August 5th, 2021 by WCBC Radio
During Wednesday’s COVID-19 briefing, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was joined by State Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch and WVSSAC Executive Director Bernie Dolan to discuss back-to-school plans for West Virginia as they relate to the ongoing pandemic.
“We’ve heard the Governor, our State Board President Miller Hall, and others talk about the toll that [the pandemic] took on our children, our families, our educators, service personnel, and all those related to the school system,” Superintendent Burch said. “We’re glad to be back. We know we want consistent time for our children to be in school. We want to make sure that families know that we do still have virtual school options available, but that consistent daily connection to the teachers is the most important thing.”
The West Virginia Board of Education and the West Virginia Department of Education released their back-to-school guidance for the 2021-22 school year. The information is designed to provide county school systems with strategies to facilitate the safe return to school and the continued operation of schools without interruption.
The information offers key mitigations for schools and extracurricular activities as well as other protocols to assist counties as they begin the new school year. The document and accompanying website will serve as a resource for educators, families, communities, and students.
“I don’t want to overlook the most important mitigation strategy that we have, and that is the vaccinations for students 12 and older, and for teachers and staff,” Superintendent Burch said, noting that additional school vaccination clinics will be held into the fall.
