During this 2020–2021 academic year, Lexington County School District One continues to work to keep our students and staff safe while providing a high-quality education.
We believe that we should keep our internal and external public informed about the impact of COVID-19 on our schools and have created a dashboard which does that. The dashboard, which contains that important information, is updated no later than 12 p.m. each weekday. The student and staff active positive numbers are the number of students and staff with COVID-19. The number of students and staff excluded includes all individuals who exhibited COVID-19-like symptoms or who are on quarantine as close contacts, etc.
As this process continues, we will update this webpage with more information. We hope that you will check back often to learn what we are doing as we navigate that process. We encourage you to share your questions with us by emailing communications@lexington1.net.
Tracking COVID-19
Questions about masks?
We recorded Lexington District One Nursing and Health Services Director Amy Wood, RN, asking Dr. Jane Kelly, S.C. DHEC Assistant State Epidemiologist, questions we gathered from parents and employees.
We learned a lot while listening to their conversation and would recommend this video to anyone. It is well worth taking the time to watch and learn about masks. Click here to watch.
You will find the presentation and references here.
Questions About the COVID-19 Vaccine?
We recorded Lexington District One Nursing and Health Services Director Amy Wood, RN, asking Dr. Jane Kelly, S.C. DHEC Assistant State Epidemiologist, questions we gathered from employees.
We learned a lot while listening to their conversation and would recommend this video to anyone. It is well worth taking the time to watch and learn about the vaccine. Click here to watch.
DHEC also posts frequently asked questions about the vaccine online here.
Five-Day Schedule
03-24-2021 An important message for high school parents
03-10-2021 Middle schools to return to five-day schedule
02-26-2021 An important message for elementary school parents
PARENT COMMUNICATION
05-03-2021 S.C. DHEC Assistant State Epidemiologist answers your questions about mask safety
(presentation and references)
04-20-2021 More news about graduation
04-02-2021 Here is some important news about graduation
04-02-2021 Update regarding plexiglass
03-31-2021 Monitoring during Spring Break
03-12-2021 Dr. Little shares information about masks and other safety measures
03-10-2021 Middle schools to return to five-day schedule
02-26-2021 An important message for elementary school parents
02-19-2021 An important message for high school parents
01-06-2021 Helpful reminders about the next two weeks
12-30-2020 COVID-19 reporting process during Winter Break
12-18-2020 Temporary changes for January 2021 (Mandarin) (Spanish)
See all COVID-19 communication.
TOOLS
COVID-19 Parent/Guardian Communications Guide
Email to Parents/Guardians regarding SC DHEC’s new website and our new Parent/Guardian Communications Guide
SC DHEC’s Schools and Child Care Centers (COVID-19) website
Beginning Friday, Sep. 4, DHEC will provide a school report that includes for every school both cumulative and rolling 30-day counts of confirmed cases among students, teachers and faculty members, and will be updated on Tuesday and Friday afternoons.
COVID-19 Student Safety Pledge
Important FERPA Reminders in an E-Learning or Virtual Environment
Top 10 things you need to know (Spanish)
High SCHOOL—PHASE TWO
02-19-2021 An important message for high school parents
Phase Two — the “Four Plus One” model (one page summary)
See all COVID-19 communication.
Special Services
07-23-2020 Dr. Balough letter to parents/guardians of students who receive services
07-23-2020 Dr. Balough letter to parents/guardians of students who receive services (Spanish)
Resources
calendar
Child care resources for families
We realize that some families will need child care during virtual learning days and after school. You can find a list of Lexington County child care providers and their full-day and afterschool services here
Online Learning Academy
For all of your Online Learning Academy needs, click here.
Questions about the COVID-19 Vaccine?
We recorded Lexington District One Nursing and Health Services Director Amy Wood, RN, asking Dr. Jane Kelly, S.C. DHEC Assistant State Epidemiologist, questions we gathered from employees. Click here to watch.
Messages from Dr. Little
03-12-2021 — Dr. Little shares information about masks and other safety measures
Lexington County School District One will still require all staff, students, and visitors to wear masks on a school bus or campus, physically distance in classrooms and common areas as much as possible, practice good hygiene (washing hands often, covering coughs/sneezes, etc.), and follow school officials’ directions regarding health and safety. We also ask students to let their teacher or another staff member know immediately if they don’t feel well.
