Lexington 1 to reduce in-person classes as student COVID-19 cases quadruple
The number of Lexington County School District One students with the coronavirus quadrupled In the weeks after Thanksgiving break, according to a letter Superintendent Gregory Little sent to parents Friday afternoon.
The second week after Thanksgiving started the most significant increase the district has experienced since the coronavirus hit schools, Little said in the letter. Student quarantines tripled and staff quarantines and positive cases more than doubled.
After speaking to health care professionals, the district expects “the magnitude of Winter Break to be even greater” in the increase of coronavirus cases at schools, Little wrote.
With the expectation that student coronavirus cases may more than quadruple again, Lexington One will reduce in-person classes in January, according to the letter.
The letter outlines how classes will be held after winter break:
- From Jan. 4-8, all classes will be virtual.
- For the week of Jan. 11–15, kindergarten through sixth grade will use the “four-plus-one model” meaning in-person classes Monday through Thursday and virtually on Friday.
For the week of Jan. 11–15, grades 7 through 12 will shift to the hybrid model. Cohort A will come to school on Monday and Tuesday. Cohort B will come to school on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday will be virtual learning.
On Tuesday, Jan. 19, grades 7 and 8 will use the “four-plus-one model” meaning in-person instruction Monday through Thursday and virtual learning on Friday.
High schools will continue to use the hybrid model after Jan. 15, the letter said.
“Our goal is to slow the exposure of our staff and students to the disease so we can return to a safe and stable learning environment,” Little wrote. “Please remember what you do over the Winter Break and in January will impact school in the new year. We need your help.”
Little urged parents and students to physically distance, wear masks, quarantine as much as possible and “make responsible decisions” to lessen exposure to the virus.