By Editor | January 1, 2021 | State officials change school plans; local vaccinations start for targeted groups by KATE EVANS State COVID Alert map on January 1, 2021. West Virginia pre-K through eighth students will return to in-school instruction five days a week beginning Tuesday, January 19. Governor Jim Justice made the announcement earlier this week, laying out new guidelines under which public schools across the state would reopen. Local students in grades 9-12 may also start back to in-person instruction five days a week on January 19 as long as Morgan County isn’t red on the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) County Alert System Map .