How a Decision is Made to Open, Delay, Close, or Release Early
District personnel will be in contact with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, weather officials, local law enforcement, York County Office of Emergency Management and the South Carolina Highway Patrol to monitor weather conditions. Once information has been shared, district officials will make the decision to open, close early, cancel school or have a delayed opening.

Safety First
Parents are encouraged to have a plan in place if a delay is issued or school is closed for the day. The plan should avoid leaving young children at home unsupervised. It is also the responsibility of parents and employees to determine if conditions are safe enough to travel to school or work along their daily commuting route. If school is on a delayed schedule and parents must drop off their children before school is scheduled to begin, parents must accompany their child into the building to ensure that the school is open and supervision is available.

Early Dismissal

• If a decision is made to close early, telephone calls will be made to individual schools by district office personnel and announcements will be made to students and staff.

• Parents/guardians will be notified via the district's Blackboard phone system. The district will post information on district and school websites (www.clover.k12.sc.us), on Facebook, Twitter and the Clover School District mobile app.

• Afternoon and evening classes, programs such as Adult Education, extracurricular activities, and sports practices or games will not be held.

• School employees will be dismissed at the discretion of the principal. However, principals will need the help of employees to provide for adequate supervision of students left at school until they are released to their parents/guardians.

• Twelve-month employees will be expected to remain at work until dismissed by their supervisor.

Cancellation of School

• A decision will be made by 5:00 a.m. Parents and employees will receive an automated telephone message beginning at 5:15 a.m.

• When possible, decisions will be made the evening before to allow parents and employees as much advance notice as possible. Notification will include an electronic telephone message.

• Parents and employees will also be notified through the district's website (www.clover.k12.sc.us) and on Facebook, Twitter and the Clover School District mobile app.

• Local news media, such as The Herald, CN2, WRHI, and Charlotte television stations WBTV, WSOC, WCCB and WCNC will be notified.

Delayed Openings

• When the decision is made to delay the opening time for school, the district will use the same channels of communication in notifying parents and employees as in the "Cancellation of School."

• Breakfast may or may not be served, but lunch will be provided.

• Employees will be expected to arrive at school at the usual but safest time. Some parents will bring their children early, and administrators will need assistance from their staff in providing supervision for students as they arrive.

• Non-certified salaried employees must make up time missed, or they must charge time missed to personal or vacation leave, if available. A minimum of two hours will be deducted.

• Non-certified hourly paid employees may make up time missed due to a delayed opening within the same work week at the direction of their supervisor.

Making Up Time Missed for Students and Staff

• Make-up dates are listed on the district's master calendar which can be located on the district's website.

• Teachers and other district staff should refer to the employee handbook in regard to making up time missed.

E-Learning Overview

On rare occasions, the Superintendent or his/her designee may decide to close school due to inclement weather or other emergencies.  In the event of a school closure, Clover School District will work to ensure that learning opportunities continue while at home. Factors including hazardous conditions and ability to access the internet and electricity will be considered when determining to utilized eLearning.    The school district will communicate school closures and the scheduling of an eLearning day via automated phone calls, district/school websites, social media (Facebook) and local television/radio media.  

 eLearning can be delivered synchronously and/or asynchronously.  Synchronous instruction is delivered in real time with teachers and students working together.  Asynchronous delivery provides assignments that students can access on their own schedule.  Asynchronous delivery can include educational videos found online or audio/video resources that teacher record prior to the eLearning Day. 

 Please note that eLearning differs from Virtual Learning.  Virtual learning is the term for students enrolled in Clover Virtual Academy/Impact Academy.  If Clover School District calls an eLearning Day, students enrolled at Clover Virtual Academy/Impact Academy will also participate in eLearning.  Instruction can be delivered synchronously via WebEx or asynchronously.  

 An eLearning Day, a term approved by the SC Education Oversight Committee, may be called when staff/students cannot access district buildings and must learn from home.  

 The state requires 5.5 hours of instruction for elementary/middle grades students and 6.0 hours of instruction for high school students.  Of the prescribed hours, 200 minutes of active instruction (participating in WebEx sessions, listening to audio recordings, watching videos) is required.  

 District eLearning Goals

• Promote the safety, health, and welfare of students and staff

• Provide high quality learning opportunities for all students 

• Support student needs

• Provide opportunities to meet school attendance/calendar requirements

 Lesson Expectations

Content

The student workload will be appropriate for the age/grade level and the subject area/content.  Learning will be meaningful and based on SC Academic Standards.  Activities should be related to the current unit of study in the class; however, the work may be a review of previously taught content. Work should be on grade level, with appropriate levels of rigor and expectations. 

Time

Based on the current state regulations, educators must ensure that students are engaged in learning for a cumulative duration of 5.5 hours during e-Learning days for elementary students and 6.0 hours for middle/high school students. Among the total engagement time, a minimum of 200 minutes of instruction should be delivered to students, and these instructional minutes can be delivered through various methods (direct instruction, reading, studying, viewing assigned lessons or videos, and completing assignments).

 The start time for school on eLearning days will be:

• Elementary (Grades PK-5) 7:30 a.m.

• Middle (Grades 6-8) 8:00 a.m.

• High School (Grades 9-12) 9:00 a.m.

 Attendance & Grading

Attendance is based on submitting assigned work no later than 5 school days after the return to school.  Attendance is not based on the accuracy submitted. Teachers will submit the names of students who do not attempt any assignments to the school’s PowerSchool Clerk who will mark attendance. 

 A grade may or may not be assigned based on the accuracy of the work.