PHASE 3 UPDATE FOR R2 PARENTS
3/4/2021
PHASE 3 STARTS MARCH 22
Based on the 3-3-2021 Recent Disease Activity Report released by S.C. DHEC, the disease activity for Richland County is now rated low. The district’s Reopening Schools Plan calls for a switch to Phase 3 at the low disease activity level.
We are making modifications to Phase 3 based on the latest CDC Operational Strategy for K-12 Schools. Please review the information below on the details of Phase 3.
DEADLINE: MARCH 7 FOR PHASE 3 LEARNING MODEL CONFIRMATION
Parents, no later than March 7, 2021, please follow the directions below to confirm or change your Learning Model Selection:
Login to Parent Portal at parents.richland2.org
On the home page of Parent Portal you should see "Grades and Attendance" at the top of the page. Scroll down to the section labeled "Phase 3 Learning Model Confirmation."
In this section on the home page of Parent Portal, review the model you previously selected.
In the drop down menu, select whether you want to confirm your original choice, change to in-person, or change to eLearning.
Click on "Submit."
Complete this process for each of your Richland Two students by changing tabs at the top of the page after clicking on "Submit."
Parents of students enrolled in the R2eSchool do not need to confirm their selection as those students are enrolled in the R2eSchool for the entire school year.
LEARNING MODEL OPTIONS FOR PHASE 3
Elementary Learning Model Options
Middle and High Learning Model Options
At all levels, some classes may be taught using the dual modality approach for delivering instruction, which means the class will include eLearning students and in-person students. Other classes may include only eLearning students or only in-person students. This will vary by school depending on the number of students participating in eLearning.
Due to the additional planning time required for dual modality instruction, Fridays will be half-days for elementary, middle and high school students.
IMPORTANT DATES DURING PHASE 3
Parents, please know that we recognize the impact these days will have on your family's schedule. We ask for and appreciate your patience, understanding and support as holding the vaccine clinics for our employees has multiple benefits for the district as a whole:
By having the clinics on a Thursday and Friday, our employees have the weekend to recover from any temporary symptoms they may experience. This cuts down on employees having to take time off after getting the shot.
The clinics will reduce the possibility that on any given day schools will have multiple employees request to be off for vaccine appointments and/or will have multiple employees need to take sick leave due to temporary symptoms.
The clinics streamline the process for our employees.
Two weeks after April 16, a large majority of our employees will be inoculated and will no longer have to quarantine due to a possible close contact exposure. If employees have to make their own appointments, the district has no control over the timeline for how long it will take for a majority of employees to be inoculated.
DAILY SCHOOL SCHEDULE
MODIFICATIONS TO PHASE 3
The latest guidance from the CDC states that strategies for preventing the spread of the disease should remain in place regardless of the level of community transmission. Based on this information, returning to traditional school operations, in place prior to the pandemic, is not possible at the start of Phase 3. Therefore, the following safety precautions will remain in place:
Students and employees will continue to wear masks.
We will continue to practice social distancing to the greatest extent possible. In classroom seating arrangements where 6 feet of social distancing is not possible or optimal, we will use barriers/dividers.
Procedures for visitors, after-hours school events and travel considerations will remain the same as they were in Phase 2.
Parents and employees will continue to monitor for symptoms using the checklist for students or online sign-in form for employees. If a student or employee is experiencing any symptoms on the checklist, the student cannot go to school and the employee cannot come to work.
Procedures regarding contact tracing, isolation and quarantine will continue to be followed. It is very important for parents and employees to notify their school nurse if a student or employee is ill with a cough, shortness of breath, or loss of taste/smell; tests positive for COVID-19; or is a close contact of a person testing positive for COVID-19.
Service Solutions (SSC), the District’s custodial service provider, will continue to follow the comprehensive plan to ensure that our schools are clean, sanitized and safe.
Schools will continue to receive additional supplies to assist with cleaning, sanitation, social distancing and other safety measures.
TRANSPORTATION
Depending on the number of students signed up for in-person instruction during Phase 3, changes may have to be made to Phase 2 bus routes. Additional information about any changes to bus routes will be communicated after the March 7th deadline to confirm/change Learning Model Selection for Phase 3.
MEALS
In addition to providing meals on-site for in-person students, meals will be available for eLearners. Curbside meal pickup for eLearners, as well as children up to the age of 18 who are not Richland Two students, will continue.