by KATE EVANS
Morgan County families are being reminded they have through Monday, September 21 to switch their children from the Morgan County Virtual Academy back to in-school traditional learning, or the reverse. The Morgan County Virtual Academy handbook notes that families and students have a 14-day window to change their minds about their decision to enroll in the Virtual Academy. The deadline to make a change comes at the end of the day Monday.
Morgan County Schools has 715 students that have been virtually enrolled as of September 9. County families were originally given the deadline of August 3 to enroll their children in the Morgan County Virtual Academy. Since then, the number of students signed up for the remote option has risen from 628 students who originally chose the virtual option.
High school, middle school
Berkeley Springs High School and Warm Springs Middle School both this week issued reminders to students and parents on their Facebook pages that they had until the end of the day on Monday, September 21 to switch from the Virtual Academy back to in-person schooling or the reverse.
High school students were to email Principal Mitch Nida and middle school students were to email Principal Jamie Harris before the deadline if they needed to switch. Other schools hadn’t yet posted reminders as of Wednesday night. The Morgan County Virtual Academy is available countywide.
In the “Transition Back to Traditional Learning” handbook section, it states that “Students may withdraw from the Morgan County Virtual Academy within 14 days of the start of the semester without grade penalty. After the 14 day grace period, a W/F (withdrawal/failure) will be issued. Students will no longer be eligible to participate in the Morgan County Virtual Academy and will be transitioned back to traditional day school.”
The Morgan County Virtual Academy handbook can be found on the Morgan County Schools website under School Reentry Plan information.
Help desk for virtual students
Morgan County Schools has added central office support with a help desk for virtual students and parents. The desk became available on Thursday, September 17.
The help desk will aid in troubleshooting basic device problems and help families deal with account issues.
Email the helpdesk at helpdesk@morganschools.net or call the help desk helpline phone number at 304-258-2430 extension 2043.
For now, phone calls and emails will be answered Monday through Thursday in the order they were received. Phone hours are from 9 a.m.to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. The device may need to be brought to the board office if the issue can’t be resolved by phone or email.
The central office helpline will also schedule times for drop-offs and pick-ups of devices and picking up AC power adaptors and provide user account information for Schoology, Office 365 and Google accounts.
