Since public schools were shuttered in West Virginia in mid-March by Gov. Jim Justice, deputies in Marshall County have responded to calls concerning students who have not interacted with their teachers for either online or packet learning.
Most times, according to Marshall County Chief Deputy Bill Helms, all is OK with the families visited, but there are the occasions when protective action is necessary.
“We don’t get a lot of calls about kids not interacting with the school system, but it is more prevalent than what society realizes,” he explained. “There is a saying that states that for every crime that is reported, there are 10 more that go unreported, and when you relate that to the children and Marshall County, that’s not a good thing at all. I have nothing to base that on other than 25-plus years of experience.
“So, for every child that we know about and that we have gone to check on, I think it’s much higher than that. I hate to say that, but far too often, that’s the reality of it,” the chief deputy said. “Especially now with the pandemic going on. Folks are locked away and they are isolated, and the kids are not making contact with their teachers, and that’s a problem.”
The Early Warning System
Meal and packet distribution has taken place in Marshall County the last two months, and online learning has been available to students with access to broadband. But when a teacher reports the absence of a student from any such activity, Helms and his deputies are called into duty.
“I have to tell that the teachers in Marshall County have been paying a lot of attention to their students, and they know them and their situations,” he explained. “So, they know when something seems out of whack, or when something could be wrong. If they suspect something is wrong, they have to let us know. When they do, we’re going to check on them as quickly as possible.
“Our teachers serve as an early warning system for us, and when we get a call, it’s to the point to where some sort of disruptions have happened in the house,” Helms said. “There have been times when it’s reached a point to where someone has made the decision to make an emergency 911 call. At that point, the situation has reached a level to where the caller feels it’s gone beyond their control, and that’s when we need to get there to see what the situation is.”
Educators today fill far more roles than instructors once did just a few decades ago, and that means along with teaching the ABCs and 123s, counseling also is a constant.
“Our teachers know their kids. They know their students, and not only when it comes to their academics. They also know, in most cases, the child’s home situation and if they believe something could be wrong, sure we’re going to the residence to check on them,” he said. “We don’t want to believe it could happen to any child. I get that, but the sad truth is not every child has a great situation at home.”
The Kid Check
The process, Helms described, is simple enough, and it begins with a knock at the door.
“And then, after someone answers, our deputies explain why they are there, and they ask if everything is OK,” he explained. “But they also go a little more in-depth than that, and that is why they always want to speak with the child. If they do, that’s a very good thing, and the majority of folks in the county will let the deputies into their homes.
“It’s important that those visits go to that next level,” he said. “No one is accusing anyone of anything, but we do want to make sure that the child in question is OK and that the house is in good working order,” he said. “It’s not about taking folks to jail but instead to get those families the help they need if they are in trouble somehow. We just want to make sure all of our citizens are doing OK out there during this very unusual time.”
Helms reported that deputies have responded to more than 10 such calls during the last two months, and nearly every situation has been caused not by abuse and neglect circumstances but instead by access issues.
“There are a number of other reasons why the kids haven’t been interacting with the teachers since the school buildings were closed. It may be nothing at all other than there’s no broadband in the area where they live and they are having transportation issues for whatever reasons,” Helms said. “In those situations, it’s completely understandable if the family’s routine is messed up and the family is just making the best of the situation the only ways they know how. But if we get a call, we’re going to make sure.”
