in person making social distancing a difficulty to maintain. In addition, I feel like all that will need to be done to keep students and staff safe- temp checks, masks, classroom organization, will be a distraction to the learning process. 8/11/2020 Parent, Teacher Hampshire CBMS I am high risk, my son is a Type 1 diabetic who is high risk, 0:01:00 my parents are older and I help and see them on a daily basis! 8/11/2020 Parent, Nurse Berekley Mountain Ridge I fear for our lives. My children will not be returning. They 0:01:49 will do click per our BOE but I have no choice but to return to school to take care of students. I have increased my life insurance and updated my will. Praying for us all. 8/11/2020 Parent, Teacher Cabell Explorer Academy If you can?t safely take your 1 kid into McDonalds because 0:24:54 it?s not safe, how can you put 600 kids together in a school for 8 hours. We closed schools when we weren?t even at level 1, but are going to open when we are at a level 3 and rising. Makes no since. 8/11/2020 0:27:01 Parent CabeH Milton Elementary, Milton Middle Going back into school buildings, at this time, is not safe. It is dangerous and negligent. COVID numbers continue to rise daily. Children have been the most protected group of people since being let out of school on March 13. I fear that numbers, while rising now, will explode if children return to school buildings. Look what has happened in the states that have returned to in person school so over 97,000 children have tested positive for COVID in only a couple of short weeks. What makes you think the same thing won't happen here in I think it most definitely will. Schools will be a cesspool of germs. The reopening plans look great on paper, but realistically speaking it is not physically possible to guarantee that they will be followed. I have chosen the virtual option for my 2 school aged children. These are my thoughts in making this decision: I want my kids in school. I don't want to homeschool, remote school, or virtual school them. BUT as a parent I have to do whatever it takes to keep them safe. I mean, how can I send my kids into an environment that could potentially take their lives? So what if one year is different than the rest. What if that one year keeps them alive? This virus has the potential to spread like wildfire and I am not naive. I acknowledge that COVID could strike one of my kids. Also, what about the quality of life they would have if they were in school? It is not going to be a normal, fun, light hearted, easy going, school year. There are going to be strict and rigorous rules and regulations that will undoubtedly place a lot of stress on my kids (as well as all kids). Wearing a mask all day? Wondering if at any moment they are going to get sick? Wondering if they do get sick, are they going to die? I JUST 3 And please can make this choice for my 2 children, but I can not make it for teachers and staff members. Their lives matter too. 8/11/2020 1:09:11 Parent Kanawha Sharon Dawes Elm. First of all I think that we still don?t know everything there is to know about this virus. It seems like from one day to the next there is many more or some other long term issue associated with the virus. I have a seven yard old daughter who loves to hug, laugh, joke around, run, and just have fun. She loves to learn and likes to inter act with people most of the time. lam very concerned about her safety as well as mine. I?m an insulin dependent diabetic. My blood sugars aren?t very well controlled. I also have environmental allergies that causes me to be asthmatic. I also use a inhaler several times a day. I have a number of other health issues also. I?m no teacher and hate the thought of my daughter learning from home but, more afraid of her maybe loosing her life or for one of the other family members in my home to lose theirs. I know there are many reasons our children need to be in a school setting. I personally would rather to keep my child at home and try to keep her as safe as I possibly can. 8/11/2020 6:20:40 Parent, Teacher Berkeley South Berkeley County I do not feel safe allowing my children to return to an environment where everything is going to be overly structured and where the focus is going to be heavily on health and safety, rather than social interaction and academics. I worry about their mental health in a time when everyone is masked, social distancing is priority, and movement around buildings and playgrounds is limited. I worry about the effects of going back and forth from virtual to in-person schooling each time a teacher or classmate is sick. I worry about other parents knowingly sending their exposed or ill child to happens all of the time; I know because I am a teacher. I worry about myself, the students and my colleagues, especially those of us working (K in unventilated classrooms and buildings. The windows in my school's classrooms do not even open, and to make matters even better, no child in my pre-k to 2nd grade school is mandated to where a mask and the water pressure to the very few classrooms that have sinks is nothing more than a trickle. I worry about the social- emotional impacts this environment is going to have on pre-K and kindergarten children entering school for the ?rst time. How are we going to be making them feel about their new friends, teachers and environment? How are we going to be making them feel about themselves? Even the most reassuring teachers, kind and loving won?t be able to take away the blatantly obvious fact that they are protecting themselves from constant exposure to an invisible and scary illness: wearing masks, shields, no hugs, high fives, and constant reminders to remain a safe distance from others, wash hands, and so forth. see a generation of possibly 0CD children coming out of this due to the environment they will be put in at school no matter how ?fun? we try to make all of the cleaning and distancing seem. see a scared generation of children who are socially stunted and wary of others coming out of this. I worry about bringing the illness home to my high-risk spouse and high-risk 7 year old son. I decided to choose virtual schooling for my four children to hopefully minimize their risk and provide them with a more stable environment in which to complete their school work, but if I have to return to the classroom as a teacher, my own children will be on their own with getting their schooling accomplished. I worry about students and families who might be negatively impacted as a result of us working remotely, and for those who will be impacted by exposure and contracting the virus should we meet in-person. I made the virtual learning decision for my own children, to try and reduce as much ?3 exposure and potential spread as possible while maintaining the most stable I am still waiting to hear how my school system is going to decide to use me, a teacher, and how that will impact my own family and my plans to keep us safe. 8/11/2020 6:33:44 Parent WV Johnson elementary My kid is asthmatic and I'm also high risk, this will blow up community spread in danger both our lives. How will they track the spread? Who cleans the vents after an outbreak? Who contact traces with 90 kids have this? If it can be done online why isn't everyone doing it online? Will students be tested? How will else will you stop spread? How many staff members are you willing to let die? Bc every epidemiologist says it will happen based on the pure amount of contacts in a school. So far I know of two teachers locally I have decided to stop teaching be of this, do you anticipate being more vacancies and how will you feel these? 8/11/2020 7:05:38 Teacher, Nanny Marion FSHS/Monongah This is really difficult because usually I have the rhetoric to explain myself. I?m good at words. For this, though, ljust think "I?m scared, I?m scared" on repeat. My heart races when I try to sleep. Here?s the thing. I can?t teach from the grave but I can teach from a computer. People are dying from this virus. If I lose a loved one, I'll be a lot more ineffective than I am online. I dare any elected official to come do what I?m being asked to do. Teach for 6 hours, in a mask, both online and in person, plus clean in between classes and have students eat in my room? for the same amount of pay I got for a job that already took far more than 40 hours. I?m the youngest person on staff at my school. I feel like I must sacrifice myself because who am I to complain when we have faculty with major health issues? It doesn?t matter that I have diabetic parents, that my brother is asthmatic, that I have an aunt with a blood clotting disorder, or that even I have contracted mono in the last year and previously missed a semester of school due to a disease I contracted despite being vaccinated. How could I ever ask for a pass? I?ll have to come home, strip out of my hazmat suit, and quarantine away from everyone I love to keep them safe, even if I can't do the same for myself. People from some industries will complain about how they?ve been on the frontlines the whole time, but I don?t NEED to be on the frontline. A lot of them don?t either. Since when are we a nation so selfish that we wish upon others because we are mad our own companies and organizations lack compassion?! I don?t know. I?m just scared. 8/11/2020 Parent Berkeley MMS Unknowns due to virus, lack of preparedness, not enough 7:34:34 room for proper social distance, children under a certain age not wearing masks and should be. Children under a certain age do not understand social distancing or keep your hands off your face. No social activities, restrooms not staying sanitized, not being able to move around staying in 1 area for majority of the day. 8/11/2020 Service Personnel Berkeley lnwood Primary There is a lack of air ventilation in many schools, especially 7:47:03 older schools such as lnwood Primary. In some areas,there is no ventilation. Covid-19 being spread by airborne transmission is a concern. I will be 67 next month and fall in to a high risk group. However, I feel a responsibility to be at the school if it is open. I have started back to work. 8/11/2020 Parent Berkeley spring mills high we need to go back to school. There is no reason not to. 7:47:57 and North middle school 8/11/2020 Parent, Grandparent, Ohio Madison With the recent reports from other schools around the 8:04:55 Teacher country, it's obvious that we can't expose our children to a W. crowded environment. We need to wait this out, be patient. Our church is meeting on zoom and will continue to do this until it is safe. We can't risk our previous commodities, our children to this virus. 