INDIAN LAND, S.C. — For the next eight days, all students at Indian Land Intermediate School will be learning virtually.
In a letter mailed to parents and guardians on Friday, Aug. 27, the Lancaster County School District said about 40 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases among students and staff had been confirmed since school started on Aug. 16. Those cases have kept about 475 students and staff out of the building, which the district says is about half of the school's population.
“A bit frustrated, overwhelmed,” Indian Land parent Crystal O’Gorman said when asked how she’s doing. “I think a lot of parents feel this way.”
O’Gorman told WCNC that she has two students at different schools in Indian Land, and both are home under quarantine. Her sixth grader is a student at Indian Land Intermediate School.
“I remember specifically whenever we went to the intermediate school open house, and the hallways were like packed shoulder to shoulder,” O’Gorman said.
On Friday, the Lancaster County School Board held an emergency meeting for four hours. The board eventually voted to allow students to quarantine for 10 days instead of 14 days, if they don’t show any symptoms, wear a mask and socially distance.
“My child is at home for two weeks,” one parent said at the meeting. “And do you know how much school work they’ve sent her? Math has sent her two days of work and social studies has sent her one day of work. Two weeks. She was out on the third day of school. Where is she getting her education from?”
O’Gorman said she listened to the meeting virtually, and what she really wanted to see was discussions on a mask mandate in Lancaster County schools.
“I was really surprised that they didn’t even want to talk about requiring masks,” O’Gorman said.
Virtual instruction began on Monday, Aug. 30. Students will return to the classroom for face-to-face instruction on Tuesday, Sept. 7.
Contact Indira Eskieva at ieskieva@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.