Some Richland 2 students to temporarily switch to virtual only, amid rising COVID cases

Some Richland 2 students will temporarily switch to online-only learning because of rising COVID-19 cases.

First graders at Lake Carolina Elementary Lower will be virtual-only until at least Jan. 24, according to a Monday message from Principal Jaqueline Norton. School went virtual-only for first grade students because 13 first-graders tested positive for COVID-19 and 62 first-grade students were quarantined. That’s more than 30% of the school’s first-grade population, Norton said.

Families of Lake Carolina Lower Elementary first grade students can get free meals from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the car rider line through Jan. 24, according to the message.

It’s not the only school that has temporarily switched to virtual-only because of COVID-19. On Jan. 7, Dent Middle announced it would go virtual-only until Tuesday, Jan. 18, according to a message from Principal Tamala Ashford.

“We anticipate at least 20 teachers will be out during part or all of next week due to COVID-19 or other illnesses,” Ashford said. “With that many teachers out, we are unable to operate in-person because we cannot maintain safe and effective school operations.”

As of Wednesday, the district’s COVID-19 dashboard paints a much less dire picture of coronavirus cases in schools.

As of Wednesday, Dent Middle has two student cases and six employee cases, according to the district’s online dashboard. The online dashboard shows no student positives and only 15 students quarantined at Lake Carolina Lower as of Wednesday.

COVID-19 has been spreading throughout the state and within K-12 schools. Since students returned, both Richland 1 and Lexington 1 have posted record high numbers of either employees or students testing positive for COVID-19.

This story was originally published January 12, 2022 at 12:17 PM.