Some students in Lexington 2 could return to class 5 days a week starting next month
Some students in the Lexington 2 school district could return to the classroom full-time as early as next month.
Schools in Cayce and West Columbia could resume a full, five-day-a-week schedule on Nov. 12 — at least for select groups of students — if Lexington County is moved into a low-risk COVID-19 status by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Superintendent William James laid out the timeline at a special called meeting of the district’s school board on Monday. If the county continues to be listed as moderate-to-low risk by DHEC by mid-November, students in kindergarten through second grade, sixth grade, the district’s Innovation Center and “self-contained” special education classes at all grade levels could return to five day classroom instruction.
The plan, which received board approval, would allow schools a chance to adjust to the conditions necessary to allow all students to come back full-time, with proper protective equipment in place, James said. The district has ordered 6,000 plexiglass dividers for students’ desks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the district pointed out in a press release.
If Lexington County’s COVID-19 status changes in the next month, however, the district will push back the reopening date to Nov. 30. Students signed up to the district’s virtual program will continue to take classes online.
Other districts in the Midlands are also moving toward a fuller reopening, although none have committed to a five-day-a-week schedule yet. Some students in Lexington 1 and Lexington-Richland 5 began returning to class four days a week on Oct. 5. Richland 1 and Richland 2, which had been all-virtual, will begin heading back to class two days a week on Oct. 26.
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 9:02 AM.
.jpg)