LR5 is at COVID ‘level orange.’ Why did this SC high school have a pep rally?
With the new school year starting at a time of rising COVID-19 spread, some are raising concerns about how Chapin High School kicked off the new year: with a student pep rally.
Parents expressed concern online about the rally for Chapin High students on Wednesday given how the continuing spread of COVID-19 has already impacted schools in South Carolina.
A week earlier, Interim Superintendent Akil Ross told a back-to-school town hall that Lexington-Richland 5 school district was under a “level orange” mitigation effort, which says schools should “Avoid students congregating in common use areas” and “Consider putting high risk sports and extracurricular activities on hold.” At level red, schools would have to close and students revert to online learning.
“The green level even states social distancing when possible,” one Facebook comment reads. “Well, it’s not possible in a packed gym. This is crazy.”
It’s unclear how many students were at the assembly and how many were wearing masks. Lexington-Richland 5 officials have said they will encourage but not require mask-wearing at its schools, even after Richland County Council voted this week to mandate masks at schools within the county. Chapin High School is in Lexington County.
“School District Five Leadership is aware of the assembly that took place on the first day of school at Chapin High School,” the district said when asked about the gathering. “Using guidance from DHEC, School District Five has created Five Levels of Mitigation Guidance for the operations of schools. Each level is intended to help schools communicate, prepare and implement mitigation strategies to reduce transmission of COVID-19.
“The district is on Level Orange which limits capacities in arenas, gyms and auditoriums. We are working with school leaders to ensure that the guidelines are followed.”
Schools in nearby Kershaw County, which started classes earlier this month, report more than 1,000 students are quarantined in an outbreak there. Pickens County schools went all-virtual for a week because of COVID concerns, despite protests from some parents.
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