COLUMBIA, S.C. — Richland School District One schools will be operating five days a week for all grades at the end of March, according to plans released by the district.
Because of the decline in COVID-19 rates in Richland County, the district plans to move forward with plans to return students to school in-person full time.
District officials say the district is currently in Phase 2 (Hybrid) of their Restart Strong Reopening of Schools Plan. In this phase, elementary students attend school four days a week in person, and middle and high school students attend school two days a week in person. Virtual options continue at all levels.
According to the plan, by March 29, the district plans to have students in every grade back to in-person learning five days a week.
The changes coming to the district will be as follows:
March 8, 2021
Elementary school students transition to 5 days a week of in-person instruction.
Middle school students and 9th-grade students transition to 4 days a week of in-person instruction.
March 15, 2021
High school students in grades 10-12 transition to 4 days a week of in-person instruction.
March 22, 2021
Middle school students transition to 5 days a week of in-person instruction.
March 29, 2021
High school students in grades 9-12 transition to 5 days a week of in-person instruction.
These transitions are contingent on the community spread of COVID-19 continuing to improve, and enough staff to support operation of schools.
Students will need to remain in the mode selected by their parents or guardian for the remainder of the school year, according to Richland One. Students currently enrolled in the virtual option can remain virtual.
Wednesday will remain a 'flex' day during four day in-person instruction. There will be no flex day March 22, and March 26 is an early release day for students.
The district’s COVID-19 tracking dashboard will continue to be operational and updated regularly. A link to the dashboard is posted at www.richlandone.org/restartstrong.
In the same release, Richland One says they are working with Prisma Health on the vaccination process with a goal to vaccinate district staff as soon as they can when the state moves into Phase 1B.