PfISD Pfamily Pflyer
Weekly Parents/Guardians Update: Aug. 26, 2021
Dear PfISD Parents & Guardians
By now, I am sure that our teachers and admin staff on our campuses are getting back into the groove, and all the kinks and bumps have been smoothed out after the first few days of school. Every year there are things to be worked out in the arrival/dismissal lines, bus routes, cafeteria, and other areas, but our principals and teachers always come together to find solutions and streamline their areas of need. That’s what it means to be a team.
We will continue to find areas we can improve as the year moves forward, and we will continue to find solutions to any obstacles that may arise.
As I have mentioned previously, many things could change throughout the year because of the pandemic. That is the nature of a pandemic. When more information becomes available through research or data, guidance from our medical and government officials may change as well.
Taking that in mind, the TEA recently made changes to their requirements for teachers and staff regarding COVID-19 testing. The TEA is now requiring all teachers and staff who are deemed close contacts of a positive COVID case and continue to work, to be tested regularly. TEA stipulates that the employee must be rapid tested before the start of work every other day until day 10. PfISD has testing kits available on all our campuses through the school nurse. Employees must schedule their testing appointments with their school nurse.
PfISD will continue to require masks in all our facilities for students, staff, and visitors. We are limiting visitors to necessary visits only. If it is possible to take care of the reason for the visit via an online meeting or phone call, we are asking all potential visitors to do that instead.
Information on our current COVID-19 protocols and practices is available on our Return to Learn 2021-22 page at https://www.pfisd.net/Page/7853.
PfISD is not requiring staff or eligible students to get the vaccine. I encourage everyone in our community who has not been vaccinated to speak with their personal health care provider or doctor about their individual health and the vaccine to make an educated decision on whether or not to receive the vaccine.
PfISD is providing vaccine clinics on some of our campuses for those who are not yet vaccinated and would like to be. These clinics are also open to age-eligible students (12 and up) with a legal guardian’s consent and presence during administration. More information on dates, times, locations, and how to sign up are further down in this week’s update.
COVID-19 Dashboard
As we have indicated, for every lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 case on campus, PfISD continues to contact trace and notify staff and parents of students who may be considered close contacts. Additionally, we have continued to provide a dashboard that shows a weekly and cumulative total of all positive cases, both as a district and by campus.
Positive cases will be added to the dashboard throughout the week, and the total will be finalized every Friday for a weekly count.
In an abundance of caution this school year, we have expanded our contact tracing protocols to include all students within a classroom, not just those within a certain distance for an extended period. Last year we only sent letters to those who were within six feet of the positive person for at least 15 minutes. We will also include all students on a bus, should the positive individual ride the bus to school. Because of these changes, we are sending letters to a larger number of parents and staff, and you may receive multiple letters, especially for our secondary students who interact with more students and staff. Again, we are doing this as an abundance of caution and to provide as much transparency as possible to our parents and staff.
If you receive one of these letters, please monitor your student for COVID-19 symptoms. At this time, PfISD does not require close contacts to quarantine. Only the positive individual is required to quarantine. Quarantine is optional for close contacts, and any students who choose to quarantine will have their missed days counted as an excused absence. Please contact your child’s school if you plan to quarantine your student. Staff who choose to quarantine as a close contact will utilize their leave days, as with other illnesses.
PfISD COVID-19 Dashboard: https://www.pfisd.net/Page/8013
*This is subject to change by TEA and DHHS
$50 H-E-B Gift Cards for Vaccines
We are excited to have partnered with Austin Public Health Authority in a joint effort to provide opportunities for our students' age 12 and up to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. We have upcoming clinic dates for Dessau Middle School and Westview Middle School. Due to construction, we were unable to provide vaccine clinics at these sites during the summer. These clinics are open to all eligible PfISD students, not just those who attend the campus hosting the clinic.
The APH will also be providing a $50 H-E-B gift card to ALL individuals who receive their first or second dose of the vaccine at our Dessau Middle School clinic on Monday, Aug. 30. That means a family of four could receive $200 to H-E-B if all members of the family are 12 or older and receive either their first or second dose during Monday’s clinic.
