What’s Beaufort County’s plan now that SC schools are closed through the end of year?
State schools will close through the end of the school year because of concerns about coronavirus, South Carolina state superintendent Molly Spearman and Gov. Henry McMaster announced Wednesday.
K-12 students have been out of school since March 16 due to worries about the spread of coronavirus in the state. As of Tuesday, at least 4,608 people in South Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 135 have died, according to state health officials.
State officials’ announcement on schools closing came a day after Beaufort County School District officials set new grading policies, detailed remote learning issues and updated the school board on meal distribution.
Here’s what students and families need to know about school closures in Beaufort County.
Graduation
McMaster and Spearman announced no specifics for high school graduations but
emphasized that they wanted schools to hold graduation ceremonies. Spearman said she had received “articulate pleas” from seniors.
“We want to be sure we have graduation ceremonies for those young people and their families,” McMaster said.
Beaufort County School District has not announced any graduation plans, but high school principals met earlier this week to discuss possibilities, district spokesman Jim Foster said.
Continuing remote work
District superintendent Frank Rodriguez updated school board members on remote learning efforts in the district at their Tuesday night meeting, addressing concerns about students who were completing paper work packets instead of online learning or not responding to teachers at all.
“Each school has been keeping a record of students that they have difficulty connecting with,” Rodriguez said. “Our social workers and guidance counselors remain engaged in trying to connect with them.”
A presentation from Mary Stratos, the district’s chief instructional services officer, included one of these records from Beaufort Elementary School.
Each teacher listed students regularly participating in video conferences, turning in work electronically and using paper packets, along with students they hadn’t had contact with and students reporting internet issues.
According to the presentation, 10 out of 16 students at Beaufort Elementary School are “fully engaged” in online learning, a number board Mel Campbell said was “not a good number.”
Several community members have offered access to internet and devices to students. Hargray is offering 60 days of free internet to student households, while Bluffton Realtor Catherine Donaldson is raising money to buy Kindle Fire tablets for first-grade and younger students who don’t have them.
Grading
Rodriguez also announced a new, “compassionate” grading policy for students, which provides grades based on “completion of assignments (online or work packets), participation in online classes or phone calls with teachers.”
The new policy will apply to all students, with the exception of high school classes for college credit such as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and dual enrollment courses.
Student meals
Since schools closed, the district has served more than 189,000 free meals to Beaufort County children, Rodriguez said Wednesday. The district is averaging about 8,500 meals given out daily.
Any child under 18 can pick up the free meals, which are bundled as lunch for the current day and breakfast for the next day.
The district has 12 meal pick up sites: Beaufort High, Beaufort Middle, Battery Creek High, Bluffton High, James J. Davis Early Childhood Center, Hilton Head Island High, Okatie Elementary, Red Cedar Elementary, St. Helena Elementary, Whale Branch Early College High, Whale Branch Middle, and the YMCA of Port Royal.
There are also 20-minute windows of curbside deliveries along certain bus routes across the county, which occur between 9 a.m. and noon. The full list of these stops is available on the district’s website.