8/11/2020 8:11:04 Kinship Relationship, Teacher Kanawha Webervvood Elementary West Side Middle We are not ready to return to school first and foremost because our COVID numbers are still rising. Then there is the matter of children and adults coming into contact with people who aren't even aware that they are infected. In turn we take the virus home to elderly parents that we must care for or other family members who are already fighting life threatening diseases. Students will not keep mask on all day nor comply with social distancing guidelines. There is no solid plan in place that can be implemented that would prevent the spread. 8/11/2020 8:12:53 Legal Guardian, Grandparent Harrison Lincoln Middle School We have seen over the past few months how quickly this can spread in a nursing home where visitors are limited, staff is following CDC and State protocols and daily cleaning/sanitation is the norm. Why would we think congregating a bunch of kids into a building would be safe? 8/11/2020 8:23:01 Parent, Teacher Berkeley I am a teacher and I will be choosing virtual education for my daughter. There are several reasons for my decision. In my county the students and teachers can take off their masks once they are in their "pod". This is not safe. Our schools are going back 5 days week with all students in attendance, with the exception of.the ones that choose virtual. This is not safe. My school is Title I and many children will choose the in school option. Our classrooms are not big enough to allow for proper social distancing. This is not safe. I work in a building where ventilation is a major problem. The heating and air system has not functioned properly for at least 10 years. This is not safe. I met with my schools leadership team, our schools plan that lays out thing like arrival and dismissal, social distancing, cleaning, visitors, masks, meals, etc is over 40 pages long. (. 40 pages and that doesn't even address to instruction. The plan put forth by our county is not feasible and its dangerous to both students amd teachers. I am already being asked to meetin in person with groups of teachers. This is not safe. Our staff returns to the building on August 24th. There are no guidelines for teachers meeting in groups, no suggestions for how to keep safe. I want to be in school, I want my daughter to be in school. The reality is our schools are not equipped and we cannot guarantee safety for our staff or students. Remote learning, with teachers having the option to work from home is the only safe way fonlvard. 8/11/2020 8:33:23 Teacher Cabell Explorer Academy As teachers are going back to our building to work on their classrooms we are finding that it is early impossible to spread our classrooms out to fit social distancing guidelines. It just can?t be done. We don?t have the staff to keep class sizes small enough to be able to even think of doing so. It's not safe. As a music teacher, I will be traveling on a cart from classroom to classroom. I will see around 150 kids a day. That?s 150 opportunities to spread the virus every day. What happens when a child in my first class tests positive? Do all 6 classes then need to quarantine because I?ve then spread that child?s germs around our building? It?s not safe. My mother has cancer. She also just got out of the hospital for pneumonia this weekend. ?And this is after being in the hospital and a temporary care facility for over a month because of a broken hip. I need to be able to see my mother. lcan?t go see her if I?m around hundreds of students every day who could possibly have Covid-19. I can?t risk her being exposed to it as well. So it?s possible that I won't get to see my mother before something fatal happens to her. It?s not safe. As an adult trying my best, I find it difficult to wear a mask for the 3 hour shift I work at the mall. 3 hours. You?re asking our students to wear them for 7-8 hours. Masks are extremely important but children can?t entirely understand that or may not always remember it. It is too much to ask them to remember all the safety guidelines that will be required of them. It is already a well known fact that kids are germ factories. We love them to pieces, but they spread germs faster than anything else. Do you think that will be different with Covid-19? I highly doubt it. It's just not safe. Why are we risking the lives of our youth and school staff? The teachers of West Virginia are amazing at what they do. Have faith and trust us. We can fully rock an online platform to ensure our students are not left behind one single bit. We can make online learning work! It may not be the traditional kind of learning, but our students WILL learn! Just give us the chance to do it. Give us the chance to be safe. Have faith in the educators of West Virginia. It will be okay. We will all be okay. It has to be safe. Please. Make it safe. We can not go back to traditional school until it is. 8/11/2020 8:38:07 Teacher Morgan Universal Pre-K First, there were 97,000 children who contracted COVID in the last 2 weeks ofJuly. Second, listen to the report on children and coronavirus that was on NPR on the morning of 8/11/2020. They supply plenty of reasons that children should not return to the classroom (and some reasons why children should, which I believe IS a significant problem, but one which teachers should not be in charge of solving). Third, my classroom is in a local child care center. Yesterday, my first day back in my classroom, I became aware of TWO potential COVID cases in the child care, not because someone gossiped to me, but because I saw and spoke to adults about them. The adults were unconcerned and even laughed about "carriers". My county has had a low rate of infection, and I believe this is part of the reason: people do not believe its real (it?s to make Trump look bad and will disappear after the election), or do not believe an outbreak is possible in our county, or are simply unconcerned. Finally, my teaching partner and i are scheduled to have a full class of preschool students, which will be over 15 children. They will not be wearing masks, preschoolers are not developmentally ready to physically distance, and they often spit, lick, pick their noses, and are just beginning to learn to cover their coughs and sneezes. Preschoolers need contact from each other and from adults. We will hug them, bandage boo-boos, wipe tears, blow noses. Not only is a preschool classroom a danger to adults, who are more at risk of COVID, and to the family members they might bring it home to, but our students are at risk as well. 8/11/2020 8:42:12 Grandparent, Substitute teacher (retired teacher) Randolph JRES, EHS, EMS, RCTC Outbreaks are occurring around the country in schools that have reopened. My age and compromised immune system will keep me from subbing. My grandchild has asthma and that is concerning. Going back puts everyone at risk. 8/11/2020 8:45:05 Wife of a teacher Monongali a Morgantown High School Too many people in close proximity not social distancing not properly using PPE and an extremely high chance of spreading Covid 19. My husband is diabetic and a teacher, putting his life at risk to teach, students and other teachers who have underlying health conditions all being exposed to close to 2,000 people daily? Completely unnecessary and unacceptable. 8/11/2020 9:17:11 Teacher Cabell Cabell Midland High School I'm very concerned to head back to school 5 days a week. There are currently 28 desks in my room and they are barely 2 feet a part, let alone 3-6 feet. We don?t know enough about school aged children catching, passing, and dying from this virus. I teach ninth graders who we now keep hearing are affected the same as adults. This is scary to me because I have a 3 month old baby at home. I will do my best to keep masks on and keep my room as clean as I can, but I need supplies to do so and backing from the board to require mask use. I will feel at risk helping/getting near a student who?s family doesn?t require/believe in the use of masks. I?ve never been and never want to be a teacher who doesn?t give every student the same attention, but thinking about my little one at home might affect that in a year of uncertainty and feelings of being unsafe. 8/11/2020 9:24:50 Grandpa rent wood retired I feel they are ready. Kids are ready. l?m retired from wood county. The stuff teacher are saying online, they should be ashamed ofthere self. The need to go back to work. Custodian have been back since August 3 cleaning from top to bottom. Its time to go back. 8/11/2020 9:25:57 Teacher Preston Preston High School Our high school is going back with all 1200 students in building at the same time, 5 days a week. We are operating in a 2 hour early out schedule. My concern is social distancing will not be possible in hallways and classes, as well as students refusing to wear masks. I am high risk and my elderly mother lives with me who is also high risk. I just don?t feel this was well thought out. r. 8/11/2020 9:44:37 Teacher Monongali a Westwood Middle I am an older teacher. I have 5 years until retirement. I?m not far enough in to retire but too far in to consider changing careers. If I were a little farther in I definitely would take early retirement. If I were a newer teacher I definitely would look at another career choice. I have worked too long and too hard at this career to end up dead or with lasting health issues that will affect this retirement I have worked so hard to get to because someone didn?t care enough to protect me?because someone was too stubborn or too proud to face the facts and realize that a temporary halt on in person education can very well mean the difference between life and death for some of us. I also help my elderly parents and I can't imagine the lasting emotional effects on myself if I were to bring something home to them that ended their life. Kids are resilient. Kids will be ok with another period of virtual learning. At least they will be alive and healthy when this virus is ?nally eradicated and we can go back to something more normal. I fear that if we move fonNard to in person school at this point that won't be the case. It?s a proven fact that schools are more effective when the people involved in their functioning are alive and healthy. 