COLUMBIA, S.C. — Some school districts across the Midlands have begun modifying their plans in early January due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state.
News19 has compiled a list of those plans, which are posted below. If we find out additional information, it will be posted here.
Clarendon School District One:
News19 has reached out for any update it might have. At present, the current schedule remain in place.
Clarendon School District Two:
News19 has reached out for any update it might have. At present, the current schedule remain in place.
Clarendon School District Three:
News19 has reached out for any update it might have. At present, the current schedule remain in place.
Fairfield County School District:
News19 has reached out for any update it might have. At present, the current schedule remain in place.
Kershaw County School District:
The district has offered families the option of one of three different learning options for their students since the first day of school: in-person, virtual synchronous or virtual asynchronous. They will continue with all three learning options.
Lee County School District:
Received Thursday, Dec. 17:
Lee County School District will continue to operate virtually with a limited face-to-face instructional delivery until the winter break. The recent spike in the COVID-19 positivity rate and other metrics have caused the district to pause with its phase two hybrid-model. As of today, Lee County has a positivity rate of 29.1% over the past seven days and currently ranks the highest among neighboring districts and the state of South Carolina for the month of December.
“We will continue to monitor the data as it becomes available from CDC, DHEC, and CareSouth,” said Lee County School District Interim Superintendent Bernard McDaniel, Sr. “We will also survey our parents again to gain their input with regards to allowing students to participate in limited face-to-face instruction after the winter break.”
McDaniel also announced that all face-to-face athletic and extra-curricular activities will continue to be suspended until the school district is able to return to school for full face-to-face instruction. “These measures have been taken to ensure the safety and well-being of our students, staff, parents, and the community,” he added.
Lexington School District 1:
On November 10, Lexington County School District One announced the Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 21 and 22) before Winter break will become e-learning days for students.
When school resumes on Jan, 4, 2021, elementary and middle school students in the face-to-face instructional model will continue attending school for face-to-face instruction four days a week. Fridays will remain e-learning days.
High school students will remain in their current instructional model (two days of face-to-face instruction and three days of e-learning a week) until Jan. 15. You can find the plans for high school students beginning Jan. 19 at this link.
Click here to follow the link to the current food plan.
Lexington School District 2:
Lexington Two is announcing a week of remote learning for all in-person students during the first week back from winter break amid COVID-19.
Classes from Monday, January 4, through Friday, January 8, will be remote for all pre-K-12 in-person students. Students will still have school/instruction, but all learning will take place virtually. Those enrolled in the full-time Lexington Two Virtual Academy will not be affected.
Students expected to transition to new instructional models on January 4, based on family requests last fall, will still make the change. Students moving from the Virtual Academy to face-to-face instruction will have remote learning for the week with their anticipated January 4 teacher(s), while those moving from face-to-face instruction to the Virtual Academy will be part of the Virtual Academy with their anticipated January 4 teacher(s).
For the week of January 4-8, there will be no athletics, clubs, activities and/or events held on school grounds.
Free student meals will be offered for curbside pickup during the remote learning week, but they must be reserved in advance through PayPams.com. Details are available in the News section of the district website, lex2.org.
Lexington Two’s decision was made in anticipation of a surge in cases following the winter break, mirroring the district’s experience not long after the end of Thanksgiving break. District officials hope the week-long remote learning January 4-8 will slow the exposure of students and staff to COVID-19, with the goal of returning to a safe learning environment.
Lexington School District 3:
News19 has reached out for any update it might have. At present, the current schedule remain in place.
Batesburg-Leesville High School will remain four days a week in-person. The district had planned to implement the finial phase to five days in person, but because of the rise in COVID-19 cases, has chosen to stick to the current instruction model.
Lexington School District 4:
To maximize the likelihood of a healthy start to the Spring Semester, the district will begin January 2021 with a modified instructional schedule for on-campus students.
Jan 5, 6, 8 - Virtual Learning for all students (4K-12)
The week afterward will be a hybrid A/B schedule, and the week after that will be four day a week in person with Friday being virtual.
Here is the link to our current plan and meal schedule:
View the current plan and meal schedule here.
Lexington-Richland District 5:
Lexington-Richland School District Five's school board voted on December 2 to go back to a hybrid schedule for high and middle schools until winter break began.
When students return from winter break in January, they will be virtual January 4, 5 and 6 (Wednesday is always virtual)
On Thursday January 7, students will go back to 4 day model that they had prior to early December.
Newberry School District:
The district's plan to return to face-to-face instruction has not changed, but it will continue to monitor and adjust as needed.
The School District of Newberry County will remain on schedule for resuming four days of face-to-face instruction. The following schedule outlines the dates students will return:
- January 5 – students in the Tuesday/Friday group will return to schools this day. January 6 – Virtual learning day for all students.
- January 7 – Grades PK-5 will begin four days of face to face instruction. (Grades 6-12 M/Th group will return on this date and students will remain in their two hybrid groups (M/Th or Tu/F) until their scheduled return date).
- January 14 – Grades 6-8 will begin four days of face to face instruction (Grades 9-12 will remain in their two hybrid groups until their scheduled return date).
- January 22 – Grades 9-12 will begin four days of face to face instruction.
The four days of instruction will be Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Wednesdays will remain a virtual day for all students.
Orangeburg School District:
Orangeburg County public schools are 100 percent virtual through January, according to an update on January 14.
This decision was made after speaking with medical professionals in response to COVID-19 cases in the county.
Administration and principals made the decision Thursday to extend 100% virtual learning through the remainder of the month.
Distribution of meals to students will continue via bus routes on Fridays, with the next delivery tomorrow, Friday, January 15. Please be reminded that pickup will not be available at schools for these meals.
Richland School District One:
Superintendent Craig Witherspoon told parents and staff of Richland One, e-learning will begin January 4 while administration continues to monitor the situation regarding the coronavirus data and staff availability in anticipation of a return to Phase 2 (Hybrid) on Tuesday, January 19, 2021.
Richland School District Two:
The district said Monday night it will temporarily shift to eLearning for all students from Jan. 4–15, 2021. In-person instruction will resume on January 19, 2021.
Saluda County School District
Saluda County has not announced any changes. They are currently at 5 day a week face to face instruction.
Sumter School District:
The district is currently in all-virtual.
The district said it hopes to go back to hybrid learning, which means students attend school in person portions of the week, on January 21.
According to the latest update, the district is currently discussing what changes to make, if any.
The district is also distributing meals, and parents who have registered have the option to pick up meals every Wednesday.