Greenville County Schools to Resume In-School Book Fairs Starting January 2025

Greenville County Schools to Bring Back Book Fairs in 2025

Exciting news for educators, students, and parents alike in Greenville! Superintendent Burke Royster announced during the October 22 meeting of the GCS Board of Trustees that the district plans to resume in-school book fairs starting in January 2025. This decision comes after a temporary pause in book fairs that began in August, which stirred up quite the conversation among the community.

Initially, the decision to suspend book fairs stemmed from compliance with the South Carolina Regulation 43-170. This regulation details how instructional materials, including books sold during fairs, must be made available to students. It seems this regulation had a significant impact on the plans for the much-loved book fairs, making parents and students nationwide miss this vital event.

The Return of Book Fairs

However, over the past couple of months, the district has worked diligently to navigate the regulations and design a new process that allows schools to hold book fairs while still adhering to the state guidelines. Here’s how it will work:

• Four weeks prior to a book fair, vendors must submit a list of titles to the schools for review by the media specialists.
• This list will be shared with parents to ensure transparency, giving them the opportunity to review the selections.
• To attend the fair, students will need to present a signed permission form from their parents.

It’s a win-win! The district has already reached out to several book fair vendors, and two have signed on to comply with these new regulations. There’s optimism that others will follow suit. Superintendent Royster expressed his confidence in the plan, stating, “We believe we have a positive path forward, and there should be no reason for schools not to be able to conduct book fairs at their location if they choose to do so.”

Changes on the Horizon

But that’s not the only thing Greenville County Schools is rolling out! The Board of Trustees also approved a new student assignment plan for the upcoming Reedy Laurel Elementary School set to open in 2025. This plan will shuffle school boundaries for over 900 students, including around 600 students who will be reassigned to the new elementary school located at 61 Isbell Lane, close to where Ridge Road crosses over Interstate 85.

This monumental change will affect students from Mauldin Elementary, Pelham Road Elementary, and Sara Collins Elementary. Families already impacted by this decision have been notified, and the district has held multiple meetings to gather input from parents and guardians. Community engagement is a top priority for making these transitions as smooth as possible.

Weather-Related Interruptions

As a side note, Hurricane Helene had quite the impact this fall! The storm forced GCS to close from September 27 to October 8 due to widespread outages affecting both power and internet access. To accommodate for lost instructional time, the district extended the first grading period by five days, reaching the new end date of October 21.

In light of the missed school days, the district is requesting that the General Assembly forgive the eight days lost during the hurricane. They believe that making up these days would not be feasible, especially since changing weekends or holidays into school days often leads to lower attendance rates. Important factors like inflexible graduation dates and standardized testing schedules have weighed heavily on this decision as well.

So there you have it, Greenville! With the exciting return of book fairs and changes in school assignments on the horizon, it’s clear that Greenville County Schools is committed to fostering a positive, enriching environment for all students. More information will surely come as we approach these new developments, and the community’s enthusiasm is palpable!