We say shocked tongue in cheek like Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca did when he left the roulette table only to find gambling happening at Rick’s Cafe.
The numbers mirror our previous reporting and confirm what is now five parents’ complaints that the school does not do enough to keep surfaces clean or enforce mask requirements – particularly on younger children.
Not Really Shocking Harry Stone COVID19 Numbers
As we previously reported, COVID19 cases jumped by a factor of almost ten overnight after we reported on data we were able to collect from paents and sources in both Dallas Independent School District and the Dallas County Health Department.
It remains unclear why school officials chose to try to hide hard data on the pandemic within the school walls, but this continues previous behavior of hiding information about the assault of a teacher by a student and improper cash handling of student account fees.
It appears a COVID19 coverup at Harry Stone is not new, but ongoing. This follows our reporting earlier this summer about a teacher assaulted by a student and questions about financial misuse of student activity money at the Dallas Independent School District southern Montessori campus.
The Dallas ISD dashboard currently shows two staff cases of COVID19 at Harry Stone, but in written conversations with six school parents there are allegations the number may be as high as twenty-two with seventeen student cases.
In one instance a parent reports the school nurse asked the parent not to submit positive COVID19 case history so that the district dashboard would not reflect the case.
The parent said in a written email, “She told me just to let [the student] do course work online and the student would be fine. I pressed the issue because the student was lethargic and didn’t want the student to work while sick and also didn’t want the student to be counted absent. They didn’t want to have to document a case and I wonder how many parents they did that too.”
Another parent indicates their child was diagnosed COVID19 positive, but does not have any possibility of community transmission. They only go to and from Harry Stone and do not otherwise go out.
Four separate parents have stated in similar stories that personnel at Harry Stone Montessori Academy privately confirming multiple students and staff members testing positive, but that they are not sharing the information with parents. It is not clear if they are sharing the information with Dallas ISD administrators either.
COVID19 Coverup At Harry Stone Continues Bad History
Earlier this summer we reported on a large percentage of teachers leaving Dallas ISD’s South Dallas Montessori campus. That resulted in dozens of calls and emails that show teachers are leaving due to campus assaults by students of staff members.
Two Zoom meetings were held by Trustee Maxie Johnson who stated he thinks parents are racist for bringing up assaults against teachers. We have reached out to Mr. Johnson for comment repeatedly without success.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott spreads COVID19 in McKinney, Texas at a fundraiser at Heritage Ranch on earlier this week.
Abbott attended a fundraiser for the Republican Club at Heritage Ranch and the video above clearly shows him in close contact with dozens of other unmasked attendees at the venue.
A statement from the governor’s office said that everyone Abbott was close with has been notified of possible exposure to COVID19. He is currently being treated with monoclonal antibodies at the Governor’s Mansion.
The Governor’s spokesman would not comment about Abbott’s personal responsibility. The Texas Governor has said personal responsibility should be the standard on whether or not to wear a mask.
Abbott Spreads COVID19 In Schools Too?
Abbott is fighting against mask and vaccine mandates in Texas and issued an executive order prohibiting businesses and schools from requiring masks or vaccines to enter.
On Monday, Iraan-Sheffield ISD, a district about an hour south of Midland, Texas announced it would shut down its three campuses until August 30th. Bloomburg ISD and Waskom ISD also are shutting down campuses in light of COVID19 numbers in rural Texas.
Texas is actively seeking out-of-state health care personnel to help with the latest COVID19 surge. Abbott has also asked hospitals to voluntarily postpone elective medical procedures.
One physician in a Facebook post openly spoke about triaging pediatric trauma victims because of a lack of bedspace and not being able to accept patient transfers because local pediatric facilities are being used by adults.
COVID19 Retreat
While Abbott is asking other states for assistance in fighting coronavirus his leadership at Texas Education Agency is still balking on mask requirements. Austin ISD and Dallas ISD have both announced they are moving forward with mask requiements anyway.
Dallas ISD just sent an email to parents saying masks back on as of August 10, 2021 confirming our story that Superintendent Michael Hinojosa may defy Governor Abbott and the Texas Education Agency on mask requirements.
“Masks Back On” Statement
The full statement from Dallas ISD:
Due to CDC recommendations and the red level alert issued by Dallas County based on the rise of hospitalizations among all age groups, including children, Dallas ISD will temporarily require all staff, students and visitors to wear masks while on district schools and other facilities effective Tuesday, Aug. 10. Dallas ISD is committed to maintaining the safety and well-being of students and staff and will continue to provide masks and other protective equipment to schools, conduct contact tracing and sanitize facilities regularly. If you have any questions about this requirement, please contact your child’s school directly. To look at other safety COVID measures implemented by the district, please visit www.dallasisd.org/covidsafety.
