Alliance Bank in Sulphur Springs

Saltillo ISD Outlines Back To School Plans for 2020-2021

Saltillo ISD Superintendent David Stickels Friday afternoon, in a prerecorded video posted on The Saltillo ISD Lions Facebook page, outlined the basics of the district’s back-to-school plans for the 2020-2021 school year, which begins on Aug. 17.

The district will offer two learning options for students, in-person at the school or remote learning. All plans follow recommendations and safety measures from the Centers for Disease Control, Texas Education state and local health officials due to continued spread and presence of COVID-19 in the community, across the state, country and world.

In-Person Learning

School will reopen on Aug. 17 for students whose families have elected in-person learning at Saltillo ISD. All plans and protocols are designed with a focus on health, safety and wellbeing for staff, students, and community members, Stickels reported.

The district will implement and observe social distancing, screening, isolation, cleaning and disinfecting and common use area protocols.

Classes on campus will be conducted 5 days a week with safety and health measures in place. Teachers will provide face-to-face instruction that is easily transferable to remote learning, in the event of a temporary closure of schools due to COVID-19 or other health or safety issues.

Some of the measures in place at Saltillo ISD for the 2020-2021 school year

All students age 10 and older, and staff will be required to wear a mask or face shield which meets school dress code requirements.

Upon arrival, individuals entering the school will be required to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer. There will be temperature check stations at the front door and in the cafeteria.

Morning student arrival 7:30-7:50 using social distancing guidelines, which will also be followed in hallways, classrooms and the cafeteria. Hallways and entrances will be monitored by staff. 

Arrivals will be different for each grade level. Pre-kindergarten through second grade students will go to the cafeteria to eat breakfast, students in grades 3-5 will go to their classroom to eat at 8:05 a.m. Grades 6-8 will enter from the library hallway, grades 9-10 the back hallway and grades 11-12 the English hallway.

Parents will not be allowed to walk students to classrooms.

Students who choose face-to-face classes will be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities and all school functions.

Plan for student arrival at Saltillo ISD during the 2020-2021 school year

Remote Learning

Students whose family opt for Saltillo ISD to participate in online learning will be required to meet expectation outlined by TEA, which “will not resemble anything that was done in the spring,” Stickels said in the video posted Friday evening.

Online students will not be eligible to participate in school functions or extracurricular activities.

Screen capture from the video posted July 31 of Saltillo ISD Superintendent David Stickels regarding the two different learning options for the 2020-2021 school year.

Saltillo ISD will issue devices to students, but they will be required to follow a strict policy set for them. Online learners will be required to have access to WiFi connections. The district will assist with connections if needed, if possible. Families who have issues due to location which the school can’t help with will be responsible to find a connection for WiFi for their students. Example, WiFi may be accessible from a vehicle in the student parking lot.

Young students will need an older student, parent or adult present to assist with daily learning.

Online students must follow the set guidelines provided in order to be counted present each school day. They will have limited 1-on-1 access to teachers, but will be required to participate in daily engagement and complete assignments in order to be counted present for the day.

All teachers will have set office hours, including a morning office time for parents and students to ask question, when needed. Staff will also be available for phone conferences and Google meetings, the superintendent reported.

Teachers will assign times through regular class schedules in which students will need to login to their school account. Teachers will record live lessons daily for online learners. Education officials have suggested that students login at specific times for their class daily when available. For example, they would login during the biology class period scheduled from 8:50 to 9:50 a.m.

Lessons must be completed by a specific due date. For lessons that are not finished on time, the student will receive 0 for a grade..

Attendance is taken daily. Students must be online for specific amount of time daily. Prekindergarten through fifth grade students must be logged into lessons working a minimum of 180 minutes (3 hours) per day. Students in grades 6-12 are required to be engaged online in a minimum of 240 minutes (4 hours) of instruction a day.

If studnets are not logged in the minimum number of times specified daily and working, the district will be required to file a non-attendance report for that students. Six non-attendance reports can result in denial of credit for a specific class or grade, require summer school to make it up or failure to pass.

Physical education and technology classes may be offered through remote instruction as well. In some instances a student may be required to come to the school to demonstrate hands-on requirements specific to some classes.

Students who begin the school year as online students may switch to in-person classes later in the school year. However, this will only be allowed at the beginning of each grading period. Written notice from the parent must be provided to the school in advance as well.

Online students may receive meals from school. Parents are required to fill out the free and reduced meal application and return it to the school by first week of classes. Meals will not be delivered. Meals may picked them up between 9:45 and 10:30 a.m. Monday-Friday. Parents will receive a breakfast and lunch, at the same time, for their child. Those who do not qualify for free lunch, will be required to pay 2 weeks ahead of time for their students. Families must let the school know by 9 a.m. each Monday, their children’s need for meals on what days. Notification should be made to and additional information may be obtained from Susan Smith at 903-537-2386 or [email protected].

Author: KSST Contributor

Share This Post On