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 for us by emailing communications@lexington1.net.
PARENT COMMUNICATION
01-06-2021 Helpful reminders about the next two weeks
12-22-2020 COVID-19 reporting process during Winter Break
12-18-2020 Temporary changes for January 2021 (Mandarin) (Spanish)
12-16-2020 Second semester scheduling (Spanish)
12-11-2020 Quarantine changes for students (Spanish)
COVID-19 Parent/Guardian Communications Guide
09-08-2020 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 as we head back to school. (in Spanish)
Middle School—Phase Two
10-28-2020 Middle School Parent Letter
10-28-2020 Middle School Parent Letter (Spanish)
10-28-2020 Middle School Parent Letter (Mandarin)
11-10-2020 E-Learning Days video from Dr. Little
Phase Two
Implementing Phase Two — the “Four Plus One” model (one page summary)
09-22-2020 Lexington District One announces Phase Two
09-23-2020 Parent Letter (Spanish)
09-23-2020 Parent Letter (Mandarin)
Here are the schedules for middle and high schools.
Athletics
12-18-2020 Athletic competitions are canceled Dec. 21, 2020 through Jan. 8, 2021
COVID-19 Athletics Return to Play Form
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)
calendar
Online Learning Academy
For all of your Online Learning Academy needs, click here.
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.
Messages from Dr. Little
12-18-2020 — Temporary changes for January 2021
Since August, our goal in Lexington District One has been to provide the most face-to-face instruction possible, while ensuring a safe environment for students and staff. Therefore, shifting instruction from face-to-face to virtual — even for a short period — is a decision we take seriously and would come to only after weighing many factors.
12-16-2020 — Second semester scheduling
In November, we asked parents and guardians to complete a survey to let us know which instructional model (face-to-face learning or Online Learning Academy) you want for your child in second semester.
The survey results showed many families want to transition from the Online Learning Academy to face-to-face instruction.
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.
NEWS
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.
10-28-2020 — COVID-19 ends White Knoll High School football games
Today, White Knoll High School canceled its last two varsity football games after a COVID-19 positive exposure resulted in the team being unable to play. This decision did not impact White Knoll High’s junior varsity or B teams.
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.
09-29-2020 — COVID-19 affects two varsity Pelion High football games
Pelion High School postponed two varsity football games after a COVID-19 positive exposure resulted in the team being unable to play or practice. This decision did not impact Pelion High’s junior varsity or B teams.
09-23-2020 — COVID-19 affects three varsity Lexington High School football games
Lexington High School canceled two and rescheduled one varsity football game after a COVID-19 positive exposure resulted in the team being unable to play. This decision did not impact Lexington High’s junior varsity or B teams.
09-18-2020 — River Bluff High School postpones varsity football season start
River Bluff High School postpones the beginning of its varsity football season after three individuals associated with the team tested positive for COVID-19.
09-09-2020 — All Lexington District One students eligible for free meals
Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020, all Lexington County School District One students can receive free breakfast and lunch. The United States Department of Agriculture approved Lexington District One’s free food program for all students until December 31.
07-12-2020 — Lexington District One reopens face-to-face athletic workouts
Lexington County School District One athletic directors and coaches are currently informing their athletes that face to face athletic practices, workouts, and conditioning will resume on Wednesday, July 15.
This reopening comes after a two-week long review of health and safety procedures, including social distancing, hand washing, and the wearing of masks.
06-2020 — Athletics cautiously return to the district
Lexington District One athletes are returning to school-sponsored team sports. Each team’s head coach will contact team players and their parents about their return date. Teams will return gradually and no earlier than June 15.
06-30-2020 — Lexington District One suspends face to face athletic workouts, academic camps
Today, out of an abundance of caution, Lexington County School
District One suspended all current face to face athletic practices, workouts, and activities as
well as the face to face 5-year-old kindergarten and first grade Academic Recovery Camps
scheduled for July 6–30.
06-18-2020 — Athletics Begin to Return
Lexington District One athletes are returning to school-sponsored team sports.
The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) taskforce has proposed a three-phase approach. Lexington District One is currently in Phase One. The SCHSL has not released Phases Two and Three and movement through these phases is contingent upon successfully meeting the challenges of each prior phase. Read more...
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 will improve the original detailed proposals using the work of those groups.