8/ 11/2020 9:54:05 Parent, Teacher Roane Middle School I do not feel that we are ready to go back to school. That's not to say that WV hasn?t done well in controlling cases compared to other states, but it?s just not good enough. One or two school outbreaks could completely break us- we don?t have the testing and contract tracing speed and capacity that we need, and there is one thing for certain opening schools will not do- decrease the number of Covid cases. Rural counties with low numbers should not be going back, either. I do not think it is fair to use these counties as an experiment for the rest of the state, as ,3 COVID-19 does not respect county borders. Like many others in education, I am a woman and a mother. I have a young child at home. Many educators are also caretakers to elderly parents. I cannot possibly take the risk of exposing these people in my life to the germs of 140+ students per day, which is what will happen if we return to in-person schooling. That will leave me with a decision to make very soon- either go on some type of leave or resign. This will only further exacerbate the shortage of teachers and and substitutes available. My mother is a teacher, as well. She's also waiting to make her decision- risk her health and that of my father, or go ahead and retire (even though she'd prefer to work several more years and is an incredible teacher). I realize that everyone has difficult decisions to make, but we would never in the past accept this level of risk when sending our students and school staff into schools, and we should not accept it now. Opening schools, knowing an increase in cases is inevitable as in other states, will only hurt our students and communities as we have to shut down again and further burden our healthcare systems. I ask you to please consider using your influence to keep us all safe and delay the start of in?person school until we can all with a straight face say that school is a safe place to be. 8/11/2020 9:56:32 Parent, Teacher Jefferson Shepherd University I live in Jefferson County but teach in Berkeley County at OVI. I don't feel we have enough safe practices guaranteed to attend school in-person. Children pre-K through 2 will not wear masks. No plans to supply students with water. No guarantees about mask wearing for those above 9 - policy states they get warnings for first offenses. Bus travel is not safe for so many at once. No guarantee of cleaning supplies/types of cleaning supplies. VERY LIMITED BATHROOM AND SINK FACILITIES. lam concerned I will be infected and bring home to my family members, especially the adults I live with who have health issues already. 8/11/2020 10:12:11 Teacher Kanawha Horace Mann Middle School I'm concerned that there is not enough data on how Covid? 19 effects kids. The majority of the data we have to date is coming from a time period when schools across the country closed to be safe, therefore kids were not in their normal environment during the gathering of the data. Kids in school are different than kids at home on lockdown, even if some parents/guardians did not strictly lock down their children. The chances of coming in contact with the virus were much smaller outside of school than inside of school. We are seeing in other states and districts, that as schools are going back to face to face instruction, there is a decent, if not significant, rise in cases among kids counter to what previous data suggested would happen. Adding this to the unknowns of the long term effects of the virus on those who show as well as those who do not, there is just too much that we don't understand to put our future generations at risk. Their minds are resilient. They will catch up and will reach their full potential. And other countries throughout the world are facing the same issues we can't pretend our students are the only ones who are facing a challenging education. I would much rather be known for playing it safe, protecting the health of our future, and it be seen as needless to the future (because it works!) then to be seen as the generation that put money and mental comfort ahead of the health of the future. 8/ 11/2020 10:12:47 Parent, Teacher Cabell VOBE and Nichols The COVID numbers keep rising, yet we were sent home in March with no current numbers. The number of children getting infected and tested is going up drastically. Teachers need adequate time to plan and prepare and we have not been given this. The reentry plan does not adequately solve enough of the major safety issues. Expecting teachers to work miracles in impossible situations is asking too much. Asking teachers to risk their lives and that of their family is wrong. Requesting children go back at the possibility of death or long term health issues is wrong. Teachers are not baby sitters. Fix the actual issues at hand rather than expecting teachers to step up and fix them, as we have always done. 8/11/2020 Grandparent, Teacher Kanawha Riverside, Pratt I am older and feel being exposed to my students will be 10:16:13 risky not only to myself but to them and their families as well. My students will not be required to wear a mask in the classroom. How is this safe? Our building has poor ventilation also. If board meetings and press conferences are closed to the public, why is it ok to put teachers, staff, and children in a room together for prolonged periods of time? Also social distancing of 3 feet is not following the guidelines put out by the cdc. lam also concerned for my grandson who has asthma. We have been practicing being safe since March, and now we are throwing all that away. 8/11/2020 Parent, Teacher Kanawha Boone I worry about a lack of accountability in upholding CDC and 10:16:14 state guidelines. Who can we contact, and how, to report concerns about safety protocol not being upheld or expected once the school year begins? 8/11/2020 Teacher Kanawha Boone have a concern that required instructional minutes will 10:34:45 need to be adjusted as classroom teachers will have to allow for enough time in the day and between activities to include proper cleaning and sanitizing routines for students throughout the day, especially since some students will be eating in their classrooms twice a day. 8/11/2020 Parent, Teacher Berkeley Hedgesville My husband is high risk and my elderly mother in law lives 10:35:49 Middle, in our home as well. My 3 children are doing remote but I Mussleman High, don?t have the option bc I don?t have any health concerns Mountain Ridge for me personally. So I have to go and put my family at Middle and risk. All schools should be remote for the first semester at Mountain Ridge least. Too many cases have shown that it does affect intermediate. children far more than people thought since schools have opened. Do not risk the children or the staff. One is too many. 8/11/2020 10:50:44 Parent, Teacher Monongali a University High I feel like if we do try to go back in the building, we will just be back out in a matter of weeks. It will be more disruptive to students (and families and staff) to bounce back and forth instead ofjust being remote from the start. If an entire school or county shut down isn?t necessary, there will still be multiple cases of quarantined students and staff which will also be extremely disruptive to learning. As a teacher I am most concerned with trying to have a cohesive, uninterrupted year and that is best achieved by going remote from the start instead of bouncing back and forth. 8/ 11/ 2020 10:50:46 Parent, Teacher Upshur Buckhannon Academy ljust had a baby in February. I depend on her grandparents (73, 61, 56- all with underlying conditions) to help with child care. The custodian in charge of my portion of the building believes the virus is a hoax. My husband's job allows for social distancing at almost all times. I am usually one to be super excited about the new school year, but this year, I dread it. There are so many negative potential outcomes. For example, if I am exposed at work, how long will I have to quarantine in a secluded part of my house away from my husband and baby girl? The test results are taking up to 2 weeks to come back, how many sick days will I have to use to quarantine? How quickly will we be notified if someone in our building has tested positive? Will they tell teachers immediately? Will we ever be informed if the person doesn't necessarily visit our room, but has contaminated common spaces? What about hand washing- we run out of soap all the time. Will we be without soap? Clorox or Lysol wipes? Hand sanitizer? At half capacity, my small classroom still will not allow for proper distancing between students. How are we addressing the students who refuse to use the PPE or those whose parents think it infringes on their rights to have to wear a mask? How are we protecting the staff members that are, for all intents and purposes, caged up like lab rats with this virus? Why are we not acknowledging the fact that kids spread their germs like wildfire and they will sure spread this? Or the fact that there will 100% be parents that send their sick children to school, like they always have, because they need to work or just have them out of the house? Why can't we make the safe decision to wait until cases and spread are under control and then decide to open, risking no one's life instead of risking everyone's and closing after it may be too late to contain it and, Heaven forbid, we lose people? if it were just MY life that I was risking, it would be different. I do that all the time, who knows when the lockdown will come that isn't a drill. But I'm notjust risking my life. I'm risking my life, my husband's, our baby girl's, my husband's only living parent, my mom and dad, and the lives of all the families that come in contact with the one person that didn't know they were sick, that felt fine, that took a tylenol before school to bring down their fever to be let into class, the grandparents that are going without medicine for their underlying conditions so their grandbabies that have nowhere else to go can eat? How can we risk all these lives (even if they don't pass away, they can have life long effects from this disease) so boldly and say if it gets worse we will look at closing schools? How can we be so casual and unconcerned for I miss school. I miss normal. I miss the excitement of a new year and a new group of kids. But I do NOT miss it enough to risk being the reason I watch family pass away! I do NOT miss it enough to risk having to attend socially distanced funerals for children! Can you imagine the guilt these kids would feel for their whole life if they were the way their family got exposed and they became an orphan? Tell me then, is returning REALLY for their mental health and nutrition (which the weekly delivered meals and the SNAP benefit cards helped with all summer), or is it really just so parents can have free day care, get back to work, and "stimulate the economy"? Because if the answer to that should be that it isn't even a question, yet it remains one that needs to be repeatedly asked. 