Clover schools announce half-day for Aug. 21 solar eclipse
Clover schools will dismiss early on Aug. 21, the date of the first total solar eclipse in the U.S. since 1979, district officials announced Thursday.
The Clover school board approved the 2017-18 school year calendar in March, but has since made Aug. 21 a half day instead of a full day.
Elementary students will dismiss at 10:30 a.m. Middle and high school students will dismiss at 11:45 a.m.
“The change comes in order to best provide safety for all Clover School District students on August 21st, when a total solar eclipse will pass through the upstate of South Carolina,” the district announced.
“The safety concerns hinge around the timing of the eclipse, which will occur at the time the district dismisses its elementary students on a full day,” the district said.
May 30, 2018, which was a half day on the approved calendar, will become a full day under the changed calendar.
The S.C. Department of Education limits school districts to three half days in a school year.
This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Clover schools announce half-day for Aug. 21 solar eclipse."