Chester County goes back to school Monday: 7 things you should know
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Back to school in York, Lancaster and Chester counties
From COVID precautions to academic schedules, there’s a lot to keep up with when it comes to sending the kids back to school. The Herald has you covered with stories answering questions you have about this upcoming school year.
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Chester County schools will be in session August 16. While the pandemic continues and more students go to school in-person, there are changes parents should know about.
Will students be required to wear masks? Will online school continue? The Herald’s Tobie Nell Perkins spoke to district representative Chris Christoff to answer these questions and more.
How will online school work?
Only 200 students will attend online school this year, due to state laws that mandate only 5% of students go to school online.
Online students will not be taught by Chester County teachers. They will instead attend EdOptions Academy, “a fully accredited K-12 online school that offers award-winning curriculum, certified teachers and accredited high school diplomas to schools and students who need flexible learning options,” according to its website.
Students in elementary and middle school will be given the full school year to complete all required courses. High school students will be given a maximum of 18 weeks to complete a semester-based course, a release from the district said.
Online students can still participate in extracarricular activities at their assigned CCSD school, including clubs, all sports and performing arts.
The students selected were students who demonstrated consistent grades and attendence, Christoff said.
The schools website says: “students who participated in the virtual program in this school year and were not successful due to excessive tardies/absences and poor report grades will not be allowed to participate.”
Are students required to wear masks?
The district will not require students or staff at CCSD schools to wear masks this year. A May 12 mandate by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster says that only parents can decide whether their children wear masks; schools cannot enforce mask mandates.
Students also are not required to wear masks on school buses.
“We’re just going to make it an optional thing for everyone, that way we’re still in compliance,” Christoff said.
What precautions are being taken?
Students and staff could be asked to quarantine under certain circumstances.
At Chester County schools, any staff or student who exhibits coronavirus symptoms can immediately receive a rapid test at the school nurse’s office.
If the test yields a positive result, that student or staff member will be required to quarantine. The school will immediately inform anyone who may have come in contact with that person and they also may be required to quarantine.
The duration of time quarantine will depend entirely on the case, Christoff said. Variables such as when and how someone was exposed, as well as the vaccination status of both parties, will be considered.
Practical precautions will be used as well. While CCSD will be phasing out plexiglass barriers between desks, desks will still be spaced 6-feet apart. Social distancing will still be practiced within schools.
Parents are welcome to request that their child’s desk have a plexiglass barrier, Christoff said.
The district will also be continuing practices from last school year, such as increased regular cleaning in classrooms, following Department of Health and Center for Disease Control regulations.
How will school meals work?
As in past years, the district will continue to provide free meals to all students. This includes virtual students.
Mealtimes will look a little different this year. While representatives say the district will return to serving all meals in the cafeteria if it can, the current plan is as follows:
Pre-K through 2nd grade students at Chester Park Complex, Pre-K special education classes at Lewisville Elementary, and Pre-K through first grade students at Great Falls, will have meals brought to their classrooms and eat in the classroom;
All of the district’s high schools will eat in cafeteria or in the gym to promote social distancing;
Lewisville Middle School and Chester Middle School will pick up food in the cafeteria and go back to class.
Is the new superintendent returning?
Dr. Antwon Sutton, who served his first year as superintendent for the 2020-2021 school year, will return. His contract with the district has been extended for one year.
“I would like parents to know that it is our intent to have a great school year, still considering that we are still amid a pandemic,” Sutton said. “We will strive to make things as normal as possible for students.”
Will school activities return?
Christoff says the district is hoping to “move back to some sort of normalcy.” School activities that were canceled last year, such as dances, parent visits and school festivals will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
“It’s our district’s intent to have a great school year,” he said. “The situation is very fluid.”
Whate else is new?
Last year, the district was selected to be part of a pilot program to install ultraviolet lights to stop the spread of COVID-19 in schools. The technology has been proven to stop diseases from spreading, and CCSD will be among the first districts in the United States to employ this technology. For now, the technology has been installed at Lewisville Elementary.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 2:17 PM.
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