Richland 2 wants to begin school Aug. 19, parents nervous about in-person classes

Richland 2 school district wants to resume classes by Aug. 19, administrators said at a Thursday board meeting.

That Aug. 19 date will likely be the first day of classes, but it is still unclear whether those classes will be in-person, online or a mixture of both, according to a presentation given by Assistant Superintendent James Ann Lynch Sheley during the meeting.

The return to classes is categorized in three phases: phase 1 is high risk; phase 2 is medium risk and phase 3 is low risk, Sheley said.

Should officials decide the risk for returning to school is “high,” classes will be held remotely only. The “medium” risk level would have some in-person and some virtual classes, and the “low” risk level would have students return to traditional schools, but allow online classes for those who prefer them, according to the presentation.

Should classes return as online-only, they will be more structured and better equipped than they were in the spring because educators have had more time to plan, Superintendent Baron Davis said at the meeting.

Richland County is considered high risk as of July 5 because the rate of infections is increasing and the increasing percentage of COVID-19 tests that come back positive, according to a presentation given at the board meeting that cited S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control data.

“We look forward to shifting to phase 2 as quickly as we possibly can,” Sheley said.

Once the risk level changes and the district adds more in-person classes, it will take about two weeks to implement, Sheley said.

Preliminary results from a district survey show that more than two-thirds of parents and staff are not comfortable returning to in-person classes. Meanwhile, 56 percent of students are comfortable returning to class, according to the preliminary results.

This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 7:55 AM.