School’s almost back! 9 things Rock Hill Schools parents should know ahead of 2021-22

A new and almost-COVID-concern-free school year is around the corner.

Here are seven things Rock Hill school district families should know ahead of the 2021-22 school year.

1. 2021-22 academic calendar

The Rock Hill Schools’ calendar, approved in December, is available on the district’s website.

It resembles the calendars of pre-pandemic years: The district’s first day of school is Aug. 16, and its last day is May 26 (with high school graduations planned for May 28). Winter break is scheduled from Dec. 23-Jan. 4, and spring break lasts from April 11-15.

2. Fiscal year 2021-22 budget

The Rock Hill school district’s expenditure budget this year is $180,692,932, an increase of about 3.3% from fiscal year 2020-21. The proposed budget consists of a teacher salary increase of $1,000; a bus driver salary increase of 5%; an employer retirement rate increase of 1%; a district employee retention bonus; increase in repairs and maintenance; and more.

The budget was unanimously approved at the school board’s June 28 business meeting. Find a copy of the budget in full, as well as a concise budget summary, on the district’s website.

3. Providing meals for free

The U.S. Department of Agriculture extended certain meal services through June 30, 2022, to ensure that schools reopen safely in 2021-22.

Here’s what that means for Rock Hill Schools: Breakfast and lunch will be provided free of charge for the upcoming school year. Though this is the case, the district’s website adds, “qualifying for free or reduced meals may also qualify you for additional benefits including P-EBT (Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer), reduced district fees, etc.” You can fill out an application at www.lunchapplication.com.

Also this summer, the district has done a summer feeding program that, since June 28, has served more than 18,900 meals to the community at three locations: Castle Heights Middle, Sullivan Middle and Ebenezer Avenue Elementary. (This is in addition to the RHSD’s single-day Mobile Pantry events, which also distribute meals to the community.)

4. Expanding Pre-K services

The Rock Hill school district announced Tuesday that it is expanding its pre-kindergarten programs, thanks to a boost in funding from the South Carolina Department of Education. The expansion will add spaces for 58 four-year-olds to enroll in Pre-K throughout the district, bringing the eligible full-day available spaces to 388 students.

Registration for these expanded services is open now. Parents can sign up on the district’s website.

5. Rock Hill staffing changes

There have been about 20 staffing changes in Rock Hill school district administration this summer, The Herald previously reported. Some of these changes have been caused by the execution of the district’s rezoning plan ahead of the 2021-22 year — one that closed three elementary schools (Finley Road, Belleview and Rosewood) yet didn’t yield any layoffs.

The staffing change that has gotten the most attention, however, has been the reassignment of Marty Conner, who had served as South Pointe High School’s principal since 2018 before being “promoted” as Administrator of Alternative Learning Programs last month. Recent alumni, parents and staff pushed for Conner’s reappointment at the district’s board meeting in July.

Conner’s interim replacement is Marek Marshall, formerly a South Pointe assistant principal.

6. Department of Mental Health

Nancy Turner now heads the district’s newly created Department of Mental Health. The department was established to bring all of the district’s mental health resources together in one place, under one person’s direction.

Some resources that now fall under Turner’s umbrella include The Mental Health Resource Hotline (803-324-7464); The Parent Academy; Behavior Management Assistants (educators trained to “work with our children during crisis situations and get them back to class,” Turner said in a recent interview) and more.

7. K-12 virtual academy

Another staffing decision of note was the naming of Walter Wolff as Director of the district’s K-12 Virtual Academy. Wolff was part of the successful launch of the platform, which provided online instruction to over 6,500 students during 2020-21.

The virtual learning program was one of 33 approved by the state board of education earlier this summer.

8. COVID updates and protocols (subject to change)

As of Aug. 5, the district “recommends” the use of face coverings for students and staff in school buildings and has installed Plexiglas shields in front office reception areas. Students must still wear masks on school buses as mandated by federal law.

The district said it will work with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and community partners to offer vaccine clinics to students age 12 and older starting late summer/early fall 2021.

The district’s protocols, of course, are subject to change.

This is in large part due to the fact that SCDHEC recently provided guidance that fully vaccinated individuals should wear face coverings in public indoor spaces to slow the alarming rise of the delta variant — a reversal of guidance it delivered in May. As of early August, York County had been experiencing a “high” level of community COVID transmission for weeks.

The issue of the district’s facial covering policy was a topic in its Aug. 9 board meeting and will likely continue to be discussed throughout the fall. State law prohibits school districts to mandate students and staff to wear masks.

Visit the district’s website for its Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan in full.

9. Summer has been fun

This summer began later than normal, what with the Rock Hill school district’s high school graduations taking place June 24. But students have still made the most of it.

Just over 100 rising sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth graders learned and laughed at the RHSD’s inaugural, two-week Exploration Summer Camp this month. Students of different ages built solar cars, 3D kites and other gadgets en route to learning that robotics can actually be quite fun.

High school summer sports workouts also kicked off in June. You can check out team previews of the football teams at South Pointe, Northwestern and Rock Hill high schools on The Herald’s website.

Alex Zietlow

The Herald

Alex Zietlow writes about sports and the ways in which they intersect with life in York, Chester and Lancaster counties for The Herald, where he has been an editor and reporter since August 2019. Zietlow has won nine S.C. Press Association awards in his career, including First Place finishes in Feature Writing, Sports Enterprise Writing and Education Beat Reporting. He also received two Top-10 awards in the 2021 APSE writing contest and was nominated for the 2022 U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Rising Star award for his coverage of the Winthrop men’s basketball team.