Dr. Sara Lewis-Stankus
Superintendent, Upshur County Schools

Today, October 3, Upshur County transitioned to Orange on the West Virginia Department of Education School Alert System map. This means that we must move to fully remote learning in Upshur County Schools. 

Although we feel that for optimal learning, our children need to be in schools, we are very confident that our students will receive quality instruction and be successful in the online learning environment. After the forced shift to online learning in the spring, we learned much about teaching and learning in the online environment. It clarified the need for our teachers to be trained for online instruction. And those trainings have been provided.

We have provided personal devices to students and are fully one-to-one with all students in Upshur County. We are publishing a “Tech Tips for Families” Newsletter and have knowledgeable technology staff members prepared to work with our students and families. We are utilizing the Schoology learning management system as well as providing fully-online or blended courses for students.

All faculty, staff and administration will be reporting to work during the time that we are in Orange status. Teachers and administrators have established plans to deliver instruction during any prolonged school closure we may face and we feel confident in our teachers ability to deliver a quality education during a fully remote situation. They will be delivering instruction, communicating with their students and monitoring student progress.

Our staff will also be available to answer any questions parents might have. Upshur County Schools is more prepared than ever for this transition to online learning.

Our students, with the help and guidance of all caring adults in their lives, will come out of this “Upshur Strong!”