Students may have only just started their summer break, but officials are looking ahead to the 2021-2022 school year.
The Aiken County Board of Education has approved a draft plan to return to in-person instruction.
Superintendent King Laurence said much of the plan is a continuation of what they have been doing the last few months of this school year. Masks are voluntary, the cohort keeping smaller groups of students together will continue, as will social distancing as much as possible in the classrooms.
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Laurence said, “I think the plan was just to make sure that it was clear and in place and there was a document to go through should there be any question.”
He said the response from parents has been positive overall, but with some areas of concern including access to lockers.
“That is an area we know we can control. It’s an area where students would tend to congregate with each other in very close proximity, so we’re moving slowly on the use of lockers,” he explained.
One challenge has been how to configure classrooms. Most classrooms are 800-to-1,000 square feet.
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Laurence said, “One of the ways recommended by CDC is to keep the desks in straight rows, with all students facing in the same direction and the teacher in front. Picture a 1950s or 60s era classroom.”
The district is still offering AIKEN iNNOVATE, the online learning program available for students K-12.
The superintendent said 400 students have signed up with another 200 on a waiting list.
“I would anticipate the couple hundred on the waiting list getting in. They’re on the waiting list because they came in after our deadline,” Laurence added.
He said they are still encouraging all students aged 12 and older to get vaccinated before the new school year begins. The district is also looking into providing vaccination clinics later in the summer.
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The back-to-school plan will be submitted to the South Carolina Department of Education. It is expected the plan will be posted to the school district’s website in about a week.
Laurence said the school board will be able to give final touches when it meets August 10, just ahead of the start of the school year on August 16.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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