Rise in COVID-19 cases forces Midlands high school to switch to all-virtual classes
A rise in COVID-19 cases at one Midlands high school has forced students to switch to all-virtual classes.
Lexington-Richland 5 school district announced late Monday that all classes at Chapin High School will be held online on Tuesday.
The announcement comes after the school board last month empowered the district superintendent to decide if individual schools should change schedules in response to cases of the virus.
Last month, a large number of cases among staff at Chapin High led Superintendent Christina Melton to warn that COVID-19 threatened the district’s ability to operate schools. Chapin was also one of three high schools that were forced to close when many teachers called out in an apparent bid to change the district’s policy on reopening schools.
According to the district’s own COVID dashboard, 10 students at the school have active coronavirus cases and another 21 have been placed in a precautionary quarantine. Six staff are either positive or in quarantine.
Students will also take virtual classes on Wednesday, which is normally an online learning day in the district. Staff will reevaluate whether Chapin High can reopen on Thursday.
Currently, schools in Lexington-Richland 5 operate on a four-day in-school model, with distance learning on Wednesday. The school district has a target of holding in-person classes five days a week starting Feb. 1.
In December, the school board switched to a virtual schedule ahead of the winter holiday break, but empowered the superintendent to make school-by-school decisions based on case numbers, rather than make schedule changes district-wide.
This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 10:09 AM.
.jpg)