CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State School Superintendent Clayton Burch said Monday West Virginia, like other states across the country, are having trouble getting the laptops needed for students signed up for online instruction when the school year begins next month.
During an appearance on MetroNews “Talkline,” Burch said the state is doing all it can to get the laptops it needs along with working to make sure there’s satisfactory connectivity.
A recent investigation by the Associated Press said there’s a shortage of approximately 5 million laptops needed this school year in the U.S. Computer purchases has been a county school board function but the state Department of Education may soon be involved.
Most county school districts have given parents the option of in-person instruction for their children, virtual instruction or a mix. Burch said last week approximately 79 percent of families had chosen in-person instruction.
Clayton Burch, West Virginia State School Superintendent, joins @HoppyKercheval to give an update on the planned restart for schools, and a look at the latest WV COVID map that was released this past weekend. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/W6PulQ46cz
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) August 24, 2020
The state rushed into remote learning March when the COVID-19 outbreak initially hit and schools were closed. Some counties had computers for their students while others used paper learning packets. Burch said Monday he hopes the state doesn’t have to return to remote learning like took place last spring.
“This is why I’ve continually, continually been very critical of this idea of remote learning. Remote learning is not education. It’s the state of emergency we’ve had to function under. Those who have chosen to go virtual, we’ve got to get them their devices,” Burch said.
Progress is being made on Gov. Jim Justice’s Kids Connect WiFi location plan that targets more than 1,000 locations for internet hook-up across the state. Burch said 20 National Guard armories have been added to the list of places where WiFi will be available.
Berkeley County exposure
Burch said he’s confident the right steps were taken recently when an employee of the Berkeley County school system found out she had been exposed to COVID-19. She found out while she was attending a meeting with other new employees.
“This person was about 30 minutes on site when she received her call and with everybody masked up and protocols in place we feel there was very minimal, minimal exposure,” Burch said.
He credited the Berkeley County school system and Berkeley-Morgan Health Department with proper response.