Lancaster County schools have their reopening plan -- if they can get SC approval.
Lancaster County School District superintendent Jonathan Phipps shot a much anticipated video to let the public know plans for a school restart this fall. Then he shot it again.
On Wednesday Gov. Henry McMaster held a media event in Columbia where he called for all public school districts to provide a full, five-day-per-week classroom option along with virtual instruction options. McMaster also recommended districts start their school year Sept. 8.
Lancaster, like Fort Mill and other districts in the area, planned a calendar change in recent weeks to start school in mid-August. Phipps, in the video released after McMaster spoke Wednesday, said he now will recommend the Sept. 8 start date.
“That is not official,” Phipps said. “We’ll have a board meeting at the end of this month. Our school board has to vote on the calendar, so I’ll take a new calendar to them.”
Phipps said he will send a reopening plan for state approval by the Friday deadline, without knowledge of whether it will be approved based on the governer’s call on Wednesday.
“We’re going to do what is right to keep our students safe,” Phipps said.
Phipps also addressed the full in-person option for schools.
“There is no way we can social distance if we have every student at school five days a week,” Phipps said.
McMaster and other elected officials spoke Wednesday of a need for in-person classes to better educate and protect vulnerable students, allow instruction where internet isn’t easily available, meet state mandates to serve children, and help restart the economy by allowing parents to work.
“We must give parents the choice,” McMaster said. “This is the only thing that we are asking these districts to do today, is to give the parents the choice. The parents are looking to our schools. The parents pay taxes for the schools. The constitution provides for schools. We must see that children have these schools available.”
Phipps said in his video he will ask for a waiver from the full five-day model McMaster proposed. The district’s plan involves two options. The first is all virtual.
“This would allow students to learn from home while using their school-issued Chromebooks,” he said. “We’ve worked to create and offer ways of instruction for those learners with a limited internet access by uploading data on a weekly basis.”
The district is looking to purchase hot spots to provide where internet access is limited. Virtual learning students would cycle through the school on a limited basis for small group instruction on Wednesdays.
“Kindergarten and first grade will be a challenge for home instruction,” Phipps said. “These students will have access to home instruction with a more creative approach, which will include probably those traditional paper packets.”
The in-school option would be a rotating A-B-C schedule. Students on the A schedule will attend school on Monday and Tuesday, with B schedule students present on Thursday and Friday.
“Wednesday will be a possible rotation day for remediation or acceleration programs,” Phipps said. “This rotating schedule allows for more social distancing, smaller class sizes for our students.”
Temperatures will be taken for students and adults entering schools. Bus schedules will change. Seating, cleaning and food service will change.
“Teachers and staff will wear face masks or shields during the school day,” Phipps said. “Students will also be required to wear face masks during certain periods of the day.”
Federal health guidelines will dictate when and where masks are needed. Phipps said work is ongoing with community businesses and others who may want to donate masks, or funds for them.
Some issues like attendance policy will be relaxed due to the coronavirus.
“The bottom line with attendance is that we want people to stay home instead of spreading the sickness,” Phipps said. “The school uniform requirements, the clothing requirements, they’re going to be relaxed for a semester.”
Online enrollment will be available at school websites. Phipps said further details will comes as his district, like others, adapts to an extraordinary challenge
“This pandemic has changed the way our schools operate,” he said.