Dallas ISD‘s Superintendent Michael Hinojosa May Defy TEA on virtual learning.
Classes have resume in several local ISDs including five campuses on an alternative Dallas ISD Calendar to make up for learning losses, but students are not showing up.
“We only got half the kids at our five schools from our projected enrollment, that’s telling me people aren’t coming back,” Hinojosa told local news.
“Next Monday we’ll have 41 more cases. By next Wednesday I’ll know a whole lot more on how serious we’ll have to be on standing up that virtual program.”
“The way this disease appears to be affecting children, people are just concerned about sending their kids to school,” Frisco ISD Superintendent Mike Waldrip said this past Thursday.
Frisco ISD announced it would offer a virtual option and Austin ISD came out with a strongly worded tweet editing TEA’s guidance.
Hinojosa and the leaders of other school districts are trying to figure out how to pay for virtual programs since the TEA has said it won’t give districts money for virtual programs.
A Back To School registration event is scheduled at the Townview Magnet Complex this morning.
The new guidance from TEA comes shortly after Governor Abbott denied emergency healthcare staffing for area hospitals experiencing a four fold increase in COVID19 hospitalizations in just a month’s time.
TEA COVID19 Guidance: COVID19 Vaccines
The coronavirus vaccine is not available for children younger than twelve, but for those students twelve or older, the vaccine will not be required despite other vaccines being necessary.
After a student turns eleven, they are required to be vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis.
TEA COVID19 Guidance: Parent Information
TEA guidance also says local ISDs do not have to inform parents of positive cases at their children’s school. They are required to report that information to state and local health departments.
Schools also don’t have to contact trace, but if they choose to do so, parents can still choose to send their kid to school if they are a “close contact” of a positive coronavirus case.
Govenor Abbott denies COVID19 response resources requested by Dallas area hospitals battling coronavirus admissions.
Hospitals in Dallas and throughout North Texas say they need hundreds of additional emergency staff to deal with a surge of COVID-19 cases. The state is denying their request for emergency personnel.
“Local governments across Texas now have access to more than $10 billion in federal Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds that are available to pay for urgent COVID-19 response needs, including medical surge staffing,” said Chris Van Deusen, director of media relations for DSHS.
He continues “… As always, emergency response begins at the local level. Encouraging health care facilities to utilize the resources already available within their communities will ensure the response can be as flexible as possible. They can work with their cities and counties to ramp up or shift necessary staffing as needed throughout this phase of the pandemic. Most health care facilities have relationships with staffing firms, but we can help connect them with the firms we used, if needed.”
Abbott’s move comes after Dickinson City Council member and State Republican Executive Committee member H. Scott Apley, 45, died in a local hospital around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning.
He was admitted to the facility in Galveston on Sunday with “pneumonia-like symptoms,” and was hooked up to a ventilator as his condition worsened.
Texas Republican Party Chairman Matt Rinaldi asked the Apley family be “lifted up in prayer,” but neglected to mention the fact that Apley’s death was COVID19-related or that he actively discredited attempts to slow the infections.
Apley is a staunch conservative and devout Christian. But based on his social media activity, Apley didn’t believe COVID was going to affect him or his family, and appears to have ties to the QAnon movement increasing in numbers in the Texas Republican Party.
There are almost 700 new COVID19 cases in a rolling seven day period said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
Hospitalizations in the area are up also. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services – more than twice as many COVID19 hospitalizations are happening now as on July 18 and more than four times as many as on July 3.
Last year, Texas was one of ten “hot zone” states where COVID19 infections were surpassing expectations.
Per Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council President Stephen Love a majority of the people hospitalized with COVID-19 are not vaccinated. He encouraged everyone to get vaccinated.
700 New COVID19 Cases
The 700 new COVID18 cases represent the highest seven day average caseload of new infections since February 2021.
Rising numbers of COVID19 cases has the restaurant owner with a sign on his door informing his patrons to mask up or shut up.
Groves’ restaurant started mandating masks for its patrons last Thursday, July 29. Many, including Groves say they expect and are prepaing for the worst.
Here We Go Again Locally And Nationally
Locally, coronavirus numbers have returned to the same numbers as February 2021, similar to other parts of the country. In San Francisco though local bar and restaurant industry leaders acted similarly to Ellen’s: No Proof of Vaccination/No Service.
The San Francisco group represents five hundred bars who came together to say patrons must get a vaccine or skip going out to the bars represented by the group.
Beyond Groves, no organization has taken on the question of mandating masks or vaccination as strongly or as unified as the San Francisco example.
Currently, Governor Abbott has stopped localities from implementing government enforced requirements for masks or vaccinations.
