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July 22, 2020
Bandera ISD releases school reopening plan
By Jessica Nohealapa'ahi Goode
The Bandera Prophet
Bandera ISD classes will resume Monday, Aug. 17, with two options for learning: on-campus or remote instruction.
Communications Director Suzy Groff said teachers, assessments and instruction between remote and on-campus learning will mirror each other. She said there is no comparison between what remote learning will look like in the fall, and what it was like at the end of the last school year.
“In the spring, everyone across the state was treading water to get through the end of the school year,” Groff said. “We went from brick and mortar to virtual in five days. There were huge learning curves.”
During the first few weeks of school, teachers will give assessments to determine where the students are versus where they should be. Groff said the teachers have had intensive training to identify any potential gaps, and they have been given the tools to help fill those gaps throughout the school year.
All students will receive their own electronic devices in what the district is calling a 1:1 (one-to-one) program. Pre-k and kindergarten students will be given touchscreen Chromebook tablets, and first through 12th graders will receive Chromebooks.
On-campus students and teachers will receive a daily health screening with a touchless thermometer, observe social distancing and wear masks when transitioning between classes, when working in small groups and when social distancing is not possible.
If an on-campus student registers a temperature of 100 degrees or more, he or she will be sent home.
Remote students should have internet access (if a student does not have regular access to the internet, assignments may be uploaded/downloaded on a preset schedule), will need to log in daily on Google Classroom, have interaction with teachers via the internet or telephone, and will be expected to work independently. Remote students may transition to on-campus instruction only at the end of a six-week grading period.
Students who select remote instruction will be allowed to participate in UIL and extra-curricular activities on campus as long as he or she is present during the related class periods and before/after school practices for those activities as required.
Bus services will not be available for those activities.
When on campus, remote students will have their temperature taken and will wear a mask when required.
The University Interscholastic League (UIL) has not provided guidelines on student and audience participation in extra-curricular activities. Also, although the Texas Education Agency has not provided any guidance yet on standardized tests, Groff said the expectation is that there will be no waiver this year.
“Right now, the TEA energy is on getting us open,” she said.
Groff said TEA will allow districts to count attendance for remote learners as long as the students engage in a virtual classroom that day in a verifiable way - such as submitting an assignment in Google Classroom or contacting a teacher in Google Meet.
Families will be expected to make a commitment to one of the two learning methods, which will be coordinated and aligned should students need to switch between them due to illness, school closure or other unforeseen issue.
For more detailed information, including registration, commitment, extra-curricular classes and more, go to the www.banderaisd.net and look for the Road to Reopening 2020.
Communications Director Suzy Groff said teachers, assessments and instruction between remote and on-campus learning will mirror each other. She said there is no comparison between what remote learning will look like in the fall, and what it was like at the end of the last school year.
“In the spring, everyone across the state was treading water to get through the end of the school year,” Groff said. “We went from brick and mortar to virtual in five days. There were huge learning curves.”
During the first few weeks of school, teachers will give assessments to determine where the students are versus where they should be. Groff said the teachers have had intensive training to identify any potential gaps, and they have been given the tools to help fill those gaps throughout the school year.
All students will receive their own electronic devices in what the district is calling a 1:1 (one-to-one) program. Pre-k and kindergarten students will be given touchscreen Chromebook tablets, and first through 12th graders will receive Chromebooks.
On-campus students and teachers will receive a daily health screening with a touchless thermometer, observe social distancing and wear masks when transitioning between classes, when working in small groups and when social distancing is not possible.
If an on-campus student registers a temperature of 100 degrees or more, he or she will be sent home.
Remote students should have internet access (if a student does not have regular access to the internet, assignments may be uploaded/downloaded on a preset schedule), will need to log in daily on Google Classroom, have interaction with teachers via the internet or telephone, and will be expected to work independently. Remote students may transition to on-campus instruction only at the end of a six-week grading period.
Students who select remote instruction will be allowed to participate in UIL and extra-curricular activities on campus as long as he or she is present during the related class periods and before/after school practices for those activities as required.
Bus services will not be available for those activities.
When on campus, remote students will have their temperature taken and will wear a mask when required.
The University Interscholastic League (UIL) has not provided guidelines on student and audience participation in extra-curricular activities. Also, although the Texas Education Agency has not provided any guidance yet on standardized tests, Groff said the expectation is that there will be no waiver this year.
“Right now, the TEA energy is on getting us open,” she said.
Groff said TEA will allow districts to count attendance for remote learners as long as the students engage in a virtual classroom that day in a verifiable way - such as submitting an assignment in Google Classroom or contacting a teacher in Google Meet.
Families will be expected to make a commitment to one of the two learning methods, which will be coordinated and aligned should students need to switch between them due to illness, school closure or other unforeseen issue.
For more detailed information, including registration, commitment, extra-curricular classes and more, go to the www.banderaisd.net and look for the Road to Reopening 2020.