Colleton County students head back to class Monday but will release early due severe weather

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Students in Colleton County School District return to the classroom on Monday morning, but will dismiss early due to Tropical Storm Debby.

The district will release students early to ensure students and staff arrive home safely before the storm’s impacts ramp up.

“We are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the‬ safety and well-being of our school community. We are prepared to implement our emergency‬ response plans and will keep everyone informed with timely updates,” said Superintendent Jessica Williams.

Below is the bell schedule for Monday:

• Black Street Early Childhood Center will begin dismissal at 10:40 am‬

• All Elementary Schools will begin dismissal at 11:00 am‬

• Colleton County Middle School will dismiss at 12:15 pm‬

• Colleton County High School will dismiss at 12:30 pm.‬

‭“We are thrilled and anticipate having our students back on campus for the first day of school,” the district said.

“While we will be implementing an abbreviated schedule, all students must attend class on day‬ one. During the initial instructional day, students will be administered their Chromebook device‬ in the event that the district transitions to an e-learning day as we learn more about school‬ operations due to the severe weather’s impact on the community,” the district added.

School buses will be fully operational on Monday; however, some routes may be adjusted or suspended in the event of severe weather or blocked roads.

Nearly 5,000 students will head back to class for the 2024-25 school year. The district is focused on new initiatives, intensified learning focus, safety, and giving parents a voice.

Superintendent Jessica Williams welcomes students back as the district’s leader after having served as interim superintendent last year. “This is such an honor for me to serve my community because I’m vested in the community,” Williams said just days before the new school year.

The district has an amplified focus on reading and literacy. Williams said she will challenge students to read a certain number of books and incentivize them to reach their goals.

They’ll have welcome new programs focused on trades.

“We have barbering and nail tech that we are going to roll out at our Thunderbolt Career and Technology Center, and we also have a new STEM lab that we are rolling out at our middle school,” Williams said.

The district is still working to fill 30 teacher vacancies. A partnership with Kelly Services will help staff substitute teachers and a virtual platform will have certified teachers fill the gaps.

School resource officers are placed in all schools and every district location has metal detectors. Some even have weapons detectors. “We instituted some new equipment near the end of the year last year. We installed some weapons detection systems in our schools to make sure students are safe,” Williams said.

A new policy will also be in place for electronic devices. But wider guidelines are in the works.

“Our policy simply states that electronic devices can be used at the beginning of the school day and at the end. Electronic devices are not to be used during the school day. I know the state is looking at rolling out a new policy. They have not finalized that yet, but when they do finalize that, we will certainly get in line with state requirements,” said Williams.

The district is also looking to start a parent forum in the new school year where parents will have a say in some of the in-school initiatives. Details on that plan are forthcoming.