CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Students in the Charleston area will have places to go to use free Wi-Fi while Kanawha County remains orange on the color-coded map, shutting down schools for in-person learning.
The City of Charleston announced Wednesday that city community centers will open to provide wi-fi for students participating in e-learning including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center, North Charleston Community Center, Kanawha City Community Center, and Roosevelt Neighborhood Center.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center and Kanawha City Community Center will also host afterschool programming.
“Our centers have always been the hub for children here in the city of Charleston. We just wanted to make sure we provided to them a safe environment in which to do homework or log onto an online class in which their instructors are hosting,” Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin told 580-WCHS.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center, Kanawha City Community Center and North Charleston Community Center will open for e-learning from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Roosevelt Neighborhood Center will be open for e-learning Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Partnership of African American Churches will begin afterschool programming at the MLK Center Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Step-by-Step will begin afterschool programming at the Kanawha City Community Center in October.
In addition, the Roosevelt Neighborhood Center will open from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday for its senior lunch program.
Kanawha County Schools began its school year Tuesday with all virtual classes. The county sits at 17.24 COVID-19 cases per 100,000, placing itself well within the color orange on the DHHR map. A county needs to be in the yellow or green, under 10 cases, in order to host in-person learning.
“Giving a child an iPad is only part of the equation. We have to make sure they have robust Wi-Fi to participate in eLearning,” Goodwin said.
According to the city, additional rules and procedures have been put into place due to COVID-19, including masks are required to be worn at all times while inside a building, staff members will mark floors to maintain six feet of social distancing and temperatures will be taken upon entry. Entry will not be permitted if the temperature is above 100 degrees.
Other guidelines include:
· Frequently touched surfaces will be sanitized every hour.
· Staff will ensure that areas and equipment are sanitized after each use and at the end of each day.
· No more than 25 people in the gym or large meeting room at a time.
· Weight rooms, cardio rooms and game rooms remain closed.