Learning to adapt: Local districts aim for flexibility, safety amid virus

TEXARKANA, TEXAS and ARKANSAS - This spring has shown school districts adapting to address uncertainty during the coronavirus pandemic. Now that they, along with parents and students, are nearly done with the 2019-20 school year, what will fall 2020 bring?

In the Texarkana Independent School District, officials say it is far too early to speculate on the 2020-21 school year.

Tina Veal-Gooch, TISD's executive director of public relations, said Texas superintendents attend a weekly phone conference with Mike Morath, the Texas Education Agency commissioner of education, so they can be on the same page in looking at the current and future situation.

"However, until final decisions are handed down from TEA, we believe it would be a disservice to our parents, staff and students to give speculation on what could possibly change for the 2020-21 school year," she said. "As information becomes set and fully detailed for us for the upcoming school year, we will be the first to let our parents, staff and students know."

She added that the districts expect more definitive direction this week from the state on the options for summer school.

Also, the Summer Meal Program will be held May 26 through July 4. It is available Monday through Friday for children and teens 18 and younger.

Meals will be served as follows:

 

BUS 1

Creekside Apartments

3333 Nichols Drive

10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

 

Beverly Park Community Center

2612 New Boston Road

10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

 

Deerfield Village

6500 W. New Boston Road

11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

 

Westridge Apartments

700 Sowell Lane

11:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

 

BUS 2

River Crossing Apartments

1023 College Drive

10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

 

Yorkshire Apartments

3620 Elizabeth St.

10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

 

Woodbridge Apartments

502 Belt Road

11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

 

BUS 3

Westwood Apartments

101 Redwater Road

10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

 

Town North Apartments

4624 Elizabeth St.

10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

 

Hampton Homes

1400 Jenkins St.

11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

 

BUS 4

Wake Ridge Apartments

924 Westlawn Drive

10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

 

Westlawn Drive Apartments

425 Westlawn Drive

10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

 

Renaissance Plaza

1100 Dan Haskins Way

11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

 

BUS 5

Pecan Ridge Apartments

2210 West 15th St.

10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

 

The Oaks Apartments

2100 W. 12th St.

10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

 

Rosehill Ridge

1101 Stuckey

11 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

 

Liberty-Eylau Independent School District

As of now, the district is planning to hold on-site face-to-face learning in the fall, district spokesman Matt Fry said.

"All indications from the state point toward working to make that happen. At the same time, we continue to support our staff and students in learning to implement virtual learning if needed," he said. "Our curriculum and instructional technology departments have worked to identify several resources to help facilitate virtual learning if necessary. The most noticeable inequity in at-home learning is access to reliable technology. On campus learning is still the most beneficial method of instruction for our students."

Safety protocols, including mask-wearing by all, temperature checks, seating arrangements and course sizes have not yet been determined, Fry said, and added that they would follow the guidance of state and local leaders regarding best practices to keep everyone safe.

"Additionally, L-EISD took steps even before COVID-19 to ensure hot water is available in all student restrooms, hand sanitizer stations are available in all buildings and custodial staff disinfects surfaces daily," Fry said. "The district also purchased several electrostatic sanitizing machines that disperse a disinfectant mist that adheres to hard-to-reach places. Our commitment is to use whatever resources we can to create an environment where everyone feels safe entering each day."

The district is also using Google Apps for Education, which allowed them to have a technological base prior to the epidemic. Fry said that Liberty-Eylau ISD's at-home learning structure allows teachers to take grades on coursework and provide feedback, assistance and support to students and their families.

Platforms like Google Classroom, Class Dojo, and hard copies of work allow students to access the work in a variety of ways. Online meetings through Google Meets also allow teachers to deliver instruction in both group and individual settings. Specific guidelines from TEA, like the ones created during this shutdown, will determine how grades are handled.

The district will also not host summer school for the summer of 2020, he added.

"Because all of our students missed a significant amount of on-campus the instruction, we will instead use this time to develop plans for a much broader approach to student intervention," Fry said.

