BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPROVE DELAY TO SCHOOL START DATE

STUDENTS TO BEGIN WITH ONLINE INSTRUCTION

The SFDRCISD Board of Trustees approved a recommendation by the Administration to delay the start of classes for all students attending SFDRCISD schools for the 2020-2021 school year. The first day of school will now be on Wednesday, August 26, 2020.
District leadership explained that instruction for the first three weeks will be delivered entirely online, which means students will remain at home until September 16th -18th, when students who selected a traditional or hybrid model of instruction will slowly reintegrate in limited groups each day to allow staff and students to review safety routines and campus protocols. The Administration also clarified that all extra-curricular and UIL activities will remain suspended until mid-September.
In the last few weeks, SFDR campus leadership and staff have been able to communicate with 93% of the parents in their school community. Roughly 36%, or 3,152 students will return to school using a traditional model, 49% or 4,347 students will continue their instruction completely online, and 11% or 1,004 students have chosen to participate using the hybrid model. Of the parents that were polled, only 19%, or an estimated 1,692 students will need a device and an estimated 4% or 334 students will need internet connectivity. The District shared that while many learning devices (iPads, laptops and desktops) are already available for distribution, they have also ordered additional devices and are working with internet service providers to help support internet connectivity and academic learning district-wide.
The District is also working on finalizing plans for training parents who opted for their children to participate in online and hybrid learning. Parents will have various options to receive training on the Google and Canvas platforms. These training sessions will be available in both English and Spanish, and will be conducted through Zoom. The District will be posting information regarding these trainings in the coming weeks on the District website and on each school’s webpage.
District and campus leadership are also working to finalize Campus Handbooks that will detail specific protocols and procedures for returning to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Before we open our schools and our classrooms, before instruction and learning resumes, we are thoroughly and carefully reinforcing our plans and outlining procedures” stated superintendent of schools, Dr. Carlos Rios. “We will be implementing best practices recommended by the Texas Education Agency, the CDC, and the Texas Department of State Health Services to train our parents, our students and staff in preparation for a safe return to school.”