By Jerry Bellune
JerryBellune@yahoo.com
The Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks pose a new challenge for local educators.
How do you prevent those who may have been exposed from taking it to Grandma's house?

District 1 in Lexington, Gilbert and Pelion has a plan.
The Monday and Tuesday (Nov. 23 - 24) before Thanksgiving break and the Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 21 - 22) before winter break will become e-learning days for students in District 1.
Students will have school but all learning will take place virtually. 
No students will come to school for face-to-face instruction those  days. 
This does not change the beginning of Thanksgiving break (Nov. 25) or winter break (Dec. 23). 
“We believe this will help us keep you and your families safer over the breaks,” said Superintendent Gregory Little.
If  students or staff members test positive for covid-19, the  district begins contact tracing immediately, said the district's Kathryn McPhail.
School nurses trace that individual’s steps through the day to determine who has been in contact with that person, then contact parents to let them know. 
Although complicated, this helps prevent spreading the virus. 
By not bringing students into school on the Monday and Tuesday before the holiday breaks, the schools can more accurately complete contact tracing and notify families before they head out for holiday gatherings.
“We believe that this will help families know before they gather over the holidays, if they could inadvertently put some of their family members at risk and helps us prevent a situation where a student or staff member gathers with family and friends for a holiday meal without knowing they could be exposing them to the virus,” Dr. Little said.

The Chronice contacted the other 4 districts for their plans.
Dawn Kujawa of District 2 in Cayce and West Columbua said, "We don't have any additional steps to our current health and safety protocols but we continue to evaluate daily."
We will let you know as other districts reply.
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