#DragonStrong
Braver. Smarter. Stronger.
Summer Fireworks & Survey Results
Dragon Families,
Well, it's the middle of July and nothing feels normal yet. There are so many mixed messages flying around that it feels like a full-blown fireworks show carried over from the 4th of July. Federal, state and county agencies continue to battle the COVID-19 surge with new mask orders, restrictions on mass gatherings and guidelines to try to mitigate the spread of the virus. All this makes planning for the 2020-2021 school year as difficult as ever. But we are working diligently to prepare for the first day of school by implementing social distancing measures, new safety protocols and limiting large group gatherings when possible. A good number of districts across the state are under new county orders requiring virtual instruction only, but so far there's been no new announcements for Tarrant County schools. Our goal has been to offer parents a choice, but it is unclear currently if there will be mandates in place preventing some options. Thank you for participating in our parent and staff survey. We learned a lot by your feedback and will be using this information for planning purposes and to provide additional FAQs for employees and parents. The results are provided elsewhere in this newsletter and have already been posted to our COVID-19 website.
We took a short break from our weekly #DragonStrong correspondences after successfully holding a modified graduation, but we now plan to resume the updates as we approach August. Our Dragon eBlasts are published each Tuesday and Thursday in June/July, and we are updating our webpages and social media posts as needed.
Hopefully you had a chance to celebrate the July 4th holiday with your family. Special thanks to the City of Southlake for providing an alternative Stars & Stripes fireworks show for our community to enjoy. Your city and school leaders are doing all that we can to manage through this pandemic situation. No doubt social media is exploding with questions and opinions about the reopening of school.
Here's what we know today. . .
Mask Order In Place
Feedback as you can imagine is mixed about how to handle face masks/coverings when school starts. What we can tell you right now is that CISD must follow Governor Greg Abbott's Executive Order that is in place. If you come to a CISD facility right now, you must wear a face mask. While our staff doesn't have to wear a mask at their personal desk, they must be worn moving to and from one location to another. Children under the age of 10 are not required to wear masks. There are other exemptions like when athletes are working out, you are giving a speech or presentation or if you have a disability or special need that prevents you from wearing a mask for health reasons. To be clear, masks right now are required in many instances, and CISD will follow the guidelines, but no one knows what the mask order will look like in August when school opens. The debate will no doubt continue from those supporting mask mandates and those against them, but rest assured TEA has reminded all public schools, that we will have to follow the Governor's order on this topic. Even when masks are not mandated, they are highly encouraged and in the case of younger students, a parent's choice.
COVID-19 Case Update
We continue to monitor the number of COVID-19 cases in Texas, watching carefully the number of available hospital beds and the case count specifically for Southlake and the surrounding areas. Of the three CISD student athletes who tested positive in June, none of the other cohort athletes or coaches tested positive as a result. Based on information provided to CISD, all tests came back negative. The district has not changed its approach to informing families of positive cases involving our athletic workouts, especially when it can involve requirements to quarantine.
We have been notified that there was one athlete who tested positive for COVID-19 who was part of a local baseball travel team. This athlete did not take part in Performance Course workouts. As a result, the CISD athletic program made the decision to temporarily halt the baseball skills workouts for a couple of nights to assess the facts. It has been more than two weeks since the athlete attended anything associated with CISD, so there should be no risk of exposure to our coaches or other athletes. The student and one other travel teammate who tested negative but was exposed, are being asked to quarantine as required. Anyone that has a positive test will not be allowed to participate until they receive a negative test or a doctor's order saying that they can return.
CISD was also notified that two of our coaches started experiencing symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19 during summer break. These coaches were not around students in the past 14 days, and are quarantining as required by the Tarrant County Health Department. A third coach has come into contact with a positive COVID-19 case outside of Carroll ISD and will have to quarantine and be tested. Anyone who tests positive will be required after the 14 days to have a negative test result or doctor's order before returning to work. Even with a negative test, a staff member or coach who has been exposed cannot return until the full 14-day quarantine period ends.
CISD now has several of its employees facing quarantine either because they tested positive (but have not been in contact with students) or someone in their family tested positive. A good number of the staff members are not on contract and haven't been to CISD buildings at all. The district is following guidance from the Tarrant County Health Department in managing situations and offering support to CISD staff who are able to work from home during quarantine periods. Thankfully, most of the symptoms or illnesses that we are aware of involving CISD staff or their children have not been severe. Still, we are mindful of the health and safety of our employees and our students as we maneuver through these uncertain times.
New Guidelines From TEA
Last week, the Texas Education Agency released some guidelines related to schools managing in-person instruction during a time of COVID-19. The guidelines were not particularly surprising or helpful, but the district updated our Fall Planning Guide to reflect the updated guidance. It is our understanding that the Texas Education Agency and the federal government will require school districts to offer in-person instruction five days a week this fall. As a result, we made plans to open for in-person instruction the first day of school for students, August 17, and we are planning safety protocols and cleaning efforts to protect students and staff. TEA does allow districts to begin the school year with up to three weeks of virtual instruction if local leaders so choose. Just this week, districts in counties with a surge in COVID-19 cases and/or hospitalizations, announced they plan to begin school virtually. some of those have announced three-week virtual instruction and some have announced as many as six weeks. In Hidalgo County, the judge there ordered virtual school only and no extracurricular activities until after September 27. In the Austin area, schools cannot begin in-person until at least after Sept. 7. So far, no decisions have been announced officially in our Northeast Tarrant County schools, but we are monitoring the situation and discussing all options locally. One thing is for sure, the start of school will look different for everyone as we move to some virtual events and cancel some large-group gatherings.
