Lexington 1 schools get closer to a normal weekly schedule
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story misstated the number of days students will be in class. Students will continue to have virtual learning days on Fridays.
Lexington 1 has pushed back its planned return to a regular school schedule by at least a week, and will instead phase in return dates by grade level.
Starting Monday, Oct. 5, students in pre-K through second grade will return to class four days a week, as will some English language learners in third through fifth grades, it was announced at a specially called board meeting on Tuesday. Students will continue to do virtual learning on Friday.
The rest of the district’s elementary school class will go back to school on the same schedule two weeks later, on Oct. 19. So will certain “priority groups” in middle and high schools.
Other middle and high schoolers will return in early November, Superintendent Greg Little said Tuesday.
Students in Lexington 1 had been scheduled to return to class five days a week beginning on Monday.
That would have been one of the earliest returns to a regular school schedule in the Midlands, which some parents have been calling for. But others have been less eager to head back to class, despite declining numbers of new COVID-19 cases in South Carolina in recent weeks.
Little said the objective is to get students back into the classroom as smoothly and with as little disruption as possible.
“We don’t just want to open. We want to stay open,” Little said. “If we bounce back and forth from school to quarantine, that’s going to be much more disruptive.”
Masks will still be required while students are on campus, but school district staff are working to install plexiglass dividers that will lessen some of the need for social distancing. Little said all plexiglass should be installed by Oct. 19, barring any delays.
Little also said Lexington 1 teachers will be able to get same-day or next-day test results from Nephron Pharmaceuticals.
Pushing for a full reopening
Some parents have pushed schools to fully reopen sooner, including some who spoke at Lexington 1’s previous board meeting on Sept. 15.
Allison Purdy told The State ahead of last week’s Lexington 1 board meeting she believes the school district can take the necessary precautions to operate schools safely.
“I trust in the schools to clean and sanitize everything,” Purdy said. “If everyone washes their hands, it will be OK.”
She noted that daycares and summer camps were operating through the summer, so schools should be able to do the same.
Emily Conrad said she has already taken precautions with her children to avoid spreading the virus.
“We’ve isolated from older family members, we’re not having a party,” Conrad said. “But especially with younger kids, it’s not sustainable.”
She said she has tried to find a private school where her children could get a five-day-a-week classroom experience, so far without success.
Brittany Little said the cost of childcare on days her kids are out of school is too much of a burden to continue long term.
“My children are four years apart, so I would not have two kids in childcare at the same time,” Little said. “Now I’m paying $750 a month when he should be in kindergarten.”
Concerns about reopening
But others are nervous about what will happen if all students and teachers gather together again in the classroom in the midst of the pandemic.
River Bluff High School teacher Stephanie Mower said she wants the hybrid model to continue, because she fears students would be reluctant to get tested or self-report symptoms because “there’s a view that this is contracted by negligence or bad behavior.”
“This is the best fit for students’ health, the learning environment, and the safety of teachers and staff,” Mower said.
Other parents on Tuesday said they worry the board would be “pressured not to follow the science.”
School board members told parents on both sides of the debate they are mindful of the stresses caused by the pandemic.
“I don’t sleep well right now worrying about this,” said board member Anne Marie Green. “In six months, we will know what the right steps were in September, but right now we don’t know.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 8:10 PM.
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