Null said although the district did not know Abbott was going to make his recommendation, CISD was planning on extending its closure anyway. There has been some discussion of closing schools for the rest of the semester, but Null said the prospect of even going back to schools for a short period of time provides people with hope.
“For all of us in this community, we have a desire to get back to what we think is normal,” Null said. “If we have the opportunity here at the end of the year, even if it’s only for three weeks, to get back to some semblance of normal before we go to the summer, we would like to do that.”
Null said Abbott may extend the closure or the district may decide to remain closed if the outbreak continues. Parents may choose to keep their children at home if the schools open, but Null said that conversation is still distant.
Grades, graduation and good news
In previous livestreams, Null said assignments given during the break would not be strictly graded as the focus would be on continuing instruction, not grading. However, with the extended closure, Null said grading guidelines will be sent out to teachers and parents in the upcoming days, but no student’s GPA or grades will be negatively affected by the closure.
If schools remain close for the duration of the summer, Null said the district is prepared to do “re-teaching” in the fall if necessary. However, investing in distance learning makes any re-teaching more feasible.
“We’re not going to allow this situation to hurt any students,” Null said.
Null said will be making small adjustments for its online assignments, but urged parents to do what is right for their own household, whether that is taking breaks or doing family activities.
“Keep doing what you’re doing and keep doing what you can,” Null said. “What we’re asking you to is not only hard; it’s borderline impossible.”
All proms have been canceled through the closure, but graduations are still set to go on as planned. Null said the district has already made moves to obtain backup dates for graduations later in the summer.
“If there’s any possible way to have a graduation ceremony on the days we currently have scheduled, we will stick to those dates,” Null said.
Null said the district will be working on a basis of “essential operations” which means almost all district work will be done remotely. He said calls to campuses will go unanswered, but voicemails will be quickly returned by employees working from home.
“[Essential operations] will be our mode for the upcoming weeks,” Null said.
The district will continue to offer meal distributions as planned on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Members of the CISD community can volunteer at the Caney Creek High School location for meal distribution and delivery. Those interested can email Principal Jeffrey Stichler at [email protected]. Null also urged CISD residents to donate to the Montgomery County Food Bank and other nonprofits in the area to protect against food insecurity.
In positive news, Null said the district is donating masks, gloves and other supplies to the Montgomery County Hospital District for first responders and hospital workers. He said campus nurses are also volunteering throughout the county, and Texas Torque, the CISD robotics team, has started using its 3D printer to make face shields.
