You and Two

• BUDGET INPUT SESSION

• JOIN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT SCHOOL START TIMES

• LEARNING MODEL CHANGES DURING PHASE 3
  

• PURPLE UP FOR MILITARY KIDS: APRIL 23

• BOARD POLICY UPDATE
  

• IMPORTANT DATES
  

• REMINDER ABOUT ASYNCHRONOUS ELEARNING DAYS
  

• PHASE 3 MEAL PLAN
  

• UPCOMING BOARD MEETING
  

• ANNUAL REGISTRATION FOR 2021–2022 SCHOOL YEAR STARTS 4/26/2021
  

• SPRING SC READY AND SCPASS TESTING
  

• FREE COVID TESTING CONTINUES IN APRIL
  

A Budget Input Session for the Richland School District Two community will be held 5-5:30 p.m. on April 13, 2021 in the Conference Center at R2i2 located at 763 Fashion Drive, Columbia, 29229.

The Richland Two Board of Trustees and district administrators are holding the input session to give employees, parents, students and community members the opportunity to provide suggestions for next year’s budget. The suggestions shared during the input session will be considered during the development process of the FY 2021-2022 General Fund Budget.

A timeline for the budget development process is available on the district’s website at: www.richland2.org/budget

All individuals in attendance at the input session will be required to wear masks and observe social-distancing protocols.

Over the past few years, district administration has been researching and evaluating school start times. This project started as a result of research published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This project also came as a result of a pattern we saw a few years ago with late buses, particularly at the high school level.

This school year, district administration has continued the process of researching and evaluating school start times. We’re now at the point where we’re prepared to share findings with our partners — employees, students, parents and community members. We invite you to sign up for one of the virtual Community Conversations listed below to learn more about:

• the research on sleep times

• a review of survey data

• some school start time scenarios

Each Community Conversation will consist of a short presentation and an opportunity for participants to provide feedback to district administrators. We are offering four Community Conversation opportunities. The same content will be presented at each meeting. Click on a link below to sign up for a meeting and be part of the conversation!

• Tuesday, April 20 via Zoom @ 5:30 p.m.

• Thursday, April 22 via Zoom @ 7 p.m.

• Monday, April 26 via Zoom @ 5:30 p.m.

• Thursday, April 29 via Zoom @ Noon

Parents must contact the school to request the change by the deadline. The process for requesting the change may vary by school.

• Deadline for submitting request: 9 a.m. on April 26
• Change will go into effect on: May 3 for the remainder of the school year

Click here to read more about the Learning Model Options for the remainder of the 2020–2021 school year.

Approved at the March 23, 2021 Board Meeting:

• GBGAB - Lactation Accommodation ** New Policy

• GCOA - Evaluation of Instructional Staff ** Changes to existing policy

April 15 & 16 – Asynchronous eLearning days for students/Vaccine Clinic for Richland Two employees

April 23 – Early Dismissal for all students (10:50 a.m. Middle, 11:30 a.m. Elem, 12:30 p.m. High)

April 27 — School Board Meeting

April 30 — Early Dismissal for all students (10:50 a.m. Middle, 11:30 a.m. Elem, 12:30 p.m. High)

May 7 – Early Dismissal for all students (10:50 a.m. Middle, 11:30 a.m. Elem, 12:30 p.m. High)

April 15 and 16, students complete assignments on their own. Teachers will be available to assist students during designated office hours.

Parents/eLearners students continue to have the ability to pick up free meals from curbside sites on Fridays. Students will receive a variety of meals including sandwiches and frozen items with reheating information such as burgers, chicken nuggets and chicken sandwiches.

April 16 from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.

• Dent Middle

• E.L. Wright Middle

• Longleaf Middle

• Muller Road Middle

• Summit Parkway Middle

• R2i2

THE FOLLOWING PLAN FOR MEAL PICKUP WILL BEGIN APRIL 23 THROUGH THE END OF SCHOOL:

Fridays from 8–10:00 a.m. (due to early dismissal times) at:

• Dent Middle

• Longleaf Middle

• Muller Road Middle

Fridays from 8 a.m.–12 p.m. at:

• R2i2

The Richland School District Two Board of Trustees will hold a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, April 13, 2021.

The board meeting will be called to order at 5:30 p.m. and the board will immediately adjourn into executive session. Public session will resume at 6 p.m.

The meeting will be held in the Conference Center at R2i2 located at 763 Fashion Drive, Columbia, 29229. In order to allow for social distancing due to COVID-19, the seating capacity for the members of the public who wish to attend the meeting in-person is limited to 30. Individuals attending the meeting must wear face masks.

In case that capacity is reached and to provide members of the public the ability to watch the board meeting from the safety of their home, the meeting will also be streamed live at http://www.richland2.org/livestream.

Click the following link to view the agenda for the April 13 Board Meeting:

http://go.boarddocs.com/sc/rsd2/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BWCKF8510CC3

Public Participation is on the agenda for the April 13 meeting. The Board sets aside a maximum of 30 minutes (15 minutes at the beginning and 15 minutes prior to the end of the public portion of the meeting). As each speaker is allotted three minutes, Public Participation will be limited to the first 10 people who sign up to speak (five during the first Public Participation and five during the second Public Participation). The sign-up to speak will open at 5 p.m. and close at 5:45 p.m. on April 13 in the lobby of R2i2.

PAST MEETINGS: Click here to view the video of the March 23 meeting and here to read the minutes from the meeting.

UPCOMING BOARD MEETING: April 27, 2021

Annual Registration is the online process that includes providing proof of residence, verifying student information, and reviewing and completing parent/guardian forms. To prevent delays in scheduling your child’s classes for the coming school year, please complete this process as soon as Annual Registration opens.

Set a reminder on your calendars now to complete Annual Registration on 4/26/2021. Click here for a step-by-step guide.

The South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY) is a statewide assessment program in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics administered to students in grades 3–8 over a period of three days (two days for ELA and one day for mathematics).

The South Carolina Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (SCPASS) is a statewide assessment in science administered to students in Grades 4 and 6 in a single day.

SC READY and SCPASS assessments must be administered in-person, at school. There is no option to take these tests from home, because they were not designed to be administered in that manner. Providing a safe environment for in-person testing will be a top priority for our schools and the district, as testing serves a critical role in informing our instructional practices and can be beneficial to students as well. Various programs across the district use SC READY and SCPASS scores, along with other criteria, as part of their selection process. Additionally, students with exceptional scores on SC READY may qualify for Gifted and Talented programs.

While we encourage all of our students to take the assessments we do recognize the unprecedented nature of this school year and that some of our families are uncomfortable having their students come to school to take state-mandated assessments. In a March 29 press release, State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman noted as much, stating “While we encourage all students to participate, we are relying on and empowering families to make the best decision for their child when it comes to end-of-the-year tests. If a family determines that it is unsafe for a student to attend school for the sole purpose of taking a test, we will not penalize them, their teacher, or their school.”

Specific test dates and information about bus transportation for eLearners will be communicated soon. If you have any questions about state assessments please contact your student’s school and ask to speak with the School Testing Coordinator.

The free COVID-19 testing site at R2i2 (763 Fashion Drive, Columbia) will remain open during the month of April, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Monday–Saturday. Click the image on the left to pre-register to save you time at the testing site.