750 names, teacher testimonials part of effort to pivot online
A Monongalia County kindergarten teacher will be part of the roll call during tonight’s Board of Education meeting — even if her name won’t be attached to a testimonial delivered on her behalf.
Her anonymous words are part of a 750-signature petition a citizen group has presented to the district and the BOE.
The petition calls for a shift to remote learning for the first nine weeks of school, given the unpredictability of the coronavirus.
Right now, the district is planning on a hybrid-learning model for that stretch, with alternating groups of grades studying in-school one day, while learning from home the next.
The first day of school across the Mountain State is Sept. 8.
In his COVID-19 briefing to reporters Monday afternoon, Gov. Jim Justice likened the countdown to that of a “glide path.”
The group calling itself, “Mon County Parents,” however, doesn’t think the runway can accommodate such a landing.
Not right now, at least.
Tiny desks, weighty sadness
Teachers, aides and other employees, the petition says, “Are being asked to shoulder the entire burden of keeping kids safe, with few resources and little guidance.”
The group says the district has been unable to provide adequate answers to the questions posed by teachers readying their classrooms for the start of the year.
That schools can be closed, and reopened, with less than 24 hours’ notice means last-minute scrambles for both childcare and retooled lesson plans, the petition charges.
And pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students will suffer most of all in school this term, the petition says, as both thrive on communal environments and strong interaction with their teachers.
One such teacher said she cried while gridding out her classroom, which, in accordance with social-distance mandates, will require her students to remain seated for the day.
Her testimonial is among the eight from teachers which accompany the petition.
All are unsigned, as most of their authors are still employees in the system.
The Dominion Post is honoring their request for anonymity:
“… Somehow, seeing those little desks just made me so sad. Seeing those little desks made this pandemic year come into sudden and vicious focus.
“All the feelings that I had pretty much kept in check: My fears for my own family’s health; my fears for the health of each child at this school; my fears for the health of each member of my school family; my fears for the health and safety of each and every 5-year-old child that enters this classroom and their families; my fears for this county, this state, this country … all of it came to the surface.
“Tears sprang to my eyes at the simple thought of my little kindergarten students, sitting all day in those little desks.”
Doctor’s orders
BOE President Nancy Walker, the one who will read aloud those signatures and those testimonials, said she understood the emotions attached.
With an enrollment approaching 12,000 students, Walker said, the questions and concerns voiced at their kitchen tables are all just as similar and they are unique.
Any decisions the BOE and district makes concerning school this fall, she said, will be driven by mandates of the county health department and the science attached.
“I want to assure our families of that.”
Meanwhile, the BOE meeting is at 6 p.m., and, while closed to the public due to the coronavirus, may be still be viewed online.
Visit the Monongalia County Schools website at https://boe.mono.k12.wv.us/, and go to the Board of Education drop-down menu. Click on “Agendas for Board Meetings.” Tonight’s agenda is topped by the Zoom link.
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