Greenville County Schools will reopen Wednesday, October 9 and transportation will run modified bus routes. Families will be contacted directly if a temporary bus stop is necessary; please answer and listen to voicemails to receive this information. Tuesday, October 8, will be a teacher/all staff workday. There will be no in-person school or eLearning for students; school and district offices will be open to the public. There are no field trips for the rest of this week. Decisions regarding athletics will be made on an individual basis and announced through the schools.
The decision to reopen on Wednesday is based on the need to modify bus transportation routes, practice running those routes during daylight, and enable teachers to return to the buildings to revise their instructional plans on Tuesday, as well as to provide more time for crews to clear roads and restore power.
Transportation
Buses will be rerouted in areas that cannot be navigated, and temporary bus stops will be established and communicated to families. Following tomorrow’s assessment, a delay of routes on Wednesday may be necessary; however, buildings will be open at their regular times and will accept walkers and car riders at the regular times. We ask that if families receive a phone call from the District or an unfamiliar number, please answer the call and listen to voicemails to receive your alternative bus stop location.
300 GCS team members drove 9,000 miles on Friday to assess the conditions of the routes from students’ homes to schools and found 1,500 issues, including downed and low-hanging power lines, significant amounts of debris in the roads, complete road blockages, closed bridges, sinkholes, and traffic signal outages at major intersections.
Monday morning, teams reassessed road conditions, noted improvements, and documented more than 1,000 remaining issues that necessitate considerable bus rerouting. Despite working all weekend and today, additional time is needed to account for the updated conditions assessed today, complete rerouting, and communicate to families.
Tuesday, bus drivers will drive the modified bus routes during daylight hours in order to ensure familiarity with the route and any obstacles they must navigate around.
Academics
Following the eight-day school closure, it is necessary to revise instructional plans. We are extending the end of the first quarter by five instructional days, from October 11 to October 21, to allow for time to make up missed content. The second-quarter end date, December 20, will not change.
More than 50% of teachers currently do not have Internet access at home, have not had the ability to work on this during the closure, and must return to the buildings Tuesday to adjust their instructional plans. This, paired with the fact that many families remain without Internet access, also makes eLearning not feasible.
Food
All cafeterias have been fully restocked and are ready to provide full meal service starting Wednesday.
Athletics
Athletic teams will be allowed to hold optional practice between 2:00-6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. This allows them to condition as a team for the first time in 13 days, so they are prepared physically for competition before the end of the week. Other decisions regarding athletics will be made on an individual basis and announced through the schools.
Field Trips
Due to the loss of instructional time and road conditions, all field trips are canceled through Sunday, October 13.
Other Information
Several of our school locations are still being used as staging areas for utility crews, which may necessitate workarounds at those specific sites for traffic and parking, which will be communicated by those principals to their communities.
The Committee of the Whole meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 8 at 9:00 a.m. will proceed with an abbreviated agenda covering storm response and recovery and the student assignment plans for Reedy Laurel Elementary and other schools. The meeting will be open to the public.