8/11/2020 10:51:14 Teacher Berkeley Valley View Elem. As a teacher, there is nothing I want more than to be back in my classroom with my kids. Teaching is my calling and one of the things I am most passionate about. I will always do what is best for my kids, but unfortunately, being in the classroom is not what is best for anyone this school year. I am a first grade teacher. My kids are not required to wear masks. I do not have the space to spread out 25 desks in my classroom. There is no physical way we can practice social distancing to keep everyone safe. Primary classrooms should be filled with engagement, laughter, and collaborative learning. Students should feel safe and secure- not afraid that the child sitting next to them could make them or their family members very ill. This year, students will not be allowed to sit with their friends. They can't share any materials. They can?t participate in collaborative, hands-on learning experiences. Everything they know about school will be different. Seeing their teachers in full PPE will be intimidating and frightening. The thought of my kids never seeing my smile the entire school year because of a mask breaks my heart. If one of their classmates becomes very ill, how will that effect them? If I were to become very ill or even die from Covid, how will that effect them? That is not something they should ever have to experience. In addition to being teacher, I am also a a wife and mother. My husband and have a beautiful 1 year old little girl. I am filled with fear and anxiety about having to send her back to daycare so I can return to my classroom. I am fearful for her health, and the health of her classmates and amazing teachers. I am fearful that Covid could take my life, and she would be left without her mommy. I lost my mom in my early 20?s. The void that is left in your heart after losing a parent is unbearable. The thought of her never really knowing who I am breaks my heart. The thought of missing her life because I was forced to return to an unsafe work environment Is unacceptable. If I brought the illness home and my husband were to fall ill, I would never forgive myself. Telling teachers to return to the classroom to risk their lives, the lives of their students and the families they serve, or the lives of their own families should never be a choice. Going back to school under the current conditions, I will not be able to serve my students to the best of my ability. Anxiety and fear will absolutely hold me back. However, I can assure you, that I can be the best teacher I can be through distance learning. My colleagues and I are always willing to go the extra mile to ensure student success. Teachers show that every day- we will ALWAYS do what is best for our kids. And this time, what is best for them is to stay at home. Please reconsider your decision and keep our teachers and students safe. 8/11/2020 Parent Harrison Norvvood We are currently taking care of my ill father and he is at risk 10:52:39 of Covid 8/11/2020 Parent Cabell Nichols My mother watches my children after school until my 10:56:58 Elememtary, husband and I get home from work. She has multiple Milton Middle illnesses and cannot and should not be exposed to this School virus. I am concerned that even though my kids may not get sick, they could become and carry the virus and pass it on to their grandmother. Our family is strictly following the health departments guidelines, but that does not mean that each household is. I do not want my family infected because someone else chose not to take any precautions or thought this virus is a hoax. I also want my children to be able to work with their teachers at their local schools and not some random person somewhwere in the State of WV. 8/1 1/2020 10:59:51 Parent, Service Personnel Upshur High school and elementary We need a vaccine or virtual school 8/11/2020 11:05:34 Parent Upshur French Creek Elementary How do we have restrictions on every other aspect of life, only allowing a certain number of people to be in a place at one time - and these are short amounts of time - but we?re ready to send our precious children back into full time full capacity in-person education where social distancing cannot be practiced?! There is no sense in this. We do not know enough about this virus to gamble on the lives and futures of our children. 8/ 11/ 2020 11:06:03 Parent, Teacher Preston Preston High School My children attend Preston High School while I work in neighboring Monongalia County. Mon Co has been a hot spot and will most likely be again as WVU students begin arriving in town for the fall term AND local students begin commuting. The exposure risk increases exponentially for my household since my children will be attending PHS with 1250 students and I teach at UHS with 1450 students. This virus is not a sleeping student in the back row. it will be there to greet our kids and our educators at the door, in the bathrooms, in the crowded hallways, at the ticket booths for home games, in the teachers? lounge, at our mailboxes, in the office. It is in the middle of all "normal? daily practices and it is Please help us keep our students, our educators and our families SAFE. Remote for all until the end of the first 9 weeks, 10/31/2020. 8/11/2020 11:16:16 Kinship Relationship, Teacher Gilmer Gilmer County High School I am greatly concerned with the number of cases in the nursing homes. If most of the individuals/ patients stay in the nursing homes and only the staff go in and out, what are our schools going to be like when all of the students, .3 staff, and parents go in and out of the building. If we have not been able to keep the cases extremely low in the nursing homes when the staff have been trained and have regularly utilized masks, gloves, etc., how are teachers, service personnel, and students going to be any safer. CO- VID 19 is not like the flu where you're only sick for 5-7 days; medical professionals have been saying that there could be long-term risks for blood clots, strokes, etc. That's a huge concern! 8/11/2020 11:32:03 Parent, Legal Guardian Gilmer Gilmer Elementary They closed the schools when numbers were much lower. Now, they are talking about opening schools back up. However, the general public is seeing a rise in cases. Look at the nursing homes, they have been using ppe and masks. The cases are still rising. How does the school really think its fine to put the kids in danger and the families of students. What happens when the school opens and there is an outbreak in the school? Schools need to be closed for the safety of the kids. What about the amount of masks and disinfectant wipes and sprays? Is the school going to be prepared to really handle this so the students are safe? How can they make sure the kids are going to keep masks on? 8/11/2020 11:33:09 Parent, Foster Parent, Teacher Upshur Buckhannon Upshur High School The school system won?t have enough staff to keep the high school clean and with 1000 students plus staff someone is going to get sick and there isn?t enough room for 6 ft apart in a classroom 8/11/2020 11:42:09 Parent, @gmail .com Gilmer gilmer elementary school my kid doesn't feel comfortable wearing a mask 8/11/2020 11:45:27 Pa rent Harrison Liberty High School and Robert C. My father lives with me and is battling stage 4 cancer if my kids are just carriers and this virus spreads to him, his outlook on survival for surviving corona while on chemo therapy is very bleak. This is my personal reason, I also don't believe reopening is safe for the teachers and (K. parents/guardians. Just recently we have seen a spike in children contracting the virus and yes it doesn't seem to be as destructive on the kids, but what about their parents/teachers/school staff. I truly believe the we should side on the edge of caution and start school up virtually 100%, to ensure the safety and health of our communities. 8/11/2020 11:56:34 Parent harrison lincoln high, lincoln middle, United high school I dont think we should risk our kids going back to school because if they get sick is the school board going to pay the hospital bills some kids have low immune systems which they can?t fight the sickness off if a kid gets sick because they have to go to school with the spread of the covid and dies will the state pay for the expenses i dont see it to be safe if alot of people dont even like to go out or only goes out when it is needed some kids have asthma and its hard to breath with a mask on as well as adults with it and breathing problems you can?t expect kids to sit in one class all day and wear a mask for almost 7/8 hours its not comfortable at all 8/11/2020 12:06:37 Teacher Jefferson Jefferson County Schools We do not have the manpower to pull off schools reopening. We do not have enough safety measures either. No one knows how we will have subs if staff becomes ill or how many people will quarantine after a confirmed case. Students need consistency, but opening only to close to a case will happen continuously all year. No one wants to deal with that or the worry you/your family may have COVID. How do families and staff plan for closures that can happen at a moment's notice? Going remote does have challenges, but if we know we are fully remote those are challenges we can manage much easier than trying to socially distance students and enforce masks. 8/11/2020 12:07:22 Parent Gilmer Gilmer Elementary Gilmer County High School Both of my elementary school children have ADH D, ODD, and Sensory Processing Disorder. The latter makes anything that covers their face or feels tight to be a distraction and they will fight against wearing it. I also have 2 students .3 who have asthma, masks are causing them to have flare ups. I worry I will be expected to spend more time at doctors to prove it isnt Covid?19, but indeed asthma or bronchitis or pneumonia, which already happens at least once a year for EACH of my children. We have high copays and deductibles so the cost of doctor visits will become outrageous quickly. 8/11/2020 12:10:27 Teacher Ka nawha Multiple I don?t feel that Kanawha County is adequately prepared to return to schools. The county isn't ready: 1) due to the lack of PPE provided by the county and the enforcement of students wearing 2) testing is not adequate as there are long turnaround times for the results; 3) there are no clear health protocols about how the county plans to handle positive results that would result in quarantine, especially if there is a long wait period for results; 4) school ventilation systems are inadequate due to lack of maintenance; 5) teachers aren't allowed to open windows due to safety concerns or even if teachers were allowed to open windows, the windows may not open for various reasons. 