Virtual start for all students? Here’s Horry County Schools’ plan to return in fall
All Horry County Schools students are likely to begin the coming school year virtually, though teachers will be in the classrooms based on the final plan approved Tuesday by the school board.
Parents will have the option to enroll in the district’s traditional brick-and-mortar option or full-time virtual school, which is being expanded this year to offer instruction to all students K-12.
“We can’t possibly come up with a solution for every scenario that is in front of us,” HCS Superintendent Rick Maxey said before presenting an outline of the 51-page plan to the board. “It’s not perfect, ... but the point is it’s the best plan we have.”
When and how frequently students enrolled in the traditional option will be allowed to learn inside buildings will be determined based on S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control metrics examining COVID-19 activity in the county.
Horry County, along with every other county in South Carolina currently rates as high for virus activity, which would mean all instruction will be held remotely. Counties with medium activity will have hybrid schedules with students split into two groups, and each group going to school two days per week with distance learning the other three days. Counties with low activity will return to full, face-to-face instruction.
The county’s disease activity has been dropping in recent weeks, according to the data, but still has a ways to drop before reaching medium status. The county’s incidence rate, currently at 383.6 new cases per 100,000 residents during the past two weeks, needs to drop below 200 to be considered medium, while the area’s percent positive, currently at 17.7 percent, would need to drop below 10 percent.
HCS Superintendent Rick Maxey noted that the type of instruction offered will be guided by DHEC’s report from the previous week. The department updates its report each Monday, so the report from Aug. 31 will determine how students will begin the year.
Under all conditions, teachers and staff will be required to report daily to their classrooms and building assignments. Maxey said he understands this will present difficulties to employees with younger children, and he’s going to ask principals and supervisors to consider allowing those employees to bring their children with them, though that option hasn’t been worked out yet.
Parents and students have been surveyed on their interest in signing up for the district’s virtual school, but that option requires at least a semester commitment. The deadline to respond to that survey is midnight Aug. 10. Boone Myrick, the district’s chief academic officer, told the board about 7,000 respondents have indicated an interest in the virtual program so far.
Maxey noted that students enrolled in the virtual option will still be allowed to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities at the school they would otherwise attend.
Course offerings will be limited by the virtual platform, so not all courses will be available, according to Myrick.
The plan will now be submitted to the state Department of Education for final approval.
The board meeting was initially scheduled for Monday but pushed back due to the anticipated impact of Hurricane Isaias. This was the board’s first in-person meeting since March 15, after Gov. Henry McMaster announced the closure of all public schools to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The board has held several virtual meetings since then.
Face coverings will be required for all students and staff inside public school buildings and buses, as ordered recently by S.C. Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman. Maxey noted that there will be some exceptions for students with medical issues.
When the board last met virtually July 13, members voted unanimously to delay the start of the school year from Aug. 17 to Sept. 8 in order to to have more time to finalize reopening plans.
HCS remains one of just a handful of school districts in South Carolina that still needs final approval from the state Department of Education.
