“If a student or teacher in your child's school tests positive through a lab-confirmed test, we have requirements in place before they're allowed to return, and we also have notification processes to inform families if their child has come in close contact with a student or adult who has a confirmed positive COVID case,” Brent said.
These requirements and processes are outlined in the district’s back-to-school plan, Brent said, adding parents will receive campus-specific back-to-school plans from their child’s principal next week.
He said as updates are received from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Texas Education Agency, GISD is updating its own requirements to match those guidelines.
“The bottom line is that we are focused on preventing and keeping the virus out of our schools,” Brent said. “If we all work together and make these accommodations, I do believe we will see success and minimize the interruption of student learning.”
Plans include minimizing traffic to buildings that can expand the spread of the disease and making contact tracing possible if needed.
"We're also designing instruction that allows for flexibility in learning environments,” Brent said. “If needed, we could close only a classroom or hallway, possibly without needing to close an entire school. However, if we do need to close a class, what does that look like for you and your student?”
Every student will have access to an electronic device and will be encouraged to bring that device home each day, he answered. In the event that a student is impacted by a temporary closure of any kind, it is GISD’s intent that learning continues.
“Students will still be able to log in from home and complete school work until they can safely return to school,” Brent said. “If we needed to close a campus for an extended period of time, TEA says this cannot be for more than a five-day period to sufficiently sanitize and prepare for the reopening of the campus or the classroom. During any time of closure, student learning will continue in a remote environment that will not necessarily impact our academic calendar.”
