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PARKERSBURG -- Wood County Schools has instituted remote learning for the week, and taken measures for school meals after the county was designated orange late Saturday night by the West Virginia Department of Education's School Alert System Map because of increased community spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Beginning today, the school system will launch Operation BUS HUB as buses will deliver a sack lunch and the next day's breakfast to students who are bus riders, the school system said. For students who do not daily ride a bus, an application posted on the school system website for families to request a meal be delivered at a location to be determined, the system said.
The application will be open all day and close at 5 p.m.
Students are asked to be at their bus stop 4.5 hours later than normal. For example, students who get on the bus at 7 a.m. should be at the stop to pick up the meal at 11:30 a.m., the system said.
"This is not an exact science and parents and students should be prepared for routes to run early or late until a more stable schedule can be achieved," the system said.
The system also advised parents to continue to monitor the Wood County Schools app, the school website at woodcountyschoolswv.net, its Facebook page and Channel 15 for additional information when it becomes available.
Orange on the school system alert map denotes heightened community transmission of the virus during the pandemic. It is one step under the red, the most restrictive in the color-coded system,
Among the restrictions under orange:
∫ In-person instruction is suspended and remote learning is activated.
∫ Staff continues essential student support services including meals, student engagement and special education services.
∫ Face coverings are required at all times for grades 3-12 when school services are required or needed.
∫ Athletic and extracurricular activities are limited to conditioning only as defined by the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission.
∫ Activities of the marching bands are limited to outdoors only and instruments are permitted only when students are stationary and distanced in pods.
Counties designated orange have from 15 to 24.9 positive cases of the virus per 100,000 people, or from 5 percent to 7.9 percent. Red counties are above 25 cases per 100,000.
Only two counties are red, Mingo and Mineral counties, acording to the school alert map released on Saturday. Satuday's release was delayed form the rounine 5 p.m. because of additional evaluation, the Department of Education said.
Wood County was in the gold category last week on the school alert map, which allowed for sports to be played with in-county teams or with other counties designated gold. The Parkersburg South High School girls soccer team was in the championship game Saturday night at the state tournament sanctioned by the activities commission in Beckley.
While remote learning is in place, lesson times will follow the bell should, teachers will use Schoology to share how students will be able to join classes, teachers my upload recorded lessons/videos for students who are unable to attend scheduled virtual lessons.
During Fridays:
∫ Assignments will be posted in Schoology; no virtual lessons
∫ Teachers will be available for two hours to provide support; check their Schoology pages to see the dedicated two hours.
∫ The Wood County Board of Education is meeting on Tuesday and may discuss further plans or changes.
Contact Madeline Scarborough at mscarborough@newsandsentinel.com
Today, all students who attend Wood County Elementary Schools were supposed to return for four day a week classes, with remote lessons on Fridays, but due to the amount of cases, they will return to classes on the 16, with area middle schoolers.
High School students are set to return to classes with remote lessons on Fridays starting Nov. 30.
Contact Madeline Scarborough at mscarborough@newsandsentinel.com