7) the county doesn't have a full time nurse in each school or enough part-time teachers to cover the schools which coincides with numbers 2 and 3. 8) ltinerants have a higher chance of acquiring and/or spreading if itinerants are required to "push in", or sit in each individual student's classroom with the rest of their class and teacher. Not only are itinerants going into different buildings, but itinerants are going into different individual classrooms. 9) the fact other places are closed or operating at limited capacity, but not schools; These are the major points I felt are necessary to make. 8/11/2020 12:16:55 Parent Boone Ramage, Madison middle feel it is unsafe to go back, b/c both my children have a blood disorder so do I and also other health issue. I do not want my children to be in a unsafe environment. Also my children grandparents have health issue's I do not want my children to bring it back to them I do not want to keep my children from there grandparents. Also my youngest daughter is Autistic has high anxiety. I do not want her going to school worrying about her safety feeling unsafe. I do not want her graining further anxiety do to the new rules guidelines. I mainly do not want to see my 7, 9 13 year old struggle for there life why on a ventilator why there lungs inflamed and fill with fluid why they struggle to breath without me or there dad there with them, with a nurse they don't even know why there scared for there life fighting a Hugh fight not knowing if they will make it. Not saying it will happen, but there is always the chance. Also who would want to see child fight for there life I feel with school opening back up right now with the virus at it highest point that lots of children &teachers will die or get very ill. Why put teachers in this situation of having to risk there life or go job less its not fair to them either. No parent should haft to make the choice of sending there kids to school having to risk there life's. I so I deeply believed that virtual learning from home should be ?3 the first few months of school or until the virus rates lower some. 8/11/2020 12:25:05 Parent, Teacher Putnam Putnam Our building is over 50 years old. lam concerned about ventilation, having enough space to social distance students. I also am concerned that hospitals are only allowing one visitor, we have to have appointments at banks, the DMV and drive thru restaurants, we can't take our own pets into the vet but we are going to send 15-25 (or more) kids in a classroom? I feel as a teacher we have not been given directions or protocols, or answers to questions- will we have to clean restrooms after use? I will spend all day doing that with first graders. If students choose virtual who is the virtual teacher? How is that determined? if we teach virtually, and we have to go to school to teach from there- what do teacher moms and dads do with their own student children? Are class sizes being considered? How do we offer support services such as Title I and cadre? Too many unknowns and not enough preparation completed for a smooth in school option in my county. 8/11/2020 12:28:58 Teacher Kanawha Grandview Elementary Plain and simple: it is not safe. My school is one of many with an ancient HVAC system, which, at times, struggles to run during the first few hot weeks of school. Without proper ventilation, I worry that respiratory droplets can be easily circulated, potentially spreading covid. Anywhere else you go, the rule is 6 ft; however, the guidelines changed for students and staff to maintain a distance of 3 ft. I am concerned about the massive responsibility that will be placed on staff/service personnel. Our school has gone from three buses to one bus. How are our bus drivers going to be responsible for driving students to and from school, to and from hotspots, delivering food, all while remaining safe with the amount of students they?re being exposed to? We do not have time to hire the amount of bus drivers, custodians, and ideally one nurse per school daily. We are less than 30 days away and we are not prepared. My husband is an autism therapist. Many of his clients are vulnerable with health impairments. If I were to give Covid to him, I fear it will also be transmitted to his clients. I worry for our students whose caretakers are grandparents or even great-grandparents, as well as 1/3 of our state?s teachers/service personnel who have health impairments. Our students, staff, and families do not deserve to be put at risk when other options are available. Thank you. 8/11/2020 12:32:44 Kinship Relationship Gilmer Gilmer County Elementary School ?niece and nephew Gilmer County High School ?re ative of teacher Glenville State CoHege -relative of staff Doddridge County schools -close friend of teacher Braxton county schools -niece Upshur county schools -2 nephews and niece Neither school or teachers or students are ready for this. My sister is a teacher and she is scared. Do we have the substitute teachers we will need if the teachers come down sick? You can?t limit where students go when they aren?t at school no matter how safe we believe we have made the schools. Have the parents taken the kids out of their counties, gone to Clarksburg to go to Walmart, or eat out, or to the doctor up in a bigger city? Did they wear masks? Were others around them wearing masks? Kids, especially younger ones touch everything, it is how we learn. Do we really expect kids to keep on masks for the duration of the day? One kid removing their mask wrong or not keeping it on could spread germs. It had been coming out in reports that Covid 19 is airborne at least to some degree. Are we recirculating the air through all the school? is air filtration something that has been considered?one kids takes off a mask to readjust it and if the air is circulated through the building and one in the hallway does the same way and is a carrier, or will that potentially spread it to their grandparent if they come home? Within the last few weeks, were I have gone, outside of home and work, I have only seen one out of five people even wearing masks. if we can?t keep adults in line, how do we expect children to? Going to a gas station or a store is a bit different, or even the doctors or a park, or visiting family. Schools are the one place over stadiums or concerts and fair where we put so many people together to try to fit them. Schools cram 20 people in a room for a day, all breathing the same air or extended amounts of time. A store has much more breathing roomlheight ceiling, less air per person, much less crowded). Most teachers have too many students to keep up with. We are expecting the students to keep 3-6 feet apart but will we constantly be on them to stop touching walls and doorways or desks as they pass them? Are we going to prevent kids from passing others to get to their friends when they get to school or will cafeterias still be a holding area where the kids wait for this or that? Do we have the cleaning supplies ready for schools, if everything should be wiped down? Are hand railings in stars going to be wiped down after each group of kids? How many kids will touch it just in between classes, or heading to cafeteria? Have we hired more staff to help clean as students move through the school? Do we have the resources for students to use hand sanitizer every time they touch their face, or mask, someone else?s desk, or tie their shoes? My nephew is high risk, and I live in the same household. He has a heart condition, sensory issues, adhd. it is hard to keep him from touching anything when he goes in a store, or to keep him from running over and giving people he knows a hug. If he gets sick, he will not have the immunity of other kids. We shut down schools when there were barely any cases in the state, all to help us prepare, but I do not feel the state has prepared the schools for this. I am a manager at McDonald?s and even just for softball, we get rushed during practices and games. Social distancing and masks, we hear it all the time now. I can see the fields from where I work, and few were actually distancing themselves and not everyone wore masks. There are pictures of the teams together, no masks, no distancing, kids piled on top of each other. If these kids are not distancing, before school has even started, are we ready? Their parents and coaches have allowed this. I love that the kids got to play, and to enjoy themselves, but they have not been following simple rules set down, and everyone needs to think more clearly about this? For buses, are we having the kids who got one first sit in the back and fill it up, then filing them off front to back so they are not passing each other? Are we going to enforce masks better with our adults before we move on to enforcing it with the kids? 8/11/2020 Parent, Legal Guardian Lewis Robert Bland and They ARE ready to go back to school! They should be 12:50:56 Lewis County High WITHOUT masks ask well! Most of these kids have played sports all summer long in large groups. With N0 If they end up having to do virtual learning then teachers should have to go on zoom/teams (whatever platform they choose) and still have to teach! This will help kids instead on saying here you go figure it out. i mean LC did just buy laptops for every student! 8/11/2020 Teacher Brooke Brooke Middle There are too many unanswered questions, and there are 13:08:38 School no procedures in place to keep our children safe. We are very concerned about the hallways, cafeterias, and large classrooms in the older grades. How can we enforce students remaining socially distanced in the hallway? Students in older grades skip classes or linger in the hallway. What do we do about lockers? How will we walk 200 children down the already crowded hallways to get lunch? Will the class day have to be extended to make up for transition times being longer or do they just get less academic time? What will the procedures be in classes like with 50 students in it or chorus with 80 children? Do those classes need to change their curriculum because classes being held inside will be singing, playing instruments, sweating, breathing heavily, etc? What is the protocol for classrooms with no door to it that is near themain part ofthe room and no ability to open windows? How can we enforce students to wear masks in buildings? Will we require a doctor's note for students who claim they can't wear a mask? If an older student purposefully coughs on a teacher or student, will they be expelled from school? These questions and so many more, are the reason I don't feel like we are ready to go back to school. 