On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plans (ARP) Act was signed into law. In it, the U.S. Department of Education is providing an additional $121.9 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER III Fund). This legislation will award grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) for providing local educational agencies (LEAs) with emergency relief funds to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the nation.
South Carolina will receive $2,112,051,487 in ESSER III funds from the Act, with 90 percent being awarded to school districts with amounts determined in proportion to the amount of Title I, Part A funds they received in summer 2020 from funds under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The remaining funds will be used for state-level activities to address issues caused by COVID-19.
This plan describes how the LEA or district will provide the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services for all schools, including those that have already returned to in-person instruction. This report template complies with all reporting requirements of the ARP Act (Public Law 117-2), the ESSER III grant terms, conditions, and assurances (CFDA Number 84.425U), and the interim final rule established by the United States Department of Education, 86 FR 21195.
Download a pdf version of the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan (June 15, 2022)
Plan as of June 15, 2022
Maintaining Health and Safety
Overview
A district’s plan must include how it will maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other school and LEA staff, and the extent to which it has adopted policies or practices and a description of any such policies or practices, on each of the CDC's safety recommendations including: universal and correct wearing of masks; modifying facilities to allow for physical distancing (e.g., use of cohorts/podding); hand washing and respiratory etiquette; cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, including improving ventilation; contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine, in collaboration with the state, local, territorial, or Tribal health departments; diagnostic and screening testing; efforts to provide vaccinations to educators, other staff, and students, if eligible; appropriate accommodations for children with disabilities with respect to health and safety policies or practices; and coordination with state and local health officials.
Description of maintaining health and safety
The Number One priority of the Georgetown County School District is to safely continue in-person education for the 2022-23 school year using the best and most appropriate models for learning. The plan described in this document is the result of a collaboration of staff, stakeholders and health and safety professionals. Local, state and national resources were consulted, including the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and local healthcare providers. Surveys were conducted to solicit input from students, parents and staff. The policies, practices and procedures described in this document were developed with the goals of meeting students’ academic, social and emotional needs without compromising the health and safety of students and staff. GCSD continuously monitors conditions along with the latest health and safety guidance, remaining flexible and making adjustments as required by changes in health and medical conditions.
Policies or Practices Regarding CDC Recommendations
Wearing of masks
Pursuant to the latest DHEC guidance, all people in the school setting are allowed to wear a mask if they choose. Masks are available upon requests. Our schools take steps to insure students are not bullied or criticized for wearing a mask.
Modifying facilities to allow for physical distancing (e.g., use of cohorts/podding)
Georgetown County School District has exterior and interior signage posted throughout the buildings that clearly display social distancing guidelines. Floor decals with spacing protocols and directional flow arrows are displayed in our buildings. During arrival and dismissal times, car rider lines are carefully and clearly marked with cones and decals to indicate where students are to stand and where cars may load and unload each day. School bus loading and unloading areas are also marked with floor decals. In each classroom student desks and chairs are spaced three-feet apart to the extent possible; subject to changes in DHEC/CDC guidance. Plexiglass barriers are available upon parental request. In areas such as Gymnasiums and other related Arts classrooms, floor decals designating student standing areas are marked six-feet apart. Restroom occupancy is limited to ensure that students are practicing proper physical distancing. Drinking fountains are no longer utilized, instead; touchless water hydration stations have been installed so that students will have access to water as needed. In areas where six feet of social distance may be compromised, physical barriers have been installed.
Handwashing and respiratory etiquette
GCSD follows appropriate hand washing guidelines established by the CDC. Hand washing stations are provided in all restrooms and in selected classrooms. Both signage and verbal instruction are given to students and staff members throughout the day regarding hand hygiene. 1. Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap. 2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails. 3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice. 4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water. 5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them. GCSD follows appropriate hand sanitizing guidelines established by the CDC. Hand sanitizing stations are provided in all classrooms and throughout the buildings. Both signage and verbal instruction are given to students and staff members throughout the day regarding hand hygiene. 1. Apply the gel product to the palm of one hand (read the label to learn the correct amount). 2. Rub your hands together. 3. Rub the gel over all the surfaces of your hands and fingers until your hands are dry. This should take around 20 seconds.
Cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, including improving ventilation
GCSD has taken substantial measures to improve the air quality in our facilities. We are upgrading our HVAC systems with Bipolar Ionization Units. These units will perform air exchanges six times per hour and treat the exchanged air. We are using new HEPA filters that are rated MERV-8 in these units. The filters are being replaced more frequently. The HVAC ducts are being cleaned during the replacement of the filters. Our HVAC units are running longer to maintain relative humidity levels of 40 - 60%. Our custodial teams have increased the daily cleaning schedule. We have Clorox 360 Machines (Electrostatic Sprayer) in all of our facilities to disinfect classrooms, restrooms, and other high traffic areas daily. In order to enhance the current cleaning measures, each custodian received a "Frequency of Cleaning Checklist" to detail the number of times areas are cleaned and sanitized daily. It is also the responsibility of each custodian to sign the checklist after each area has been completed. A classroom at the District Office has been converted to a storage warehouse to make readily available any cleaning supplies our schools are in need of for daily cleaning and sanitizing.
Contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine
GCSD follows DHEC guidelines for contract tracing, isolation and quarantine periods. The current guidance can be found at: https://scdhec.gov/sites/default/files/media/document/2021.2022-School-Guidance-Booklet-2.22.22.pdf
Diagnostic and screening testing
Rapid At-Home Test kits will be distributed by schools to students identified as close contacts. Test kits can also be ordered at www.nachw.org/covidtests. In addition, free testing sites in Georgetown County are available and accessible.
Efforts to provide vaccinations to educators, other staff, and students, if eligible
GCSD has partnered with Tidelands Health to offer vaccinations to educators and staff. Surveys were sent out to determine which employees wanted vaccinations, and whether they had made their own arrangements through other providers. Two clinics were scheduled for employees and several hundred staff members took advantage of the opportunity to get vaccinated. Tidelands Health has made vaccinations available to students age 12 and up, and GCSD scheduled vaccination clinics at each of our 4 high schools in conjunction with athletic physicals. These clinics were open to students accompanied by parents, staff and members of the community. In addition, Tidelands has clinics in Georgetown and Murrells Inlet that are open on a regular schedule and accept appointments for educators, other staff and students.
Appropriate accommodations for children with disabilities with respect to health and safety policies and practices
Students with disabilities are encouraged to wear face coverings as recommended; however, we recognize that all students with disabilities do not tolerate face coverings. Special needs classrooms socially distance students to the extent possible. Plexiglass barriers are available upon parental request. Teachers and assistants in these classrooms encourage proper hand hygiene with either soap and water or hand sanitizer. Instructions on proper hand hygiene are delivered in a way that all students can understand. Classrooms are sanitized with the Clorox 360 machine routinely and high touch surfaces are cleansed throughout the day. Students are assigned their own supplies for class. Supplies are not shared between students.
Coordination with state and local health officials
GCSD receives regular updates and files reports via e-mail and telephone from DHEC and SCDE. District staff monitors the CDC and DHEC websites daily for updates and reports on current conditions. GCSD created a medical advisory board consisting of physicians with the local hospital system, the local community clinic and with local private practice pediatricians which meets regularly to monitor local conditions and review practices and procedures. School nurses work closely with DHEC contact investigators and update the district's COVID dashboard on a daily basis.
District response on continuity of services
Academics: Continuing to provide a rigorous K-12 Curriculum that emphasizes differentiation for all learners with emphasis upon appropriate planning, instructional delivery and assessment; providing intervention and remediation to identified students; utilizing progress monitoring tools and materials. Professional Learning Team meetings will continue to be held by grade level, school-wide, and/or in district level format to unpack the standards, plan the instruction, assess the learning, and prepare for individual learning needs and create the appropriate instructional strategy through MTSS. Additional staff including Reading and Math Interventionists, teachers and Rehabilitative Behavioral Health Services (RBHS) counselors are being added for the 2021-22 school year. Virtual options can be reopened if circumstances dictate the need.
Social/Emotional: Meeting the social-emotional and mental health needs of students and staff returning to school (whether face-to-face or virtual) will be addressed through training and support for teachers so that GCSD can effectively create learning-centered and culturally responsive classrooms that build relationships and create foundations for academic learning to take place. These strategies include performing universal screeners for social and emotional health for students and staff, and providing support to students and staff as identified by the screening tool.