For summer food distribution, the district will continue both remote food delivery and the on-campus pickup it has provided Monday through Friday each week since March 17.

"The district will continue this method of food distribution until we are able to resume on-campus learning," Fry said. "We have also established a partnership with the Brighter Tomorrow Foundation to hold community grocery distribution bi-weekly at the middle school to provide groceries and needed food beyond the daily meals. The district also operates a food pantry to assist community members in need."

Fry said that TEA is recommending that schools adjust their 2020-21 academic calendars to include more breaks in the event there are more delays or disruptions caused by the virus. L-EISD and other schools in Bowie County have had calendars with multiple breaks for the past several years, which gives them flexibility to ensure they meet class time guidelines, even if disruptions occur.

 

Pleasant Grove Independent School District

At PGISD, the district plans to follow the current 2020-21 school calendar and monitor local and state guidelines, said Shelby Akin, the district's marketing and communications director. She said monitoring will continue throughout the summer and the district does not anticipate making a firm decision on holding on-site or virtual classes until closer to the beginning of the school year.

"Right now, we are on track to begin school as normal on Aug. 10, 2020," she said. If on-site classes are held, Akin said they would follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Texas Department of Health Services.

She added that grading methods would not change and would continue to follow the policies currently adopted by the district's Board of Trustees.

Summer school will be offered online this year. Previously, those classes were held on campus, Akin said.

She did not have information at presstime for summer feeding programs but said the district would provide that information to the students and community as soon as possible.

Pleasant Grove ISD plans to honor the Class of 2020 at an in-person graduation ceremony at Hawk Stadium at 8 p.m. June 5.

 

Texarkana, Arkansas, School District

On the Arkansas side of Texarkana, TASD is also continuing to follow local, state and national guidance for the upcoming school year, said Genia Bullock, TASD's director of public relations.

"A successful return to on-site instruction is very important and requires a lot of planning and preparation," she said. "A coalition of educators from across the state of Arkansas are working diligently to provide guidance and resources to support the re-engagement of all students in the fall of 2020."

They expect to learn more about the reopening plans on Monday, Bullock said.

Arkansas school districts follow the guidelines included in the Re-entry and Re-engagement Plan Playbook, which is expected to be released Monday.

"Once the Playbook is released, TASD administrators and staff will move forward with planning logistics for safe re-entry," she said. "We anticipate that the Playbook will include guidance and specific details, such as wearing masks, temperature checks, etc., outlined by the Arkansas Department of Health."

Bullock said that working within those guidelines and directives, TASD will move forward with plans that will include some of the following essential components:

  •  Scheduling - minimizing opportunities for students to congregate throughout the school day.
  •  Transitions - minimizing the number of times students move from one class to another.
  •  Attendance policies - ensuring policies allow for flexibility and the ability for students to attend school from home if needed. Ensuring flexibility for teachers to allow for remote instruction to accommodate teachers and support staff who have underlying health conditions.
  •  Physical space - modifying or repurposing physical space to accommodate social distancing.
  •  School calendar - reevaluating the school calendar to provide flexibility and opportunity to maximize learning time.

For grading and assessments in the fall, Bullock said the district "will assess what worked during the time of remote instruction to ensure that every student, every day can continue to access learning opportunities in the future even during times of disruption."

Summer school will not be held this year, but the summer feeding programs will continue.

"Since TASD schools closed for on-site instruction in March 2020, the district has served over 85,000 meals," Bullock said. "Summer feeding programs will continue; however, TASD is evaluating the current process and working with other local agencies who are also offering summer feeding programs in an effort to fill any gaps. Information with summer feeding details will be available in the coming days."

Bullock added that the TISD food service workers, transportation department, staff, teachers and administrators have continued to work hard to ensure support for students and families.

"Although faced with various uncertainties, the COVID-19 pandemic has confirmed the strength and resilience of the Texarkana, Arkansas, School District, our students and the community we serve," she said. "TASD continues to encourage our students and their families, as well as the community, to stay connected with TASD via our website, www.TASD7.net, and social media sites (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) for the most up-to-date information.

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