“Not one minute of live schooling for remote students,” Floyd County parents speak out

FLOYD COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) — Floyd County Public Schools doesn’t offer live class sessions for virtual students. Instead, educators upload assignments to an online student portal and pair them with instructional videos.

“Not one minute of live schooling with the remote students,” said Devona Bell, a Floyd County parent.

Bell has two kids learning 100% virtually in Floyd County Public Schools because of COVID-19 concerns. She says they’ve been struggling since August.

“My kids were honor roll students, and they’re getting straight F’s,” she said. “It’s basically nights and weekends trying to figure out what the teachers are assigning.”

The school does offer appointments to meet with students individually to help with instruction, but Bell says it’s not the same as teaching in real-time.

“They need to have live teacher time, where the teacher is teaching concepts and explaining the assignments,” Bell said.

WFXR spoke with Floyd County Superintendent, Dr. John Wheeler, and over the phone he said the teachers there have been doing everything they can and is proud of the work they’ve done this semester.

When asked to give a response on camera, he declined.

“It’s no one’s fault,” said Teresa Martin, another Floyd County parent. “In my opinion, I feel like we’ve all been punished for something that we didn’t do.”

Martin also has two kids in Floyd County Public Schools. Both are on the hybrid program, but Martin says both are also struggling to keep their grades up.

“The first quarter was B, C, D, and D, when, again, we’re normally A/B honor roll,” she said. “Mine do better in person, and they do better having that structure with in-person classes.”

She and Bell both compare Floyd to neighboring counties, where friends’ students have been able to thrive virtually.

“Are the teachers having time with the kids? They say ‘Of course they are!’ You know, it’s just mind-boggling,” Bell said, reflecting on previous conversations with parents in other counties.

Both moms say the school has asked for patience during this time. They’re hoping better days are ahead as we enter the new year.

Floyd County is not the only school district in our area that doesn’t livestream classes.

The district says they’re currently not capable of offering a livestream option to remote students, but they are working to come up with a solution.

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