Mental Health: Mental Health needs are being addressed in several different ways. GCSD Staff that are in need of mental health services can contact the office of Human Resources and are provided a referral to the Employee Assistance Program. The mental health needs of elementary students are addressed by embedded social and emotional learning opportunities. Middle and high school students, staff and community are being trained in The Signs of Suicide (SOS) program that began this past spring semester and will continue in the fall semester of the 2021-22 school year. All students have access to our guidance counselors and school based psychologists. In addition, all district devices have the RELAY application installed, which sends an alert to district staff if someone uses key words referring to harm to self or others. GCSD utilizes the STOPit app which anyone can use to anonymously report health or safety concerns. Also, our middle and high school students have access to RBHS services which are provided by the district. Lastly, we have a MOA with Waccamaw Mental Health in which they provide limited coverage in all of our schools, as well as community-based services.
Student health: School nurses are updated on changes in policies and procedures related to student health on a routine basis. They remain current in their knowledge of isolation/quarantine periods, DHEC recommendations, and CDC guidelines. School nurses serve as the source of contact tracing within the schools and as primary contacts for DHEC contact investigators. Policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and updated in order to adhere to current governmental orders. The GCSD Medical Advisory Team, consisting of local physicians and pediatricians is consulted on a regular basis. Additional nursing staff is available to cover schools where the assigned nurse may be absent due to leave time or illness.
Periodic Review
Overview
Districts are required to review and, as appropriate, revise their Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan at least every six months through September 30, 2023, including seeking public input and taking such input into account in determining whether to revise the plan and, if revisions are determined necessary, on the revisions it makes to its plan.
If a district developed a plan prior to enactment of the ARP Act that was made publicly available and was developed with public comment, but does not address each of the required aspects of safety established in the ARP Act, the district must, as part of the required periodic review, revise its plan consistent with the ARP Act requirements no later than six months after it last reviewed its plan.
District response on ensuring periodic updates to its plan
Georgetown County School District will solicit input from our stakeholders at a minimum two times per year for the purpose of updating/revising our Safe Return to In-person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan. These periods of public input will take place in July and January from July 2021 to July 2023. After the input is collected and the plan is reviewed, the updated plan will be posted on our website and will be accessible to all.
In addition to surveys which will be sent to all stakeholders, we will also include these reviews with specific groups according to their established meeting schedules:
- Superintendent's Cabinet
- Superintendent's Joint Leadership Principal Meeting
- Superintendent's Support Staff Cabinet
- Superintendent's Student Cabinet
- Superintendent's Parent Cabinet
- GCSD Teacher Forum
- GCSD Medical Advisory Team
Public Input
Overview
The ARP Act requires that school districts make their Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan available to the public online and that the plans be in an understandable and uniform format; to the extent practicable, are written in a language that parents can understand or, if not practicable, orally translated; and upon request by a parent who is an individual with a disability, provided in an alternative format accessible to that parent.
Before making its plan publicly available, school districts must seek public comment on the plan and develop the plan after taking into account public comment.
District response on public input in development of its plan
Georgetown County School District sought public input from our stakeholders on our Safe Return to In-person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan through the following methods:
- Stakeholder surveys to include parents, students, support staff, teachers, and administrators
- Meetings and presentations with the following groups took place according to their established meeting schedules:
- GCSD Medical Advisory Team
- Superintendent's Cabinet
- Superintendent's Joint Leadership Principal Meeting
- Superintendent's Support Staff Cabinet
- Superintendent's Student Cabinet
- Superintendent's Parent Cabinet
- GCSD Teacher Forum
- GCSD Reopening Taskforce
- Email campaigns from stakeholders with responses
- Facebook comments from stakeholder
- District Taskforce Chairman's presentations at school board meetings with corresponding stakeholder feedback including Facebook comments, email comments and public comments
Public input was taken into consideration and decisions regarding revisions to the plan were made as deemed appropriate and necessary.
Previous Versions of Plan
Download a pdf version of the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan(June 21, 2021).
Download a pdf version of the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan (August 4, 2021).
Download a pdf version of the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan(Sept. 7, 2021)
Download a pdf version of the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan (October 6, 2021)
Download a pdf version of the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan (October 13, 2021)
Download a pdf version of the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan (January 20, 2022)
Download a pdf version of the Safe Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan (February 7, 2022)