From: fox34.com
As the fall semester comes to a close, Lubbock-area schools are using what they’ve learned through the pandemic to improve online learning.
Since mid-August Lubbock ISD has reported 1,849 total COVID-19 cases. Superintendent Kathy Rollo says there’s been a decrease in its overall case count over the past week.
“We believe the Thanksgiving break gave us a chance to deep clean and our people came back and are very diligent about following protocols,” she said.
With just a few weeks left, administrators are looking ahead. Lubbock and Frenship ISD both plan to continue virtual learning, but the percentage of remote learners may drop.
“We started our year with about 30 percent of our students in our virtual school. That percentage has decreased with each nine week grading period. And when we come back after the holidays, we will be just below 20 percent of our students in virtual school,” Rollo said.
The Texas Education Agency issued a provision allowing administrators to decide whether a student should return to face-to-face learning based on their performance.
Lubbock-Cooper ISD ended its virtual learning component in mid-October.
“And the thing about that was for us, not speaking for any other district, but for us, is our kids were really struggling academically, but they’re also struggling emotionally and socially,” Superintendent Keith Bryant said.
The district still allows remote learning for medical reasons and students in quarantine. Byrant says the pandemic has only emphasized the important of face-to-face instruction.
“Virtual learning, while it’s necessary during these times, has really been a challenge for the younger kids because they crave that social interaction,” he said.
On top of scaling back virtual learning, Lubbock-Cooper and Lubbock ISD offer COVID-19 testing to all staff members to curb the spread.
“We’ve tested about 800 of our staff members and we are going to expand that testing after the holidays to students as well with parent permission of course,” Rollo said.
When it comes to vaccine priority, Superintendent Rollo say teachers will be a part of phase one to receive it, but no specific timeline has been set.