Release by GCS.
Since last week’s announcement that our state-required LEAP (Learn Evaluate Analyze Prepare) days will be held August 17-21, Greenville County Schools has received several inquiries from parents seeking additional information.
First, while students in grades 4K-8 are not required to attend, we encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity to brush up on their skills and complete some state-mandated testing.
The South Carolina Legislature requires school districts to offer these days to students in response to the COVID-19 school closures prior to the start of the new school year.
The first official day of school in Greenville County is Monday, August 24.
Second, it creates an opportunity to demonstrate the safety measures that will be in place this coming school year.
Because the LEAP schedule adheres to Attendance Plan 1 in our back-to-school Roadmap, there will be fewer students in the classroom at a time day (in most cases 5-8 students), allowing for easier social-distancing.
Remember, 4K-8 students who plan to attend traditional in-person school in the fall will attend LEAP for half a day (7:45-10:15 for elementary, 8:30-10:45 for middle school) based on their color-grouping of red, blue, green or purple. “Blue” students whose last names begin with the letters A-D attend on Monday, “red” students (letters E-K) attend Tuesday, “green” students (L-Q) attend Wednesday and “purple” students (R-Z) attend Thursday.
5K-8 students who signed up for the Virtual Program may also attend LEAP the week of August 17-21, but will adhere to a later schedule (12:00-2:30 for elementary, 12:30-3:00 for middle).
They will also follow the color-coded groupings determined by the first letter of their last names.
Friday is a make-up day for any student who was unable to attend on their color-coded day.
High school students will ONLY pick up their Chromebooks on August 17-20 at their high school following Attendance Plan 1.
Teachers are encouraged to participate in the LEAP days, and will receive additional compensation for their time, but districts can’t require their presence.
As a result, some students may not meet all their teachers. Even if a teacher is not participating in LEAP the week of August 17-21, students will still get to see their school and learn where the bathrooms, cafeteria, and other parts of the school are located.
It is our hope that students who attend will be issued their Chromebooks that week. They will also take state-required tests to help determine academic strengths and weaknesses.
Both students and teachers will be required to wear a mask/facial covering and follow other precautions such as self-checking against symptoms, employee temperature screenings, handwashing/sanitizing, etc.
Breakfast and lunch will be served each day to students in the 4K-8 LEAP program.
Students must be enrolled in GCS to attend LEAP.
Transportation will be provided to those who completed their transportation forms by July 15 and requested bus service.
Parents should visit the GCS website or call 355-3111 to learn how to enroll their children if they were not in GCS last year or for information on requesting bus transportation.
In keeping with the original calendar, teachers will still report to school August 10 for teacher work days used to prepare for the new year.
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