Two more Midlands schools with climbing COVID numbers switch to virtual learning

Two more schools will switch to virtual as COVID numbers in the Midlands continue to climb.

The Lexington 1 school district announced Wednesday that Pelion Middle and White Knoll Middle will switch to remote learning beginning Thursday through Sept. 10. Both schools tentatively plan to resume in-person learning on Monday, Sept. 13.

“We made this decision based on the school’s percentage of students and staff who are positive, as well as the high percentage of students and staff who are also quarantined,” reads a note to parents from Superintendent Greg Little and the schools’ principals

The middle schools will join Centerville Elementary School, which is also holding online classes this week due to the high number of students and faculty who have either tested positive for the virus or have been placed in a COVID-related quarantine.

As of Wednesday, White Knoll has the district’s worst outbreak, with more than 500 students excluded from school. According to Lexington 1’s COVID dashboard, 48 White Knoll Middle students have tested positive for COVID-19, and 458 either have COVID-like symptoms or are quarantined after an exposure to someone with COVID-19.

Pelion Middle has 21 positive cases and 162 excluded students. Among staff, White Knoll reports five staff members out, and Pelion has 10.

Lexington 1 has been one of the worst hit districts in the Midlands, with more than 5,000 students out of class as of Wednesday. Little said Tuesday he expects the numbers will continue to rise, but that any decision to close schools will only be made on a case-by-case basis, if they are no longer able to function normally.

Younger students have proven particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 this school year, since children under the age of 12 are currently not approved to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 1:26 PM.

Bristow Marchant

The State

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Bristow Marchant covers local government, schools and community in Lexington County for The State. He graduated from the College of Charleston in 2007. He has almost 20 years of experience covering South Carolina at the Clinton Chronicle, Sumter Item and Rock Hill Herald. He joined The State in 2016. Bristow has won numerous awards, most recently the S.C. Press Association’s 2024 education reporting award.  Support my work with a digital subscription