Rock Hill schools to begin in-person class instruction despite rising COVID-19 cases
Students in the Rock Hill School District now have an idea of when they’ll be back in the classroom amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pre-kindergarten through second graders who are on a hybrid schedule — receiving a mix of in-person and virtual instruction — will return to a five-day, in-person instruction schedule starting Nov. 10, district superintendent Bill Cook said in an open letter to staff and families Tuesday.
“We have made this decision based on a thorough evaluation of the number of COVID-19 cases in our schools, feedback from parents and employees, and examination of disease activity in York County,” Cook said in the letter.
Additionally, the district has “target” dates for when other grade levels will return to five-day in-person learning, Cook said in the statement.
Grades 3-5 will return Nov. 30, with middle and high school students returning Feb. 8, or the start of the year’s second semester.
“With our most vulnerable populations, our youngest children, we believed it was time to begin that transition back,” school district spokesman Mychal Frost told The Herald on Wednesday.
When Rock Hill school district announced its back-to-school plan July 23, it remained committed to working toward a full five-day in-person return for all students when it was safe to do so, Cook said in the letter. Districtwide COVID-19 safety protocols that were put in place to meet this goal included establishing and amending the mask policy, publishing an online COVID-19 dashboard, and installing Plexiglas desk shields in classrooms.
The Fort Mill School District in York County has had elementary school students in a full in-person schedule since Sept. 28, four weeks into the school year. Like Rock Hill’s plan, Fort Mill middle and high school students remain in the hybrid setup for the time being, The Herald previously reported.
The Rock Hill district news comes as Lancaster County school district officials on Wednesday closed Lancaster High School through Nov. 9 after five staff members tested positive for coronavirus and another 30 are quarantined.
York County COVID-19 spread
Statewide, there are 1,956 coronavirus cases in public and private schools, as of Tuesday. Total cases are up 20% in a week and 10% since Friday afternoon.
The spread of COVID-19 in York County is deemed “high” as of Oct. 15, according to two of three metrics published in the Rock Hill school district’s safe reopening plan. According to the plan, 10% positivity rate is high.
In York County, 12.2% of people tested in the last two weeks have received a positive coronavirus result, and there has been a rise in the number of new cases in the prior two weeks per 100,000 people.
However, Frost said the district has examined additional data, including classroom numbers.
“We looked at grade level numbers. And those do not show that level of detail on our dashboard,” Frost said. “The dashboard shows school totals — which, at the elementary level for positive cases, is still incredibly low overall.”
Frost added: “We also balance it with the parents and staff responses related to the instructional needs of students.”
Since the first day of school on Sept. 8, 33 students and 22 staff in Rock Hill school district have tested positive for COVID-19, and 253 students and 51 staff members have been quarantined, according to the district’s online COVID-19 dashboard as of Oct. 28.
Six of 18 elementary schools — Mount Gallant, Belleview, Cherry Park, Ebinport, India Hook and Mount Holly — have each had one case, according to the dashboard. There have been 18 positive student cases in the high schools and nine in the middle schools.
“Should something drastically change in the next week and a half or the next weeks until Nov. 30 — if we were to see a spike within our schools, within the grade levels that are returning — we would be able to change course,” Frost said.
What else to know
▪ Elementary and middle school students in the virtual learning model will continue for the rest of the academic year, according to the district. However, high school students who opted for the virtual academy may return to in-person learning at the semester break.
▪ Staff and students will be required to wear face coverings or masks and social distance. The district encourages frequent hand washing and regular cleanings of common areas.
▪ Nov. 9 will be an e-learning day for all elementary students to allow staff time to prepare for in-person classes.
▪ The decision was made by Cook and his staff, not the Rock Hill Schools Board of Trustees.
“The board’s responsibility is to hire and fire the superintendent and to set policy,” Frost said. “Meanwhile, the day-to-day operation of the district is the responsibility of the superintendent and his or her staff.”
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