More Orangeburg County schools going virtual; coronavirus leading to absences

Orangeburg Preparatory Schools will move to virtual learning for the remainder of the week.

Also, Orangeburg County School District schools that haven’t already shifted to virtual learning will move to virtual learning on Thursday and Friday. All students, staff and teachers will be 100 percent virtual those days.

Athletic events are cancelled for Thursday and Friday.

Also, Howard Middle School will move to virtual learning on Wednesday.

“Just in the last few hours, we had a number of schools report nearly 50% of their student bodies are impacted,” OCSD Superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster told school board members Tuesday.

He noted that more than 1,000 people are absent either because they have the coronavirus or they’re under quarantine.

“I appreciate the understanding and flexibility as we are trying to make the best possible decisions to keep everyone safe,” Foster said.

“It is tough to make these decisions and they all seem the last minute, but circumstances change so rapidly,” Foster said. “Our goal is always to give ample time for our parents to prepare and our teachers to prepare, but sometimes circumstances don’t always give us that luxury.”

OCSD students will return to their schools on Tuesday, Jan. 18, after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Orangeburg Prep will move to virtual instruction for the remainder of the week due to the number of faculty and maintenance staff out because of COVID-19, according to board of directors Chairman Michael Delaney.

“We cannot hold classes without teachers, and the school cannot be effectively cleaned and disinfected with the current number of custodians absent,” Delaney said.

Eleven teachers and three custodial employees are out during this time.

Delaney noted that the shift to virtual instruction is not due to the number of students with COVID.

Portions of OPS will remain open: the Child Development Center and birth through 3K.

However, after-school care will not be available for the remainder of the week or on Monday, Jan. 17, when the school will be closed in observance of the MLK holiday.

“We plan to offer after-school care when we return on Tuesday,” Delaney said.