8/11/2020 13:12:00 Pa rent Marion East Dale Elementary Kids are always constantly sick, passing illnesses back and forth, once school starts each Fall. I know the same would happen with Covid, only it has the potential to be so much more deadly and we do not have a vaccine or treatment for it. I also don't want to send my child and have to go get tested for Covid every time he has a sniffle because I don't want him spreading it to multiple people, including grandparents, great grandparents and family members with compromised immune systems, because it could potentially be Covid. The schools in Marion County had to shut down because of the Flu in February, why do they think it would be different with this? 8/11/2020 13:35:43 Parent Mason New Haven It seems like remote is the safest, less traumatic route at this point for all involved. As much as l?d rather see in person school, the risks are too high. I agree it may be less convenient, and students need to be in school. However, if hospitals aren't allowing visitors and that?s the most sterile, controlled environment possible; how can we expect students and teachers to pull this off? My family has elderly, at-risk grandparents that we help care for. We worry about bringi_ng this virus to them. 8/11/2020 13:51 :57 Parent, Teacher CabeH Martha Elementary, Barboursville Middle School, My concerns have to do primarily with teachers and school staff, and that directly affects my family. As Governor Justice has said, we have a state with a large elderly population and we also have a lot of underlying health conditions. Many of these people are parents and grandparents of our students, but?we also need to Cabell Midland High School remember that many of our public school teachers and staff are also in that population. We have elderly teachers and staff and we have teachers and staff with underlying health conditions. They are vulnerable. They are at risk for serious illness. Putting them in school buildings where it's impossible to properly socially distance and where ventilation isn?t the greatest could be catastrophic. We know now children aren?t immune to this virus. They can get it and spread it. If our teachers and school staff start getting sick, it would be emotionally devastating, but also?who would staff the schools? We already have a teacher shortage. There de?nitely aren't enough subs, especially in certain positions like administrator positions. School outbreaks would leave schools unable to be staffed properly and would cause school closures. The argument is that students need to be in school to learn properly and receive services that schools provide, but I can?t see that starting school in a building and having to close it would be bene?cial to our students at all. It would be more disruptive to their education and well-being. I think the best plan of action would be to have students begin the year remotely. We need to have a solid plan in place to ensure that all students receive quality education remotely. We need to set standards that teachers have to adhere to when providing remote education. We need to continue to provide meals to children who need them. We need to have a plan in place to ensure that students who are at risk are followed closely even though they are not in a school building. That needs to be our focus, right now, instead of planning for a re-entry that is not going to be sustainable. Thank you for all that you do, and for reading my comments! Virginia Harris Lfrom: Wanda Barbo Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 2:08 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Statement to WV BOE concerning in-person schooling To the members of West Virginia's State Board of Education: I thank you each for your service to education and I hope you are all well. Concerning the upcoming 2020-2021 school year, I would like to express my thoughts on in-person schooling. As I am sure you are all aware, so many of our students here in West Virginia are impoverished, and many are being brought up by grandparents. I'm also certain you are aware that West Virginia has population disproportionately affected by medical conditions that increases the risk of ill-effects from Covid-19. Moreso, in keeping up with the issue by following reliable news sources, we also know that children, especially middle and high school students, do indeed contract, carry, and pass on the novel Coronavirus which ca uses Covid-19, contrary to the misinformation touted by many political personalities. We know that this virus spreads easily via the air and that it's effects are indiscriminate and unpredictable, and is more deadly than the annual bout of influenza we combat, usually unsuccessfully, year after year. It is well-known that among the faculty and staff of West Virginia?s schools there are many of us who suffer from conditions that lower the body's immune response thereby placing us at great risk of the worst effects of this pandemic. . Furthermore, it is also well-known that in the past decade or so, West Virginia's public schools have suffered from a Lgihortage of licensed and qualified educators. Because of the risks associated with Covid-19, many faculty and staff members are faced with the tough choice of whether or not to leave their positions in order to avoid contact with this potentially deadly disease. Some have already done so, choosing to take an early retirement or to simply walk away. Others are taking what sick days they have, and borrowing from the sick bank to avoid contact with the disease. Others who are at the highest dangerous risk from Covid-19 are backed into a corner, financially unable to walk away, yet, because of their medical histories, lack any sick days to take in order to avoid the virus and possibly death, or ill-effects that may affect their vital organs for a lifetime, not to mention the costs that will extend beyond PEIA coverage that has the potential to financially devastate the families of these education professionals and workers. it is not right that these fine people are placed in such a position. I implore you, on behalf of those who have so much to lose, to take a stand for West Virginia's education workers, and for West Virginia students and their families. Do not allow in-person schooling to take place until it is safe. We can work together to find safe ways to address those students at greatest risk at home and those who have the greatest needs, but we cannot in good conscience risk the health and lives of West Virginia students and their families, nor that of West Virginia faculty and staff. Sincerely, Wanda Lee Barbo Robert Bland Middle School Weston, WV Virginia Harris From: Brittney Barlett Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 2:09 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: School Re-Opening Comment Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. To the Members of the WV Department of Education: I quit my career as an educator on July 22nd of this year. I will not be returning. was a permanent educator for 4 years and was on track to become a Nationally Board Certified educator. I was National Honor Society advisor, elected LSIC member, on the School Improvement Leadership Team, and head tennis coach. All of those positions currently sit un?Hed. I participated in drills that would have had me lay down my life for my students. I contracted mono as a teacher, permanently impacting my health and causing damage to my spleen. I helped spark 2 educator strikes because I care deeply about my students, colleagues, and the profession of education. But I was never once treated as a professional. I truly believe that the state board has ignored the voices of teachers - highly educated professionals who hold degreesJ higher than most Americans - above political opinion as long as I've been alive. The wind of public sentiment should hold no sway on how our students and education employees are treated, but it seems that wind is the only factor guiding the direction the WVDE as of late. You lost a damn good educator because you refused to protect us. You're willing to dish out thousands for thermometers and fancy sanitizers, but not trust educators to make their own choices about what is safe for them. You?re ignoring science and hoping the decisions you make will not result in deaths in every school across the state. You're hoping the deaths we do have don't make you look TOO bad. You will never hear the end of it if I have to bury a former student or friend over your fear of public opinion. If good optics comfort you more than the knowledge that you did all you could to protect us, you shouldn't hold the power you currently hold. I hope you'll be able to fill the teacher shortage created by the lucky few like me who can afford to leave, the early retirees, and those positions left by death. were a student in school now knowing how the state treats its employees, I would never consider choosing teaching as a career. Do the right thing. Don't let the history books my friends will someday teach remember you as murderers. Full remote learning - or the option for any student and education employee to CHOOSE remote learning with no repercussions - until there are 0 cases is the only viable option. I beg you to protect the youth of WV and the educators who shape their lives. Do the right thing. Brittney Barlett Former Teacher 304-997-4628 Weston, WV Virginia Harris From: Cheryl Brandmeir Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 2:24 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: 20/21 school year Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Board Members, I am concerned about the upcoming school year and the lack of transparency and communication with parents. The survey that came out with a rather quick turn around was ever so basic without a good explanation of the options. And then, the North Elementary school principal stated that many of the options from the survey are not actual options that Mon county is providing to our students. Furthermore, that principal went on to state that if the WV state virtual option is chosen, parents are forfeiting all IEPs for their children and in the future, they must be retested for eligibility. How can than be correct? If the IEP was just updated at the end of the school year of 2020, how can it be negated due to attending the WV virtual school to