UPDATED: Feb. 1, 4:45 p.m.
Three Fort Bend ISD schools are moving to online learning the week starting Feb. 1, while one other campus will move online Feb. 2 due in part to teacher and staff shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Austin High School, Barbara Jordan Elementary School and Oakland Elementary School began online learning Feb. 1, and Crockett Middle School will pivot from face-to-face to online learning Feb. 2
Additionally, James Patterson Elementary School, Oyster Creek Elementary School, Madden Elementary School, Hodges Bend Middle School, Christa McAuliffe Middle School and Dulles High School will remain online for the week of Feb. 1-5.
Pecan Grove Elementary School, Ridgemont Elementary School, Ridgemont Early Learning Center, Travis High School, Willowridge High School and the James Reese Career and Technical Center—which were learning online last week—have returned to face-to-face instruction.
As of 7 a.m. Feb. 1, there are 261 active COVID-19 cases—174 among the student population and 87 among staff.
UPDATED: Jan. 26, 9:40 a.m.
Three additional Fort Bend ISD schools pivoted to complete remote learning beginning Jan. 26 and running through the remainder of the week, according to an announcement from the district. This brings the total number of FBISD campuses engaging in online-only learning due to COVID-19 to 12.
The three schools are Oyster Creek Elementary School, Dulles High School and Willowridge High School.
While the district intends to return to face-to-face instruction at these campuses, the length of online learning is based on teacher and staff availability, among other factors, FBISD said in a release.
POSTED: Jan. 25, 12:18 p.m.
The Fort Bend ISD COVID-19 Response Team has decided to transition several schools from in-person instruction to online learning the week of Jan. 25-29, according to an alert posted to the district’s website.
The nine schools engaging in only online learning are as follows:
- Travis High School, which first went online the week of Jan. 18
- James Patterson Elementary School
- Madden Elementary School
- Pecan Grove Elementary School
- Ridgemont Elementary School
- Ridgemont Early Literacy Center
- Hodges Bend Middle School
- Christa McAuliffe Middle School
- James Reese Career and Technical Center
During the Jan. 19 Fort Bend ISD board of trustees meeting, Superintendent Charles Dupre said the decision to move campuses completely online is centered around business continuity, or the ability to have school face to face, not the number of cases.
“There just comes a point where ... you’ve got to say, 'We’re going to send everyone home for a period of time, get the building sanitized, give everybody a chance to heal who may be sick or who may be exposed,'” Dupre said.
Dupre said some campuses are seeing significant teacher and staff absences and a lack of substitute teachers or other district staff to fill these vacancies, and that staff continues to monitor data daily.
“We cannot have school if we don’t have teachers and staff to run the school,” Dupre said.
As of 7 a.m. Jan. 25, Fort Bend ISD reported a total of 281 active COVID-19 cases, including 187 in students and 94 in employees, according to the district’s coronavirus dashboard. Furthermore, at the district’s 11 high schools there are 110 cases: 98 cases across all elementary schools, 49 cases at middle schools and 24 cases at other district facilities.
Find more information about online learning, including bell schedules, child nutrition and extracurriculars, here.
