CABELL COUNTY, W.Va. –– All 55 West Virginia counties were shut down Tuesday due to recent winter weather, but five counties, including Cabell County, took to remote instruction for its students.
Cabell County Schools Director of Health and Safety Keith Thomas says with Winter Storm Blair touching down so close to Christmas break, students are away from learning for too long.
“Our students have been away from instruction for quite some time, so any way we can allow instruction to take place or communication between our staff and students, we want that to happen,” Thomas said.
The option Cabell County is taking advantage of is called a Remote Learning, Non-Traditional Instructional Day (NTID). According to Cabell County Director of Communications Ashley Stephens, the county surveyed stakeholders ahead of the school year, with mostly parents and staff responding. Stephens said the vast majority of respondents wanted students to learn in a remote manner when snow days hit.
“87 percent said that they would prefer the NTID, and so, that allowed us to kind of have an extra voice in the room from our families and our teachers and our students about what their preferences would be,” Stephens said.
The Non-Traditional Instructional Days are done by students logging on to Schoology, a website they are already accustomed to with assignments and instruction presented by teachers.
Stephens says Cabell County officials are thankful to not skip a beat thanks to technology.
“We’re really fortunate that we’re in a district that is one-to-one with technology devices,” Stephens said. “While some schools have opted for packets, especially in the lower grades, others have the option of using their devices to have instruction this way.”
On Tuesday, which was the first NTID used by Cabell County Schools this winter, some teachers gave reading assignments that do not requite online material.
Thomas says that the county gets a limited amount of NTID per school year, so a decision has to be made before each day with that in mind.
“It is situational. It’s a day-by-day decision,” Thomas said.
Cabell County will be utilizing another NTID on Wednesday.