Horry Schools to continue hybrid classes despite concerns, rising COVID-19 cases
Horry County Schools will continue operating under a hybrid schedule until the district determines it’s safe to return to full, face-to-face instruction five days per week.
The school board approved changes to its operational plan Monday to prioritize localized coronavirus data and grant district staff the ability to quickly make changes when new information becomes available.
The district made the announcement it would continue to operate on a hybrid schedule Thursday, shortly after the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control weekly report identified Horry County with “high” COVID-19 spread for the second consecutive week.
The district’s initial reopening plan relies on the DHEC report to help determine whether students can attend in-person classes. During the first month of the school year, the county had been in the “medium” category, allowing for a hybrid schedule, with students attending school in person twice per week.
High spread means all learning must be remote, the reopening plan initially stated.
But the changes approved Monday permit HCS to implement the hybrid learning model as a default until it’s safe to fully return. The updated plan says HCS will use its own COVID-19 case dashboard to help determine the instructional model at each school; use other data that may be available in the future; and reaffirm the premise that the plan can be updated.
School leaders also are required to give a minimum of five days advance notice to parents before implementing a change to the instructional model unless there’s an emergency.
Superintendent Rick Maxey said there isn’t a specific number of coronavirus cases that would prompt a school to move to all remote learning, but schools will be evaluated case by case.
The district’s COVID-19 case dashboard shows 144 cases have been confirmed among students and staff since it began tracking them in early September, while 20 students and 14 staff members have tested positive within the past week. It also identifies 86 staff members currently in quarantine.
Straying from plan
Multiple board members praised district staff for deciding to “move forward” despite difficult circumstances. But Russell Freeman said he wished the board had more input before the changes seemed to be implemented already in recent weeks.
More than a dozen teachers showed up before the board meeting to express frustrations with the district failing to follow its original plan. Some displayed signs on their vehicles, including “Case numbers are fluid, protocols are not!” and “Even English teachers can do the math. High = all virtual.”
Kathleen Cogland, a STEM teacher at Myrtle Beach Elementary, said she understands the board faces difficult decisions, but as leaders, they need to follow through on what they say they’re going to do.
“It was chaos,” she said, describing the previous two weeks, when the district chose to continue operating in-person classes despite the designation of “high” spread.
The uncertainty from week to week makes planning lessons very difficult, Cogland continued. The district not following its own plan just exacerbated those concerns, Cogland said.
Cori Canada, a teacher at Carolina Forest Elementary, told the board during the public comment portion of the meeting that the trust between administration and staff has been broken after teachers made decisions about whether to return to in-person teaching based on the plan the board previously approved.
Erik Schrader, a social studies teacher at Conway High School, asked the administration to be more intentional in its communication with teachers, while adding that he believed the changes proposed Monday were a step in the right direction.
Cases in schools
Velna Allen, HCS chief officer of student services, and Tammy Trulove, director of health services, delivered a presentation during the board meeting to explain when students and staff are included in that dashboard. Board members and administrators have heard complaints from community members about inaccurate information.
Students and staff are only included in the school district dashboard once they receive confirmation from DHEC of a positive test, and then those individuals are required to quarantine for at least 10 days.
Multiple board members questioned why the district only lists cases as active for seven days when they’re required to quarantine for 10. Allen said that decision was based on tracking guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though they had consider expanding active cases to 10 days.
The district is also in the process of purchasing plexiglass to outfit students’ desks in an effort to return to full, in-person classes, and the S.C. Department of Education has agreed to provide $3.8 million, which will outfit desks for roughly 32,500 students, according to Daryl Brown, HCS chief officer of support services.
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 9:07 PM.
