An Opening Day warning for schools? Tonight’s Baltimore versus Miami Opening Day game for the Miami Marlins has been cancelled. How does this relate to the Dallas ISD Calendar? Quarantine cleaning.
This weekend fourteen players and two coaches from the Miami Marlins developed positive tests for COVID19 while playing in Philadelphia. If sixteen adults out of forty can get COVID19 while sequestered from other community members after testing negative prior to the series there is either a cleaning issue or community spread.
While possible, the former seems unlikely, as Major League Baseball is performing daily COVID19 screenings and has access to the best envornmental cleaning companies in the world. That would leave community spread as the primary culprit due to a person or persons not adhering to the strict guidelines for maintaining social distancing and these are adults. How will schools mandate safe practices of children?
As we have noted, COVID19 cases are surging, but Dallas ISD Trustees seem confident that they have the answers with their latest schedule.
Opening Day Warning For Schools
While the Dallas ISD Calendar is currently ready to go for the 20-21 school year, administration has also put out guidelines for entrance into schools on a daily basis.
Some school observers have questioned whether or not this is realistic and will remain reality once the school year begins.
The new Dallas ISD Calendar is here. As a follow up to the previous story on Wednesday. The Board of Trustees has finally spoken on its propositions. The Dallas ISD calendar does have a late June finish, among other things.
Although not explicitly stated, it’s suggested that the first few weeks of school will be online. As explained by the speaker, the main purpose expressed for the late start is to refine and polish online education.
“So its not about health, its not about safety, its not about getting the schools ready for a more safe environment, its about perfecting virtual instruction.” noted Trustee, Dustin Marshall.
The board also discussed eliminating breaks in order to finish the Dallas ISD calendar as usual. However, the board opted to extend to a June 18 finish rather than to shorten breaks. The only break that was cut was Fair days, due to the State Fair being cancelled.
On the contrary one new holiday was added, November 3, also known as election day. Schools act as a place to vote on that day. And in order to keep students and teachers away from potentially infected voters, election day will now be a holiday.
Others things to note:
Administrators will get 14 hours of professional development for virtual learning
Teachers will get 15-18 hours of training for virtual learning
Up to 8 of the first few weeks might be online learning only
Grading periods last 9 weeks instead of 6
5 professional development days for will be replaced for instructional time.
The 20-21 school year is about to get longer per reports. The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) school board will vote Thursday on a new Dallas ISD calendar that could push the end of the school year to mid-June.
Under the proposal, classes would begin three weeks later than scheduled on September 8. And the last day of school would move back three weeks as well — from May 28 to June 18.
The DISD plans to release a detailed back-to-school plan this week. It will include the precautions the district plans to take when students return to campus, but that may not be enough for some campus educators.
“I have kidney disease and I have a breathing condition, asthma…” said educator Ronny Swank.
A military veteran who teaches middle school, Swank said his dream is to be back in the classroom. “But, I’m so scared, sir, to go back under bad conditions,” he said. “I made my wife a promise that when I walk in that classroom, if I don’t feel safe, I am simply going to walk out.”
20-21 School Year
The current calendar has school opening August 17, but a Dallas ISD Trustees meeting Thursday will decide if the open will be moved back past Labor Day, September 8.
News reports have Superintendent Michael Hinojosa anticipating all campuses re-opened on that date with teachers on campus “unless the situation keeps getting worse.” Given Texas Education Agency statements funding for pupil attendance this may be related to both annual school funding and the push for the 2020 bond package.
Michael Hinojosa Plans For On Campus Learning At Start Of 20-21 School Year
He was one of the primary voices that kept schools from closing in the spring until the middle of Spring Break which resulted in a handful of COVID19 infections being passed at the school level.
The former Dallas Independent School District Trustee candidate wrote:
When I read the DMN editorial last Thursday More charter school opposition in southern Dallas I wanted to call the paper and ask, “Does DMN even read the press releases from the Texas Charter Schools Association before printing them in the editorial page?”
The Dallas Morning News editorial appears to be the latest in a multiprong approach to divide Black voters prior to the Bond 2020 vote which loses financial support through expansion of another unsuccessful KIPP charter school down the street from a more successful Dallas ISD program.
