Tomball ISD schools and facilities will be closed to students and staff Sept. 22, the district announced in a 7:33 a.m. statement. The closure comes as a precautionary measure amid inclement weather and potentially dangerous road conditions.
As a result, all students and staff will take part in remote learning Sept. 22, and all extracurricular activities have been canceled.
"If your child is already en route to school or at school, Tomball ISD is making arrangements to provide transportation back home," district officials said in the statement. "We apologize for the last-minute decision to move to remote learning on Tuesday and know this may cause an inconvenience for your family, but the safety and well-being of our students, families and staff is most important at this time."
According to district bell schedules for 2020-21, all junior high and high schools—excluding Tomball Star Academy and Creekside Park Junior High—had already started the school day prior to the 7:33 a.m. statement, with intermediate schools starting the school day minutes after.
The district announced around 8 a.m. Sept. 22 that buses will return to campuses to begin afternoon bus routes to bring registered bus riders back home upon the school cancellation. In accordance with its Return to Excellence Plan, the district cannot exceed its maximum capacity on a bus.
As such, families of students who are not bus riders are encouraged to return to school and pick up their child, according to a district announcement on Facebook. If families are unable to pick up their child, transportation will work with any children still at school to get them home safely. Students who have driven themselves are free to return home, according to the announcement.
Students opting for face-to-face instruction this fall will take part in remote learning Sept. 22 by logging into their Schoology accounts for announcements from their teachers, according to the statement.
"The district understands that electrical outages caused by bad weather could impact a student's ability to complete work online. In that case, students would be provided additional time to complete assignments once electricity is restored," officials said in the statement.
The district anticipates schools and facilities to reopen Sept. 23.
