Could struggling K-3 students in SC attend in-person academic camps this summer?
Most school districts in the state are prepared to open for in-person summer camps to help kindergarten through third-grade students who were already struggling before the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The plan is being proposed by the South Carolina Department of Education modeled after summer reading camps attended by students who are struggling with literacy. The education department wants to have 25,000 kindergarten-through-third grade students across the state participate in four-week “academic recovery camps” starting in July — nearly three times the number of students the camps typically serve.
Having in-person instruction is critical, education and state leaders say, adding some students likely have fallen behind during the pandemic — not being in school since mid-March and working instead in virtual classes or pencil and paper packets provided by teachers.
Students would receive help with math, too, as well as social emotional assessments to see how they’re dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the social isolation it has caused. The programs also would pay for nurses in every school to help determine if a child may be sick.
Students who were previously identified as struggling before schools closed in March to stem the spread of the coronavirus would be invited to participate. They likely have fallen further behind, said Ryan Brown, Department of Education spokesman.
The camps won’t take place unless the General Assembly approves reimbursing the Department of Education with federal CARES Act money distributed to states to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. If the CARES Act money is not approved, only 9,000 students would be served in summer reading camps.
However, if the plan is carried out, students would have in-person face-to-face instruction. Class size is expected to be at most 12 students, with a teacher and a teacher’s aide in each classroom.
The students would have nearly three hours a day of instruction: two hours for reading and 50 minutes for math.
Among the guidelines the department of education and DHEC have put together for schools is having all faculty and staff wear masks, testing staff with mild COVID-19 symptoms, advising anyone feeling sick to stay home, allowing for social distancing, and asking students daily if they have any COVID-19 symptoms.
Students with health issues also would be encouraged to wear masks.
“Cloth face coverings should not be used on children under two years old, anyone who has trouble breathing, or anyone unable to remove the face covering without assistance,” DHEC wrote the guidelines.
If a child is feeling sick, parents would be advised to keep the student home.
School buses that could carry up to 78 students also would be reduced to holding 35 to 40 students, Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman told state senators recently.
State Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, called on the districts to push forward with in-person instruction, but in a safe manner.
“The focus has to be getting these kids in front of teachers so they could be taught,” Sheheen said. “I don’t care how good a distance learning program you have, only a small portion of the children are going to thrive in that setting. The vast majority are not.”
Only nine of the state’s more than 80 school districts plan to go with a virtual summer program instead of having students and teachers assemble in person.
Among the school districts that do not plan to have the in-person summer program is Richland Two, the largest school district in the Midlands, as well as Richland One and Lexington One, according to the education department.
Running academic recovery camps in person would be the equivalent of reopening schools, said district spokesperson Ishmael Abdus-Saboor.
“While we’re working diligently toward that, we’re not there yet,” Abdus-Saboor said. “We are, however, confident in our ability to provide a high-quality remote learning experience since we began implementing one-to-one computing 20 years ago.”
Richland Two has 350 students committed for its academic recovery camps, and started planning its program about a month ago as a virtual program. Based on information at the time, it was best to hold the summer program virtually, and it’s too late to pivot to an in person program, she said.
The district also wants to make sure all the correct safety protocols are in place when students come back to the school. “We want our families and staff to feel confident returning to brick and mortar schools, so we can’t rush this process,” Abdus-Saboor said.
This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
