‘We intend...to go back”: Fort Mill schools aim for full, in-person return. But when?
As COVID-19 cases swell in York County, plans to bring Fort Mill students back to full in-person class haven’t changed. It’s just a matter of when.
“When we get into January we’ll look at the data,” Fort Mill School District superintendent Chuck Epps told the school board Tuesday night. “We’ll look at the virus counts and we’ll decide whether we go back second semester. We intend — intend — to go back.
“..We want to get back to school....We plan, we hope and pray, to get back to school face-to-face. It has to be within a healthy environment, though.”
A month ago Epps updated the board about plans to bring middle and high school students back to full, in-person school in the second semester. Elementary students already are back five days a week. Optimism was high during a relatively stable run of York County coronavirus case counts reported daily by the state health department.
Cases have increased considerably since Nov. 1. There were 99 York County confirmed cases that day.
Tuesday brought the third day of 100 more confirmed cases in 10 days. There have been just five such days throughout the pandemic.
Statewide, cases in schools have increased by more than 1,100 since Oct. 30. It’s a 53% overall increase in that time.
Epps said student case counts in Fort Mill will not be the only factor considered. Data and recommendations from the health department will be considered.
“It’s been troubling the last two weekends, to be honest with you, with the numbers,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of kids in quarantine with the holidays coming up. We’re all nervous.”
There also is reason for optimism, he said. Largely in news of a coronavirus vaccine that may become accessible.
Epps said all four school districts in York County intend to go back to full or near-full in-person learning at some point during the coming semester. If virus rates are too high to start early in the semester the situation will be evaluated every two weeks, and at each grading period.
“A final decision won’t be made until we actually get to that point in the sand,” Epps said.
The district ordered desk shields for middle and high schools. They will be installed in December or January. Five middle school related arts jobs, needed to transition to full in-person learning, will be posted Wednesday morning. A staff survey was done on safety protocols and physical measures that might help.
“It’s all free-form answers,” said district public information officer Joe Burke. “So it’s taking a little while to compile it all together.”
Epps said there is no truth to a rumor school board chairwoman Kristy Spears mentioned, that the district may not return to in-person class after Thanksgiving.
“We’re going back after Thanksgiving,” Epps said.
Across the state, other districts are in a similar situation where plans are to move to four- or five-day in-person class as soon as it’s safe, Spears said.
“It sounds like more and more and more districts are getting comfortable with the idea,” she said.
The board also discussed a non-coronavirus schedule change, but one that could impact the holidays. The district lost a day due to a storm this fall. The makeup day will be Dec. 21. The district intends to send out a message Wednesday morning with details.
Epps said the makeup day Dec. 21 will be e-learning, and teachers will assign work in advance to allow students to complete it prior to that date or before they return to class after winter break.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 8:36 AM.