allow adequate social distancing? Additionally, it was touted that if Mon county has it's own virtual option, it will be "just like the spring." To me, that is not a selling point. The spring was an utter failure to our students and the parents. One child had a grand total of 40 minutes of communication with her teacher and the other had Yes, you read that . correctly, Going forward, there needs to be a syllabus and lesson plans sent to not only the student, but to the parent as well. There needs to be accountability. New information needs to be taught. There needs to be a combination of and learning. In the school, there must be a mask requirement for EVERYONE, no exceptions. Furthermore, there needs to be 6ft of distance between each person. The density on busses must also be reduced. Without these guidelines, along with adequate sanitization and ventilation, I cannot even consider sending my child back for in person learning. Thank you, Cheryl Brandmeir Vir inia Harris Lsrom: amy southworth am: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 2:48 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: School Opening Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. I am writing today as a concerned teacher and parent. teach in Kanawha County, and my children both attend school in Putnam County. As a parent, I have fewer concerns, as we are lucky enough to have a virtual school option through Putnam County that will allow transfer back to in person school at each nine weeks. We are also lucky to have my husband working from home until at least January, and he will be able to help our children during virtual school. As a first grade teacher, my concerns are many. 1. Aside from a window air conditioner unit that frequently does not work, I have no ventilation in my classroom. That means that, at any given time, my students and I would be sitting in an 80 degree classroom with no ventilation. This is not safe at any time, especially not now. 2. We have no idea what cleaning supplies, if any, will be provided for teachers to use in their classrooms. Seeing as how disinfectant wipes and sprays are out of stock everywhere, I don't know how I am supposed to keep my classroom sanitized with just water and paper towels. 3. Are teachers going to be provided with face masks and shields, or do we need to purchase these with our own "noney? ?11. 6 feet of social distancing is recommended by the CDC and DHHR, but I have yet to find anything about classroom distancing requirements. I've heard it's 6 feet, and I've heard it's 3 feet. 5. Let's say I become sick or have to stay home to take ca re of a sick family member. Who is going to teach my class? We can't get subs during a regular school year, much less during a pandemic. 6. My school has 2 single restrooms for almost 60 staff members. How will those be cleaned and sanitized? 7. My county sent guidance on how guided reading should be conducted. There will not be social distancing during that time, and masks will be required. In the same guidance email, we were told that we needed to make individual kits of guided reading supplies for each student, and that all students should have their own reader to use. How will those extra supplies be purchased? i only have a complete set for 6 students. 8. What happens when one of our students becomes ill? Does the school shut down? Do we all quarantine? Just the whole class? What about siblings of the student? Do those classes quarantine also? Teachers want to be in school with their students. But, as you can tell, we have many unanswered questions. Virginia Harris From: Jenny L. Santilli Sent: Tuesday, August ?ll, 2020 3:29 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Remarks to Governor Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Board Members, lam furious and frustrated that we're wasting time getting buildings ready when we should be providing professional development for remote schooling and providing support for families to navegate that. The determination for how each county should begin instruction on September 8 is best left to individual county superintendents, not a governor who is trying to please a president who is clueless on how any of this works. Please see the faces of West Virginia's most precious resources, our children, and support the opening of schools with remote learning. Please let our school workers know their health and lives are worthy as our children's and shouldn't be put in harm's way to "get the economy going." All educational stakeholders will do well to follow two pieces of advice promoted by Al-Anon groups. First, concerning bad home lives, poverty and hunger, we need to remember that school employees did not cause these problems, we can ?t control them, and we certainly can 't cure them. For years, we've tried to mitigate them, but it's not in our power to do 50. Second, we need to know what we can change, the courage to change what we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Please take these adages to heart. I pray you listen to the medical professionals and, as important, to the school employees you all trust to care for our children. I can tell you that no plan for face to face instruction will result in social distancing, none. Anyone who works with children knows this. I implore you to support remote teaching to begin the school year. When is at manageable levels, we can return to our buildings. Please know you're in my prayers as you wrestle with this unprecedented disaster. Sincerely, Dr. Jenny L. Santilli, NBCT Virginia Harris gram: Becky Gray ent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 3:35 PM To: Virginia Harris Cc: bgray423bsms@comcast.net Subject: school rentry concerns Do not click links, cpen attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Ms. Harris, As a veteran educator of 20+ year in Ohio County Schools, I would like to share my personal concerns for school re?entry plans for this fall. I am an eleven-year cancer survivor who has few sick leave days accrued because of health issues resulting from chemotherapy and radiation. I am ovenNeight and diabetic and am considered high-risk for contracting Covid-19. Additionally, my mother?in-law lives with our family. She is seventy-?ve years old and has C.O.P.D. Obviously I worry about bringing home the virus to my family, but I am especially fearful of my mother-in-law contracting the disease. I want her to be with us for many more years. L"l have many friends and colleagues who are teachers that are at high-risk for contracting Covid- 19. Several have been considering early retirement or even resignation because they are afraid of becoming deathly ill or dying. Others are scared, yet indifferent, about returning to school. They believe that the "powers that be" do not care about the health and welfare of the teachers. These teachers won't even inquire about teaching remotely because so many other teachers with even more severe health issues (9.9., diabetes, asthma, autoimmune diseases, serious medications) have tried and have been told that they will be placed behind a Plexiglas shield with a N95 mask and that this will be a safe place for the teachers. With the number of Covid cases increasing, I truly believe that it would be a bad decision to return to face-to?face teaching this fall. Seemingly, the government and the general public do not understand that students and teachers will be in poorly ventilated classrooms (My windows do not even open.) for nearly eight hours a day. Trying to comply with the six-foot social distancing theory is going to be a nightmare. There simply is not enough room in most classrooms. Not to mention all of the time educators will need to be disinfecting--who, by the way, went to college and university to become teachers, not cleaners. I know that face-to-face instruction works best with children; however, the safety of the children, the faculty, and the staff should be considered quite seriously in this possible life?or-death situation. Thank you for your consideration, ecky Gray Reading and Language Arts Teacher Bridge Street Middle School Virginia Harris From: Charles Albers Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 3:47 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Our Students First Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. On behalf of Debbie Cremeans: As a concerned parent of a child in Cabell County and a retired teacher, I have some questions for our state educational leaders concerning the safe entry to schools on September 8th. How will the 6 foot social distancing happen in all classrooms? Without proper ventilation and space it seems this is nearly impossible in classroom settings. Will ALL students have to wear a mask? Considering the ages of elementary students is this even realistic? What will happen if a parent refuses to make a child wear a mask? Who will support the teachers and administrators? If a brother or sister is exposed and are in different classes, will both classes have to quarantine? I have yet to see the guidelines for exposure and quarantine. We all want our children back in school but at what cost? Well you see the child this parent is concerned about is a teacher. She is my child. I ask that you reconsider opening schools in-person for at least the first nine weeks. Sincerely, Debbie Cremeans Virginia Harris From: Anna Osborne Tuesday, August 11, 2020 4:08 PM Virginia Harris Subject: WVDE Statement Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Hi Virginia! I apologize, I know this is a few minutes past the deadline. Just let me know if you need any more information from me. Thanks so much for compiling these statements. WVDE Statement I am an eighth generation West Virginian and a fourth generation teacher. I have always been proud of this heritage, but today when I think of myself as a teacher it is with a profound sense of fear. ?magine the experience for my students this year, as I understand it based on our current reentry plans. any will travel to school on buses, sharing confined spaces, some for extended periods of time. The CDC recommends three to six feet physical distancing; my students will typically be seated two to a seat, or three if from the same household. My students will travel with other children from Prek?l 2th grade from the area; though they are all required to wear masks, in many cases their only adult supervision toward enforcing safety precautions will come from the bus driver. When they arrive at my school, they will go to the cafeteria, a room with no windows, with potentially as many as one hundred students, where they