It is becoming clear that officials are concerned about the local economy and are attempting to make sure they are successful with issuing bonds after this November Bond 2020 election. Original estimates were for a $7B bond package that has been pared down to $3.1B, but that may still be high will unclear state funding and a possible mass exodus of students.
Lori Kirkpatrick
Lori Kirkpatrick was a candidate for District 2 representative on the Dallas Independent School District school board in Texas. Kirkpatrick was defeated in the runoff election on June 10, 2017.
The school election coming up for the Dallas ISD bond is sure to be a major issue on the November ballot. Dallas ISD leadership is sparing no expense to make sure they come out on top of a shaky financial vote.
Dallas ISD’s Racial Equity Office (REO) recently tweeted and put up a page saying they want to “ensure the district’s Bond 2020 plan includes help for neighborhoods most impacted by poverty and economic disinvestment.” If this sounds familiar, it should. It is the same old tune they play every time they come to taxpayers for money.
Dallas ISD’s Racial Equity Office team is conducting a series of community conversations to collect input from neighborhood residents on the design of four student and family resource centers, i.e. they are selling a product that voters are not even funding yet in hopes of getting your credit card number in the November election.
If voters approve, the resource centers will be constructed with a portion of the district’s proposed Bond 2020 funds. They would be located in neighborhoods served by H. Grady Spruce, Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and L.G. Pinkston high schools–four areas of the city long affected by historical redlining, segregation and economic disinvestment.
Residents are urged to attend the meetings to suggest ideas and offer input about the resource centers. They are also asked to discuss potential social services that might be offered.
Dallas ISD claims their goal is to improve student academic achievement and increase opportunities for student success – but that would seem to start in the classroom which is getting short changed by this bond. Additionally, Dallas ISD has previously not fulfilled its previous bond packages in the same way advertised.
As we wrote last week, Dallas ISD is full speed ahead on Bond 2020 and a financial package that may be very hard to support with unknown state resources and a local impact of COVID19 not fully realized. There are also no clear answers to questions raised by the former Dallas ISD Chief Internal Auditor about previous bond questions.
School Election
The Dallas ISD Calendar includes a call for the local election on November 3, 2020. It was originally scheduled for May 22, but was delayed due to COVID19.
Voters will have the chance to vote on Trustees in Districts 2, 6, and 8.
Citizens can register to vote or check their registration status through Dallas County Elections.
A Bond 2020 virtual Town Hall will be held July 21st at 6:00 PM for citizens to hear about the Dallas ISD Bond proposal.
Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa will lead the virtual community meeting to provide updates about projects included in the district’s Bond 2020 proposal.
Underlying Bond 2020 Issues
Given rising cases of childcare facility infected children and a ping pong strategy from the Texas Education Agency on the COVID19 response, it is unclear how full Dallas ISD budget coffers will be for next year’s budget and bond support.
Additionally, no public announcements have occured on reports about the Auditor scandal from late in last year’s school year. Some citizens may have forgotten the scandal from the fall of 2019 into February 2020, but without answers, the bond package may face an uphill climb to voter approval.
More than 1300 people have been infected. Of those, 894 were staff and 441 were children. The cases came from 883 child care facilities that are open in the state, DHHS said.
These new cases mark an almost six fold increase in cases from June 15. Then there were 210 reported cases from 177 facilities — including 141 staff members and 69 children.
On May 15, Texas reported a total of 59 cases from 53 child care facilities. At that time, 36 staff members and 23 children were infected.
Pediatric COVID19 Cases In Other School Systems
In Maryland there is an estimate that twelve hundred students and nearly one hundred staff members would die from COVID19. This estimate is only of the ten biggest jurisdictions in Maryland and factors in a 0.0016% death rate.
Using this same rate and Dallas ISD numbers, Dallas would experience approximately 240 student deaths and roughly 30 staff casualties. While the Dallas ISD Calendar is not yet confirmed these numbers would indicate a giant red flag for members of the Board of Trustees to consider.
In one school district in Missouri the district is requiring parents to sign a waiver in case children who participate in sports or other activities become infected with COVID19 and die.
The document asks parents to acknowledge that COVID19 is a public health crisis and to relinquish their rights to hold the district responsible even if a student’s death is “caused by the negligence of carelessness” of school staff.
