MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — All students are officially back-to-school in Monongalia County.
Following the conclusion of WVU’s move-in weekend and start-of-semester, Monongalia County School Superintendent Frank Devono said it becomes easier for the county’s public school students and staff to get where they need to go.
“We knew that was going to be an awful lot of traffic for our teachers as well as our students to be able to kind of traverse,” Devono said this week on WAJR’s Morgantown AM.
Devono said it’s a relief to see instructional work begin again in Monongalia County, concluding a busy summer of adding classrooms to schools throughout the area to meet the demands of a growing county.
“For us, it can’t be catch up. We’re just trying to anticipate.”
In addition to minor classroom expansions, Devono said the school infrastructure will need to be maintained and upgraded in both the short-term and long-term to meet with the growing population demands.
“Our buildings are at the point where we need to start refurbishing some of those things,” he said. “We’ve got some plans, some things that we’re looking in the future. But it takes some collaboration between the Board of Education’s available money versus what we can get from the state as well.”
Assistant Superintendent Donna Talerico doesn’t expect a major issue, though. She said the local community has been very supportive of the school system and the bond money required to keep the school system active in the community.
“I think everyone sees the value that the system gives back to the community,” she said.
Devono expects to have a proposal for the School Building Authority later this year.
This year’s instructional work includes the added usage of digital chrome books that can be used in areas with or without broadband internet access.
“It’s just like carrying around your textbook, except it’s much easier,” Talerico said. “The connectivity is there, however, for those who don’t have connectivity off-site, it’s downloaded. It has great battery life. All the material is right there at your fingertips.”
Devono said this is just another way Monongalia County is doing everything they can to prepare for the possibility of limited instructional days due to winter weather. Those resources can be expanded, he says, to include online classes.
“We’re going to have something for our Board probably, if not next week, then in a couple of weeks from now for them to look at,” Devono said. “As our students start to sign up for these programs, it just allows them to take classes virtual now.”
Additionally, Devono hopes the County will make good use of the new minute carryover policy for instructional minutes — allowing the school system to bank days when weather turns snowy.
“If you have so many additional minutes above what’s required, then you can start accruing that amount of time,” he said. “So if we have an inclement weather day or if we have to cancel for some reason, as long as you have your minutes then you don’t necessarily have to make up that day.”
Thursday is the first day of class for grades 1-12. Kindergarten begins Monday.