District Three continues to take COVID-19 very seriously. Since the onset of COVID-19, we have taken steps and precautions to keep our school environments as safe as possible.
We continue to take precautionary steps to keep our schools as safe and healthy as possible. Those include, but are not limited to: extensive cleaning, smaller class sizes, spaced classrooms, and monitored extracurricular events. Our staff also works diligently to instruct proper hand washing and respiratory etiquette within the school day for all students.
Hand washing stations with soap and/or hand sanitizer are available in classrooms. Students are reminded to wash their hands frequently with soap and water, particularly after entering the building or classroom. If soap and water are not available, students should use hand sanitizers. High-touch surfaces (doorknobs, handrails, light switches, etc.) will be cleaned with disinfectants throughout the school day. All District Three staff follow cleaning and disinfecting protocols according to SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines.
Whenever symptoms of COVID-19 appear at school, teachers will send students to the health room to be examined by the school nurse. If the school nurse believes the symptoms indicate the probability of COVID-19, parents will be notified immediately and asked to pick up the student from school. Until the arrival of the parent, the student will be isolated from other students and required to wear a mask while he/she is waiting to be picked up. Parents should update health records, emergency phone numbers and provide the school nurse with the latest health information on students.
School nurses and a district administrator will communicate directly with the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) to determine the next steps in each situation when COVID-19 symptoms are present in students or teachers. The DHEC exclusion and notification guidance will be followed, along with the DHEC re-entry guidance when a child is ready to re-enter school after being excluded for a case or symptoms of COVID-19. School nurses will comply with HIPAA regulations in the handling of COVID-19 cases.
Our buildings filters were increased from MERV 8-10 to MERV 10-14. We also increased the introduction of outside air. This summer and fall, our buildings will be installed with bipolar ionization units to provide the highest air quality to our students, parents, and faculties.
Our district feels confident with these guidelines and policies in place to ensure our students and faculties have access to a safe learning environment.
For information on how we track our COVID-19 cases within the district,
please click here.
For more information on how we use state and federal funding to keep our students and staff healthy,
please click here.