The guidelines include attendance, prevention, and mitigation guidance.
ATTENDANCE
It’s what everyone already expected. Students are still required to attend 90% of the course days to receive credit. Parents can choose if they want their child to attend online or on-campus learning. If a student is unable to attend online, the school must provide daily on-campus learning. A student wanting to attend online is allowed to enroll in another school if the original school can not provide an online option.
Schools may limit access to on-campus instruction to those who are able to learn online. This is on a temporary basis, but is sure to impact the Dallas ISD Calendar.
PREVENTION
Schools are required to screen any adult that enters their building. Screening per the Texas Education Agency means checking temperature and asking a “Yes or No” question for COVID-19 symptoms at a minimum.
The school may also screen students if they want. If someone has a temperature of above 100F or shows COVID-19 symptoms, that individual is presumed to have COVID-19. They will be immediately isolated.
In order to return to back on campus the individual must remain at home for 10 days minimum and 3 days after their fever has passed (without the use of medication), they must also have had an improvement in COVID symptoms. Alternatively they may also show a medical professional’s note clearing the individual, or two separate confirmations (at least 24 hours apart) that they are free of COVID. Locations for these confirmation tests are found at https://tdem.texas.gov/covid-19/.
If someone tested positive for COVID-19 they must notify the Dallas ISD school. The school must close off and disinfect areas heavily used by the individual.
MITIGATION
According to the Texas Education Agency, hand sanitizer should be everywhere. Every entrance, every classroom, and every bus should have it. People are encouraged to use it at least two times a day.
Schools should also increase airflow by opening windows. The should be allowing outside air to circulate the building and buses.
Texas Education Agency also requires schools to comply with Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order regarding mask usage. Everyone will have to wear some sort of mask (TEA accepts the use of non-medical masks or mere cloth) to cover their mouth and nose at all times (excluding athletic activities and eating).
Whenever possible people should be 6 feet apart. Campuses must plan for entry, exit, and transition procedures that reduce large groups. Teacher, staff, and student meetings should be banned or less frequent. Extracurricular activities are allowed to continue at district’s discretion.
According to Hinojosa the problem isn’t so much the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) as much as it is the implementations of the procedures that the Texas Education Agency recommends. “If you have a mask on can you be closer than 6 feet? Initially we thought “yes”, but now we are hearing “no”. So there are a lot of complexities about how we keep students and employees safe in this process”.
Further details about how Dallas ISD would reopen, will be addressed in a board meeting on July 23rd. Until then, nothing is set in stone for the Dallas ISD Calendar.
Texas Education Agency
The guidelines released by TEA can be found here. It is expected that these standards may go through multiple evolutions between now and the start of the school year.
Hinojosa was interviewed on MSNBC and left open the possibility of “moving it to the spring, but we’ll have to wait and see.” He also said he has serious doubts “that we can pull that off.”
Canceling the fall sport would be a major step for a Texas school district. One of the first things people learn up on moving to Texas are there were originally two sports: football and spring football.
On Wednesday, UIL released new guidelines governing summer high school workouts which are expected to resume on Monday. Restrictions include mandatory masks with limited exceptions.
On other classroom scheduling, Hinojosa says he’s now having questions about whether in-school classes can begin on August 17th, as planned.
More Football
It has yet to be determined if the annual Texas-OU game will continue at the Cotton Bowl. The decades long rivalry may be in jeopardy though due to coronavirus as the State Fair of Texas has cancelled its annual event that is home to the Fair Park pigskin game.
Sick TEA says Dallas Schools to open in August 2020. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) says schools must open their physical doors in August, unless Abbott orders a closure or if there is “a confirmed case on campus.”
Readers should note that this guidance was issued by employees working from home.
TEA has also been keeping dollars meant for local jurisdictions in Austin. The guidance for parents, students, and administrators is here and “Changes to the public health situation over the course of the summer may necessitate changes to this guidance.” Nonetheless they are plowing forward with a bad plan and federal dollars in their backpocket.
Dallas Schools Were Slow To Close In March
Despite rising cases of COVID19 and several on Dallas ISD campuses the district administration was slow to close schools prior to Spring Break – waiting until March 16, 2020 to make the decision.
