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Horry County Schools Returning to Hybrid Instruction

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.

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Schools in Horry County Will Install Special Workstations

In an effort to protect students and teachers from COVID-19, Horry County Schools are installing plexiglass workstations.

These new workstations will provide a barrier between students and teachers and potentially diminish the spread of the coronavirus. The South Carolina Department of Education provided Horry County Schools with around $4 million worth of plexiglass for these workstations to be installed.

The installation of the plexiglass workstations will begin on Friday, November 13th at elementary schools in Horry County. Due to their age and the overall importance of in-person learning, officials are eager to get all elementary school students back in the classroom as soon as possible.

Horry County Schools is hoping the installation of these special workstations will help get students back to full five days a week in-person learning. Most of the workstations should be installed in elementary schools by Sunday, November 22nd.

The same plexiglass workstations are also expected to be installed in middle and high schools in the coming weeks.

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Parents Now Able to Request Switch to In-Person Learning In Horry County

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.

News

Forbes Names Horry County Schools Amongst Best Employers in SC

Annually, Forbes compiles a list of the best employers per each state. This year, after surveying 80,000 working Americans and over 500 employers, Horry County Schools was named the second-best employer in SC. Southeastern Freight Lines in Lexington took home the first place spot.

As a way of collecting data, the surveys are given through a rolling basis between October 2019 and May 2020. This year especially, it means so much to join the companies listed by Forbes. Within the questionnaire, employers are compared throughout the year “so as to account for any statistically significant variations in the results collected before and after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic,” explained Forbes.

While many companies have struggled to maintain over the course of 2020, Horry County Schools thrives as an employer. With over 5,101 working employees, the Horry County Schools seem to prioritize their staff. Superintendent Rick Maxey holds his seat throughout the Forbes award and calendar year.

In order to best collect the information for this market research study, Forbes partnered with Statista to hone in on the most well-liked organizations per each state. This is the second year such research has been conducted.

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Horry County Schools To Suspend Athletic Conditioning

Horry County Schools will cease athletic conditioning until further notice. Though the team has not reported a positive COVID-19 case, as numbers start to climb in the county, they’ve decided to take action. A statement has not been issued addressing the 2020 season.

Typically, football and other athletic conditioning take place every summer in preparation for the new school year. No equipment was permitted this June, and only nine players were allowed per each coach pod. This was in regulation with COVID-19 social distancing requirements. As of now, there hasn’t been any news regarding the cancelation of the actual sporting season. 

All coaches were told this news prior to the Fourth of July weekend. This was done in part by the assumption of celebrations that could potentially spread the virus. The suspension is in place until further notice. For now, athletes will sit tight and wait for more news regarding their conditioning and the future of their season.

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Horry County Schools Suspend Meal Services

Featured Image Source: Annette Montgomery/WPDE

Due to several Horry County Schools employees testing positive for COVID-19, the district has suspended meal services for two weeks. The program began on March 16th and enabled Horry County Schools to serve 166,072 meals to its students. Meal services consisted of 13 “grab-and-go” meal sites and bus meal pick-up locations. As of Thursday, April 16th these sites have been shut down.

As of last week, three Horry County attendance areas — Conway, Socastee and North Myrtle Beach — have been impacted by employees who tested positive for the coronavirus. Multiple employees working in the meal program have since had to self-quarantine because of potential exposure.

In lieu of the program, community leaders have stepped up to fill the gap, as reported by WPDE.com. Local Ekklesia Church is doing its part through donations with Meals On Wheels, cooking food and bringing it to the church for distribution to families. Those looking to help can message Ekklesia Church on Facebook, drop food off at the church, or make a monetary donation.

The school district will assess whether the meal program can begin again following the two-week suspension of service. The community is urged to monitor the district’s website and social media for updates. In the meantime, we have organizations like Ekklesia Church to support in order to keep the community fed.