Lexington Richland 5 gives students the chance to have face-to-face instruction four days a week

This comes after a board vote Monday which expanded the number of face-to-face days from 2 to 4

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — In less than a week, some students in Lexington Richland School District 5 will start going back into the classroom four days a week.

Starting Monday, students in 4K through second grade will have a chance to see their classmates and teachers face-to-face more days a week.

For the last few weeks, several students in Lexington Richland School District 5 have been learning in their classrooms two days a week, and virtually for the other three days.

After gathering feedback from parents and staff, the district feels comfortable allowing waves of students coming back four days a week.

“There’s more in-person instruction, which is great. We get a chance to have our students in the building more, because we know our students learn best in that type of environment,” said Michael Guliano, the Chief Instructional Officer for Lexington Richland 5.

Under this plan, Wednesdays will serve as a day where all of the students will learn virtually, while all of the classrooms go through a deep cleaning. 

The district will be bringing waves of students back by age group, starting with 4K through second grade on Monday.

“Our youngest students are ones that really need that in-person learning the most, which is why we’re starting with them with that first phased-in additional approach, and really to get them in the classroom, with their classroom teachers on a regular, daily basis,” Guliano said.

Several parents have been calling on the districts to bring students back into the classroom more than two days a week.

Some formed a Facebook group called “5 Days F2F for District 5”, which has since gained 1,600 followers.

Jennifer Valek, one of the co-founders of the Facebook group, said the recent move by the district is a step in the right direction.

“I’m definitely happy with four, obviously five days is the ultimate goal, but four is better than two. Dr. Melton and her team stepped up to give us some more transparency and clarity so that we can all be on the same page together,” Valek said.

Students can continue learning virtually, but they have the option to come back to the classroom whenever they are ready and if there’s space available due to social distancing recommendations.

“It’s going to be different, and it’s certainly going to look different at time, but it does give us the opportunity to see our students on a four-day basis,” Guliano said.

According to South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), the following schools in the district have had at least one case of COVID-19 among their students and/or faculty: Ballentine Elementary, Chapin High School, Chapin Middle School, Dutch Fork Middle School, Seven Oaks Elementary, and Spring Hill High School.