will eat breakfast- unmasked, obviously. They will sit at tables with other students, none of whom have been screened with even basic temperature checks. Before my students even arrive in my classroom they have already been exposed multiple times to levels of risk that would be considered inappropriate and reckless in most any other setting in the midst of this current health crisis. Bus drivers, cooks, custodians and the teachers on morning bus hall duty will likewise be exposed to this risk. The CDC guidelines on returning to a workplace state, ?In general, the more closely/you interact with others and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk ng0 I 9 spread. . ..Maintain at least 6feet qfdistance between you and others. ?If it is unsafe to come within six feet of others in stores and workplaces, then it is nsafe in schools. When addressing transportation, the same CDC guidelines state, void close contact with others on your commute to work, if possible. Consider biking, walking, driving either alone or with other members ofyour household. If it is unsafe to utilize public transportation without physical distancing, then it is unsafe on school buses. . By order of Governor Jim Justice, we are to ?Avoid social gatherings. . .Any gathering gfmore than 25 people, unrelated to any Essential Business and Operation, is prohibited unless exempted by this Order?. If it is unsafe for more than 25 people to gather for social functions in West Virginia, then it is unsafe for more than 25 people to gather in school buildings. Despite all the devastating consequences of school closures, we cannot bend the science to justify in? person reentry at this time. Guidelines, informed by science, have been created to keep us safe, and we have to apply them consistently at all levels of public life. That includes in our public schools. If we can?t do so safely for all students and staff, then we shouldn?t return to school at this time. Please consider a remote reentry for West Virginia schools until we have more reliable plans to protect our Children, families and school employees from Thank you for yout time. Respectfully-Anna Osborne Festivals- Concerts-Closedpdf Virginia Harris From: Gabrielle Nimeh?Lewis ant: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 4:42 PM 0: Virginia Harris Subject: Comment Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. I believe it is wrong to make plans on behalf of educators and not include educators in the decision making. I am concerned that PPE will not be required for students. lam concerned that teachers are being asked to do learning and in person learning at the same time. How are we supposed to manage? How can I provide a quality education when I am forced to work in such a manner? I think it is shameful that the state BOE and governor are bowing to the pressure of the federal government. They literally threatened us to get us to force kids back to school whether it was safe or not or they would take our funding. Instead of having a backbone and standing up to this idiocy, we are just walking the line. Our students and teachers deserve better. Period. Virginia Harris From: laurajsf@frontier.com Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 4:50 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: questions and concerns Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Hello. would like to share a few of my concerns and questions regarding the reopening our schools. Social Distancing The guidelines from the states that "maintaining 6 feet social distancing remains critical in slowing the spread of The guidelines for VW businesses states persons per 1,000 square The CDC guideline for a school with a more risk opening states students are 6 feet apart. The WVDE guidelines state face coverings are the best practice unable to exercise 6 feet social How can the WVDE have a social distancing guideline that is not comparable (maintaining 6 feet) to other guidelines? Ventilation . The EPA and CDC have guidelines for a COVID-19 workplace and safety plan. Ventilation is part of this plan. Why does WVDE not have a workplace and safety plan that mentions ventilation? Windows and classrooms doors are required to be closed and locked. How does this maintain good ventilation? The EPA also states that the greater number of people in an indoor environment, the greater the need for ventilation. Why is the WVDE not limiting the number of people in a school building? Hazard Assessment CDC requires the completion of a hazard assessment before coming into a building. Who is completing this plan for every school and how can the employees and parents obtain a copy? Thank you for your time. I look fonrvard to receiving your answers to my questions. Laura Fenton Virginia Harris From: Joseph Huff gent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 6:04 PM a: Virginia Harris Subject: Concerned teacher statement Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. I'm sorry I'm late. Here's my statement: To Whom It MY Concern: This summer I returned to West Virginia to teach in the coalfields in order to be closer to my and my wife's aging parents after two years of teaching in Maryland. We had our first baby and wanted him to get to know his grandparents while there is still time. I am shocked and dismayed by the governor's announced plan to allow counties to reopen schools for in-person instruction before a vaccine has been made available. Had I been aware of such a reckless idea earlier this summer, I would never have signed a contract to teach in West Virginia. Reopening without a vaccine will prevent our aging parents from seeing their grandson (because they will be forced to stay away from us due to my risk of exposure), which was the strongest motivation leading me to return and teach for West Virginia. If we reopen recklessly, West Virginia will gevitably lose even more teachers to other states. Most importantly, many teachers and students will die unnecessarily, the virus will continue to spread even more quickly throughout the state, shutting down businesses and crucial public services. In the interest of public health and the safety of all West Virginians, we must reconsider reopening schools and order remote instruction until there is a vaccine. Thank you very much for your time. Sincerely, Joseph Huff Virginia Harris From: Debra Sullivan . Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 10:50 PM To: Virginia Harris Subject: Fwd: Request re board meeting tomorrow Do not click links, open attachments or reply to this email unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Print for members? Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab?4 Original message From: Betty Rivard Date: 08/11/2020 5:28 PM To: Debra Sullivan Subject: Request re board meeting tomorrow Hi Debra, I hope that you and your family are all doing well. I miss seeing you and Ken and others now that I'm sheltering in place and only go out for a daily walk in my neighborhood, where I wear a mask and keep my distance from people. I've still managed to stay busy and active, as you may have seen from my periodic op eds. Right now one of my biggest concerns is the plan to reopen schools in the state for on-site learning. I am totally against reopening until there is a vaccine in widespread use. I have given my input to Jenny Anderson and her group via a survey they did and had planned to write to the board address but I missed the 4:00 deadline due to taking a nap. I walked two miles this morning and, as often happens, did some other things when I got home and then got a little tired by afternoon. Lately I've also been walking in the evening when it's cool enough but tonight I plan to attend a virtual fundraiser for Cathy Kunkel so I'll probably skip my second walk. At any rate, I want to make sure that my views are represented because, in talking, meeting virtually, and emailing with people, and watching the facebook live sessions each Friday by the WV House Democratic women, I know that I am not the only one who has these views. I believe our time and money are better spent in doing the following: ?Provide high quality child care, including in the home, for people who must work outside of the hon) -Figure out how to get devices and broadband to families wherever possible. Other alternatives are to pay for satellite service, some kind of home-based hot spots where people have cell service or whatever, and/or use of public TV and cable. The default position is to use the mail or delivery services for printed materials and books and the telephone for other communications. Also free up teachers, counselors, social workers, and nurses to make home visits to families, with masks, at a distance, and outside where possible. Concentrate extra attention on those families with the greatest needs. -Facilitate teachers working together to share online and printed curricula and materials for each grade level and subject. -Provide nutritious hot meals and easily fixed meal packages for every child delivered to each home. I do not support doing anything that puts students, staff, caregivers, or the community at risk. I do not believe we have the necessary infrastructure to meet the kinds of conditions that Jenny's group and others have set out. We know that community spread, hospitalizations, and deaths are increasing in our state. We do not have a clear plan for containing the virus. This is not the time to risk our health and our lives by opening things up further. I agree with the national public health experts who believe that the only effective solution right now is to have a national lockdown of six weeks or more. Public health experts have also stated that we need to choose between closing restaurants, businesses, and events or reopening schools. I agree with their take on that. I have a masters in education with coursework at three schools: UC Berkeley, Bank Street College of 'ducation, and WVU. I also raised two sons mostly in the public school system. My older son stayed home from grade school one whole year and part of another year when we lived outside of the mandatory education requirements, and he went to UCLA and has done very well in his career, even though he never ?nished his last three required classes. I feel like I have the expertise between that background and a 24+ year career in social work to make this assessment. Thank you for anything you can do to get these views on the table. i know you may have different views, but I would just like to see these represented directly with the board if there's any way to do that. Take care, and stay well. Betty