Education

D.O.E. Officials Reaffirm Aug. 9 Public School Reopening Date; Educators to Focus on Social and Emotional Wellness of Students in First Ten Days

V.I. Department of Education officials on Monday confidently answered questions from V.I. Board of Education elected members while outlining their plans to reopen public schools to full in-person learning Aug 9. Board of Education Chairman Kyza Callwood started the meeting with a pointed question to Dionne Wells-Hedrington, D.O.E. chief operations officer: whether schools will indeed be ready for August 9. “Yes, we will be ready," Mrs. Well-Hedrington said. She explained that in preparation for school reopening, D.O.E. “focused on the Covid-related items at first," followed by any safety and security concerns." "We have done some beautification around our campuses," she added. Mr. Callwood asked whether work was performed on signage, installation of Covid sanitization fixtures in restrooms, among other priorities territory-wide. Mrs. Wells-Hedrington said those items are on island "but some things are still being installed." Education Commissioner Raquel Berry-Benjamin said, "The...