Make-Up Days.......

HURRICANE FLORENCE MAKE-UP DAYS ANNOUNCED

In order to make-up days missed because of Hurricane Florence, Richland Two will now have school on:

• October 18, 2018 (originally a student holiday/teacher inservice day)
• October 19, 2018 (originally a student/teacher holiday)
• December 21, 2018 (originally first day of winter break)

As you know, Governor Henry McMaster issued an order for all schools in Richland County to close from Tuesday, September 11, through Friday, September 14.

State law requires all districts to make up a minimum of three days missed. For any schools that are closed four to six days due to snow, extreme weather conditions, or other disruptions, S.C. Code Ann. §59-1-425 allows for the local school board of trustees, by a majority vote, to waive those missed days or to require the days to be made up. For any schools closed six to nine days due to snow, extreme weather conditions, or other disruptions, the local school board may request a waiver from the State Board of Education.

As also required by the state law, Richland Two includes make-up days in our school calendar in anticipation of inclement weather. Since we missed so many days at the beginning of the school year, district administrators felt it was important to consider additional options. Making up the missed days this way ensures that semesters will remain balanced, which is important for semester-long classes that students will complete in January. This solution also allows for minimal impact on instruction and family schedules around traditional holidays and breaks.

To help make the best decision possible, a survey of seven different options was sent to a group of 210 people that included our school principals, our faculty advisory committee and our parent advisory committee. We received responses from 132 people, for a response rate of around 63 percent.  

The top choice of the seven options received 47 percent of the votes. The next highest option received approximately 17 percent of the votes. Additionally, the top overall choice was the most popular choice among principals, faculty, and parents. As a result, the district will use October 18 and 19, and December 21 to make up three of the days missed so far in the 2018-2019 school year. We would like to thank those who completed the survey and helped us to arrive at this decision.

Once a final decision has been made regarding the fourth missed day of school, we will be sure to communicate that with everyone. Thank you for your understanding of the necessary changes to the school calendar, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused by the closure last week. We look forward to continuing our journey this year on our pathway to Premier.