2 Clarendon 4 schools switch to temporary virtual learning amid staff shortage, COVID-19 surge

Due to the recent COVID-19 surge, two Clarendon County District 4 schools will move to virtual instruction for six days.
Clarendon 4 Superintendent Angela Bain announced Monday evening that Dr. Rose H. Wilder and Walker Gamble elementary schools will operate remotely beginning Wednesday, Jan. 12. Friday is an in-service day with no student attendance, and Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday in which school is already closed. Bain said the shift to remote learning was due to “high staff absenteeism” with several staff members out due to COVID-19.
These two schools are the only elementary schools in Clarendon 4, and there are five schools total in the district that encompasses Summerton and Turbeville.
As cases continue to rise, other schools that have returned from winter break have also made the switch to online learning, including seven schools in Sumter School District that have shifted or will shift to online learning this Thursday with a "hopeful" return on Tuesday, Jan. 18.