WVU recognizes many faculty and staff with school-age children may be struggling with balancing work, school and family amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regardless of whether your children are attending school completely online or in a hybrid capacity, the educational disruptions due to COVID-19 can make it difficult to juggle schedules while also keeping your children learning and engaged.
To assist faculty and staff in navigating these challenges, the Office of the Provost and Talent and Culture recently partnered to develop a series of online communities (i.e., discussion boards) for parents of school-aged children to share ideas, discuss concerns and collaborate on potential solutions.
Note: Parents of younger children (i.e., pre-kindergarten or pre-school) also are welcome to join and participate in the communities.
The communities are built on the Microsoft Teams platform. Faculty and staff can join the community most closely aligned to their specific situation via the following links.
Note: Because they are on a different network, Health Sciences employees will need to email TalentandCulture@mail.wvu.edu to request to join a community.
While the communities are meant to serve as an open forum for employees to express their thoughts and opinions, WVU expects all members to adhere to the behavioral expectations outlined in the Employee Code of Conduct and follow a few basic principles of civility and professionalism.
As such, faculty and staff must acknowledge and abide by the Community Rules. Community members are expected to treat others with kindness and respect while interacting on the platform. Further, hate speech and/or bullying and inappropriate/offensive comments will not be tolerated.
Examples of relevant discussion topics for the community may include:
Challenges related to remote learning.
Safety protocols for children who are attending in-person classes.
After school support and services.
Transportation for children who are attending in-person classes.
Tutoring and support services or students.
Technology challenges related to remote/hybrid learning.
Managing remote/hybrid instruction while employees continue to work.
Resources to promote a student’s mental health and well-being.
Community members are expected to keep conversations pertinent only to these types of subjects. Irrelevant discussions will be monitored and potentially removed.
WVU moderators will monitor the community to ensure all members abide by these expectations. Failure to follow the rules may result in removal from the community and counseling and/or disciplinary action.
Visit the Talent and Culture or WVU Faculty websites for more information. Email TalentandCulture@mail.wvu.edu with any questions about the communities. You also may contact your HR partner.
If you have questions about Microsoft Teams, contact the ITS Service Desk at 304-293-4444 or ITSHelp@mail.wvu.edu. Health Sciences employees should direct questions about Microsoft Teams to the HSC Help Desk at hsc_helpdesk@hsc.wvu.edu or 304-293-3631, option 1.