horry county school district Archives

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, questions surrounding whether or not students should return to in-person learning have been raised.

In December, the Horry County School District decided that students would undergo virtual learning for the first two weeks of January before a decision was made on future instruction. The Horry County School District recently announced that they will be returning to a hybrid model of instruction beginning Tuesday, January 19th.

Currently, there are 113 active cases of COVID-19 within the Horry County School District, with 55 students and 58 staff members having tested positive. There are also 164 staff members who are currently in quarantine due to potential exposure to the virus.

The hybrid model will allow students to participate in both virtual and in-person instruction. Many schools are also installing new plexiglass barriers in an effort to stop the spread of the virus and protect students and teachers.

In addition to rising COVID-19 cases, Horry County Schools, like many other schools in the nation, are facing a teacher and substitute teacher shortage, making it difficult to return to in-person schooling for the full five days a week.

Horry County School District officials will continue to monitor the ongoing pandemic and will make adjustments as needed to protect the health and safety of students, faculty and staff.

At a recent school board meeting, Dr. Rick Maxey, Superintendent of Horry County Schools, announced that parents will soon have the option to transfer students from virtual learning to in-person schooling.

The decision comes after many parents expressed their frustration following the first week of virtual learning, with some parents displeased by the lack of structure and others finding it difficult to support their child while also working full-time themselves.

Many Horry County students are currently operating in a hybrid model. These hybrid models consist of students attending in-person school two days of the week and the rest is conducted virtually.

In an effort to maintain safety and social distancing guidelines within schools, the school district will not be able to grant every request for children to return to traditional in-person learning.

However, Horry County School officials will continue to monitor the case numbers to determine whether or not students are able to return to in-person schooling full-time or if virtual learning needs to be implemented across the board.