Students in Georgetown and Williamsburg counties head back to the classroom
GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – It may seem like summer has just begun, but more than 10,000 students will return to the classroom on Thursday morning under a year-round modified calendar.
Over 8,000 students in Georgetown County head back to school with new leadership, a new cellphone policy, and additional safety measures.
Dr. Bethany Giles was named interim superintendent for the Georgetown County School District over the summer after Keith Price accepted a job in another district. She has over 23 years of experience in education.
“This is home. It’s a pleasure to always be home, but I’m looking forward to serving and leading our team to greater accomplishments and successes together,” Dr. Giles said.
Georgetown County was among the first local school districts to implement a modified year-round calendar last year. While that schedule continues this year, there is a minor change for academic support days – an opportunity for more students to take advantage of remediation opportunities.
They have also implemented safety monitors in the four high schools to set up weapons detection and run metal detectors.
There is also a Green Tag Bus System in place this year for grades K through 2nd. Students will have green tags to help school bus drivers know which guardian they can safely exit the bus with.
Students will not be allowed to use cell phones or other devices that are not authorized for classroom use this year.
Williamsburg County’s nearly 2,000 students also return to school on Thursday morning with calendar changes and enhanced safety measures.
They sampled the modified year-round calendar model last year, but this will be the first full year with the changes. “We’re using a new modified calendar, which really means it seems like yesterday we got out of school. We think this is going to enhance the learning experience of our students,” said Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Wymbs, who is in his third year as the district’s leader.
Dr. Wymbs said they lost about 2,000 students during the coronavirus pandemic and they are working hard to get those students back into the classroom. Still, they are excited about academic gains over the past few years.
“We continue to improve and we’re excited. Our scores are embargoed, but I think the community is really going to be excited to see the work of all our stakeholders. It’s a group act. It’s our community, our teachers, administrators, our students, our custodians, everybody plays a role in this organization,” he said.
The district added metal detectors and implemented a clear bag policy and a no hoodie policy. They will add resource officers to elementary schools – that means there will be an SRO in every school in the district.
“We are adding SROs in every school, and I think that’s important. That will be new. We’re upgrading our SROs, the capacity of our SROs,” said Dr. Wymbs.
