Lexington 1 daily start, dismissal times will change this fall. Here’s how
More changes are coming to this fall’s school calendar in Lexington 1 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The school district unveiled new start and dismissal times at Tuesday’s meeting of the Lexington 1 school board. The change shifts the school day for some students who will be coming back to campus as part of the school’s reopening strategy.
The main effect of the change is to have middle school start and dismissal times line up with high school times, starting each day at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 3:20 p.m. Elementary school students will follow a 7:50 a.m. to 2 p.m. schedule, which doesn’t change from last year.
District officials are looking at staggering arrival and dismissal times for students to accommodate social distancing requirements and changes to school bus operations announced by the S.C. Department of Education last week. For in-person pickup, students may have to wait in the classroom until called.
Students will have options this semester. Some will opt to learn only online in response to the virus, something school leaders pointed to as reducing the number of students in classrooms and on buses in the fall. Other students will be divided into two groups that alternate days on campus, in line with plans Lexington 1 announced in June.
The first four weeks of school will have students attend school either Monday through Tuesday or Wednesday through Thursday, with the other three days taken up with virtual learning. District officials will re-evaluate after that.
Currently, 6,700 students in the district are signed up to the district’s online only learning academy — 2,900 in elementary school, 1,800 in middle school, and 2,000 in high school.
For in-school meals, food will be delivered to students in their classrooms, and while students will be asked to sign a pledge to wear a mask, elementary students who share desks will also have plexiglass set up between them to reduce the potential spread of the coronavirus.
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 1:07 PM.
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