SC Midlands school district to increase face-to-face classes amid coronavirus

Lexington 4 school district will be increasing the amount of in-person class time for some students, the district announced this week.

Students in grades 4k-6th grade at the Early Childhood Center, Sandhills Primary and Elementary School, Frances Mack Intermediate School, and Swansea High Freshman Academy will begin four days per week of face-to-face classes on Nov. 16. On Fridays, students will learn virtually, according to a news release.

The elementary and middle school students will remain in the “family model,” which limits the number of students who come in contact with one another throughout the day

This does not apply to students who opted for online-only education for throughout the year and students at Sandhills Middle and Swansea High, where classes are larger and classroom transitions increase the chance to spread COVID-19, according to a news release. Sandhills Middle and Swansea High will remain on the current “A/B” schedule while the district develops plans to increase in-person classes there, the release said.

Schools will continue to require U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on social distancing, masks and other policies meant to curb the spread of coronavirus, district spokeswoman Lisa Ingram said in an email.

While coronavirus cases in S.C. K-12 schools throughout the state have risen to 1,631 since school started, Lexington 4 has seen relatively few COVID-19 cases, according to data from S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Of the seven schools in Lexington 4, four of them have coronavirus cases, but none of those schools — Sandhills Elementary, Sandhills Middle, Swansea High and Swansea High Freshman Academy — have five or more cases, according to DHEC data.