Back 2 School: Georgetown County students head back to class Thursday

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – It’s the first day of school for students in Georgetown County and the first year under a new year-round modified calendar.

While the district welcomes students back to the classroom about a week earlier than others in the Lowcountry, the calendar includes extra week-long breaks in October and February and ends the year in late May rather than the first week in June.

“It’s not what you would traditionally think of with year-round. Students still go to school 180 days. Teachers still work 190 days. All of our principals still work 240 days,” said Georgetown County School District Superintendent Keith Price.

Superintendent Price said one pro for the new modified calendar is that a shortened summer would reduce the summer learning slide. And a week off at the end of every nine-week period gives teachers and students a chance to take a break and get back on track.

“We’re trying to build in a couple of academic support days along the way. So, our plan is to target students who are not being academically successful and invite them to come in and do some remediation- make-up work,” said Price.

All students in the Georgetown County School District will also receive free breakfast and lunch during the 2023-24 school year.

The school district served about 828,000 school lunches during the 2022-23 school year and hopes that meal participation will increase by approximately 6% to 875,000 through the initiative.

“Participation in the (Community Eligibility Provision) program will allow all of our students to enjoy a healthy breakfast and lunch each school day,” said GCSD Board Chair William Gaskins. “Providing these meals at no cost helps to ensure our students have the nutrition they need throughout the school day to learn and achieve academic success.”

And to make communication a little easier this year, the Georgetown County School District has launched a new phone app with everything parents and students will need to know from important updates to events, lunch menus, and more. You can download it by clicking here.

Elementary and intermediate schools will start at 7:30 a.m. this year. There is no change in start times for middle and high schools.