Large Group Gatherings
We want you to know that the decision to cancel Convocation, field trips and other large-group gatherings in the fall, has more to do with mitigating the impact of quarantine requirements than anything else. While schools have been told a positive case could result in a five-day shutdown for cleaning/disinfecting, individual quarantine periods can last from 10 to 14, to as many as 24 days if you are a caretaker of a family member with COVID-19. That guidance comes on a case-by-case basis from the Tarrant County Health Department. Holding large group gatherings increases the chances that multiple individuals will have to quarantine for long periods of time even if they show no symptoms. Therefore, CISD has moved Administrative Planning Retreat, New Hire Orientation, Curriculum Nights, Parent Conferences and other events online, when possible this fall. Again, this is less about the actual virus or severity of symptoms and more about reducing the risk of long-term quarantines for all school employees and families.
We don't have information today on all large group gatherings like the community pep rally, Friday night football games or Homecoming 2020. Those decisions, we believe, are imminent, but we won't have back-to-school guidelines or directives from the state until we get a little closer to school and can review the Governor's latest Executive Order. We will make announcements as we are able and after consulting with county and local leaders, including health experts. We know as of now that the Fall Craft Fair typically held each year at CSHS has already been canceled by the CSHS/CHS PTO.
Band Competition Announcement
Our band families were notified today that the difficult decision has been made to cancel the competition season for the marching band. Carroll ISD is joining numerous other districts across the Metroplex in making the decision not to participate in UIL marching band competitions this fall. We shared a copy of the Band Director's communication on our COVID-19 website under district communications. As of right now, summer band will begin on Monday, August 3. CISD will continue to closely monitor local, state and national guidelines to help guide us in making appropriate safety adjustments and decisions for the band program this fall.
Bus Transportation
Even as we watch for announcements by Governor Greg Abbott and TEA about August start-up plans, CISD will go ahead with plans to begin selling bus passes for the 2020-2021 school year. As mentioned in our Fall Planning Guide online, our goal is to have one student per seat on the bus, with two in a seat if it involves siblings from the same household. This drastically decreases our ability to provide sufficient bus transportation for all riders. However, we do believe based on our survey feedback that some parents who have purchased bus passes in the past will either choose virtual instruction or transport their own child to/from school.
Passes will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis until a route/bus is full at approximately 26 riders. Others will then go on a waiting list. Bus pass information will be released in our eBlast and on our COVID-19 website. Sales begin Monday, July 20! If you are a parent that relies on bus transportation for your child, please be watching for a link to purchase your child's bus pass. Keep in mind that bus ridership is by parent's choice and not mandatory.
Choosing In-Person or Virtual Instruction
TEA has indicated that school districts may begin asking parents what method of instruction they choose with only two weeks notice before the start of school. Before we do that, we will provide more details on what that instruction might look like. Expect further details on both methods of delivery to come to you in a communication from CISD the last week of July. Based on the TEA guidance, we will open up our Annual Student Verification in Skyward Family Access from August 3-12. We reduced the window by two days just to give CISD a little more time to work through staffing and scheduling before the first day of instruction. During this time each family will be asked to complete the online process and indicate specifically for each child in the family what type of instruction you want for the first grading period. CISD will follow all Executive Orders set forth by Governor Greg Abbott at the time school opens, of course. Our plans are to offer parents a choice between In-Person and Virtual Instruction. The district's instructional plans will be described in our late July communication in more detail so parents can make informed decisions.
As we draw closer to August, we will share more information with you on a regular basis, including a weekly #DragonStrong newsletter update. Be sure to check our Tuesday/Thursday Dragon eBlasts for information and watch for official communications/notices from CISD. Our eBlasts will return to daily communications beginning August 3.
Try to enjoy the rest of your summer, Dragons!
Stay safe & be well,
CISD Leadership Team
Music Center Work Progressing
Survey Results Provide Valuable Feedback
Thank you to all our Dragon families and staff members who participated in our fall planning survey. We continue to review the results. Keep in mind that parents will be asked during Annual Student Verification (Aug. 3-12) to indicate if your child plans to participate In-Person or Virtually for the first grading period. The choice will be yours and you can decide independently for each child.
A survey of our students in grades 5-12 is planned for release on Monday, July 27. The questions will focus on social-emotional wellness and any concerns our students have about COVID-19 or proposed safety protocols as we approach the new school year. The survey will be anonymous, but will provide feedback to our counselors and leaders about how best to support our students during this time of uncertainty.
Cultural Competence Action Plan Presentation Scheduled August 3
Carroll ISD is aware of current and former students who are posting personal experiences on social media as part of a group called Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition (SARC). Today we posted a statement to our District Diversity Council webpage about our work to eradicate bullying, harassment, and discrimination of any kind.
The DDC is planning a meeting in July for one last review of the plan before CISD shares it in DRAFT form with the public. You can read more about our statement and the forthcoming plan on our DDC website.
Stay Healthy & Flatten The Curve
Key steps in mitigating exposure to COVID-19:
- Educate yourself on the symptoms and prevention of COVID-19;
- Wear a mask or face covering that goes over your nose and mouth;
- Practice social distancing and stay six feet away from others;
- Do not hold sleepovers, playdates and group events;
- Wash hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap is not available;
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in the trash;
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands;
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick;
- Stay home while you have a fever or experience illness;
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
Follow Us On Twitter
Email: julie.thannum@southlakecarroll.edu
Website: www.southlakecarroll.edu
Phone: 817-949-8222
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southlakecarrollisd
Twitter: @carrollisd