12-11-2020 — An important message from Dr. Little
At the same time that our hearts are heavy, we are also anxious about what the future holds for the pandemic. We are concerned about our safety, the safety of our families and the safety of our students. Add to that worry the strain of the holiday season and it is little wonder that we are stressed and looking forward to a much needed break.
08-11-2020 — Together Talk: Social-emotional learning minichat
What is social-emotional learning?
07-28-2020 — E-learning and the Online Learning Academy
In our latest Together Talk, Superintendent Greg Little discusses the online learning opportunities the district will offer this year.
07-21-2020 — Together Talk: Mask Chat
Superintendent Greg Little speaks with pediatric infectious disease professionals, Dr. Anna-Kathryn Burch and Dr. Robert Daniels, about the importance of masking.
To view all of our Together Talk videos, please go to our YouTube channel.
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NEWS
03-31-2021 — COVID-19 monitoring during Spring Break
This is a gentle reminder that we need to continue our student COVID-19 monitoring and contact-tracing during Spring Break (April 5–9).
If your student tests positive for COVID-19 or is a close contact or household contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 over the break, complete the forms found here in English or Spanish.
02-19-2021 — Information about an online learning opportunity for next year
Lexington County School District One’s mission is to cultivate a caring community where ALL learners are extraordinary communicators, collaborators, creators, and critical thinkers.
Next year, the 2021–2022 school year, we are excited to offer sixth-grade through 12th-grade students an online learning opportunity through the Lexington One Online Learning Academy (LOOLA).
01-11-2021 — Lexington District One reminds families about no-cost meal plans
Lexington County School District One elementary students who are in the four-plus-one, face-to-face model may order no-cost breakfast and lunch meals for Friday’s e-learning day. Those meals will be sent home with your student each Thursday afternoon. To order, please complete your school’s take home meal form found here by 9 a.m. each Thursday.
12-30-2020 — COVID-19 reporting process during Winter Break
Lexington County School District One will continue monitoring and contact-tracing students during the winter break between Dec. 23, 2020–Jan. 3, 2021.
12-21-2020 — Meal service for students during virtual learning days Jan. 4 - 8, 2021
Lexington County School District One students can receive no-cost breakfast and lunch meals during the week of e-learning set for Jan. 4–8, 2021.
Families can pick up the meals on Tuesday, Jan. 5, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Meals must be picked up at one of 14 designated school drive-through locations.
11-18-2020 — Lexington District One unveils plan for high school students
Tonight at a meeting of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Thomas Rivers, secondary schools director, presented a plan to bring high school students back to school in the four plus one model (face-to-face instruction four days a week, Monday–Thursday, with Friday e-learning days) on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. January 19 is the first day of the second
semester.
10-30-2020 — Middle schools next to phase into face-to-face instruction four days a week
Lexington County School District One announces plans for middle school students to begin the Four Plus One instruction model.
10-21-2020 — Meals provided to all students at no cost through June
All Lexington County School District One students can receive breakfast and lunch at no cost for the remainder of the 2020–2021 school year. The United States Department of Agriculture recently extended the funding for the food program for students.
OUR PROCESS
Lexington District One gathered information from parent and student surveys regarding their experiences with the online/e-learning and other methods used from March 16 through the end of the 2019–2020 academic year.
District administrators formed a 15-member Reentry Task Force charged with researching and learning everything they could about the ways other states and districts were approaching the next school year while carefully protecting student and staff health and wellbeing.
Subcommittees or working groups made up of school administrators at each grade band — elementary, middle and high — and members of individual divisions and departments created detailed proposals describing their recommendations for what learning might look like in the fall.
Their work then went to focus groups of parents, doctors, students, teachers, nurses, support staff, etc., for feedback.
In addition, the district initiated a new tool called Thoughtexchange to gather the thoughts and suggestions of parents and employees that we need to consider as we plan to reopen our schools this fall after the COVID-19
school closures this March.
The feedback gathered from the focus groups and the Thoughtexchange went to another team, the Drafting Team. That team improved the original detailed proposals using the work of those groups.