The APH Pedi Mobile Vaccine Program will provide COVID-19 Vaccinations using Pfizer vaccine for our students and their families. A legal guardian MUST be present for all minors receiving the vaccination. Persons receiving vaccination will be required to wait at least 15 minutes post-vaccination.
Parents are requested to complete this survey to sign up to ensure we have enough vaccinations available at each location. Clinics will be held on the following campuses (all locations are open to all PfISD students age 12 and up and their families.
- Dessau MS on Aug. 30 from 4-5:30 p.m.* with the second dose on Sept. 20 from 4-5:30 p.m.
- Westview MS on Aug. 31 from 4-5:30 p.m. with the second dose on Sept. 21 from 4-5:30 p.m.
Parents are encouraged to bring the completed consent forms linked below
* $50 H-E-B gift cards to ALL individuals receiving their first or second dose during this clinic
SafeStop Bus Notifications
Receive PfISD Text Messages
Pflugerville ISD offers a service that will allow us to deliver important information to you via SMS text messaging. This service is intended to enhance the district's means of communication.
The district will only use the service to provide information that is timely and relevant. In order to participate in the new service, you must indicate your willingness to receive text messages to your phone. The process is simple and only takes a few seconds to complete.
Simply text any one of the following words to the number 68453: subscribe, opt-in, yes. You will know you were successful if you receive the following reply message:
Please note, only legal guardians whose contact information is currently tied to a student in the district’s student information system can opt-in to the text message system. If your number is not tied to a student in our district, the system will not accept your opt-in request for these notifications.
Please note, although the district does not charge you for this service, it does not pay for text message charges that may be incurred by you for sending or receiving text messages. Check with your wireless carrier for possible charges.
The service is provided by SchoolMessenger, the company which currently performs phone calls for absences and district emergencies. Subscribers may opt-out at any time by texting "STOP" 68453.
Athletics Ticket Sales Online Only
PfISD ticket sales for athletics events will be entirely online this year. Spectators will be provided electronic tickets, and will have the option to print out tickets to be scanned at the gate. Cash transactions will be prohibited on gameday.
The move to electronic ticket sales eliminates the need to exchange and handle cash, and proved to be efficient last year when implemented by PfISD Athletics.
PfISD also is eliminating season ticket sales, as was done last year. Reserved seat tickets will also not be sold this football season. However, certain passes, including Gold Passes, which allow senior citizens free access to athletic and fine arts events, will be accepted.
Spectators will be able to purchase tickets online as early as the Monday before each home game. Tickets will be available at 2021 GameDay Tickets: The Pfield .
PfISD high school varsity teams will each play home games at The Pfield. The district will host 20 home games at The Pfield this year, beginning Aug. 26 with two non-PfISD schools facing off. Due to construction delays for Hutto High School’s football stadium, Hutto will take on College Station on Aug. 26 at The Pfield.
For the full slate of 2021 season games at The Pfield, see below.
Dress Code Changes
PfISD is dedicated to increasing awareness and modeling an inclusive environment for its learning community. As our thinking and efforts evolve to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning environment, an opportunity presented itself related to dress and grooming standards.
During this past summer, we engaged faculty and staff in reviewing our dress and grooming standards. Specifically, our committee adjusted measures that focus on articles of clothing rather than on gender and grooming standards. As a result, Pflugerville ISD is adjusting its dress and grooming standards to strive for a more effective response to understanding, respecting, and valuing our student population's unique and diverse needs.
While we realize that this decision is happening when school has already begun, the expectation is and has remained the same. As addressed in our core beliefs: we believe diversity is our strength and that all individuals have worth. We seek to ensure that students are at the heart of every decision and at the core of everything we do. You can review our adjusted dress and grooming standards by clicking on the link below.
Please continue to socially distance as much as possible, wash your hands and wear a mask. This school year, we will continue to find learning opportunities and activities to prepare our students for success in and out of the classroom.
Together this Pfamily can do anything, and through the challenges, we are #MovingPforward.
In the best interest of children,
Dr. Douglas Killian
PfISD Superintendent of Schools