Per Other Side Dallas virtual only instruction may be returning to Dallas ISD after the Thanksgiving Break. They report two sources in Dallas ISD administration as the basis for this information.
Dallas ISD has shut down Caillet Elementary, a 586-student campus located in Northwest Dallas, this week over concerns about the coronavirus spreading among the school’s staff and students.
Virtual only instruction, or online classes, were mandated after five positive cases among staff and students within the span of a week.
The campus is the second school in Dallas ISD to be temporarily closed because of COVID19 concerns. Hotchkiss Elemenyary was closed in mid-October for three days, allowing school administrators and central staff to track down those who might have been in contact with positive cases, and perform a deep clean of the school.
Caillet will be closed until Nov. 17 when in-person instruction is expected to resume. On Nov. 16, rapid COVID tests will be provided to teachers and staff in the morning, and students in the afternoon.
According to the DISD’s tracker, there have been close to 900 cases of COVID19 among staff, teachers and students since the district started reporting data October 5, 2020. Almost a third of those cases have happened since the start of November, reflecting a larger trend of cases in Dallas County and Texas.
The state is closing in on one million confirmed cases of COVID-19, and Dallas County hit a single-day record on Tuesday, with 1,401 cases.
Jennifer Finley, the district’s director of health services, said that county health officials have indicated that there’s likely a wave of cases on the way.
With the holiday season — and flu season — right around the corner, and a general level of “COVID fatigue” in the community, Finley said she could potentially see a rise in cases within the school system.
COVID response teams have been created on each campus, and the district has been “trying to ramp up” its staff for contact tracing, Finley said, “as to not exceed our bandwidth” if cases at schools do start to climb.
At the beginning of the month, Dallas County officials reported 1500 new cases per day. Dallas County has clearly returned as a hot zone for infection rate well beyond our July numbers.
What Does A Return To Virtual Only Instruction Mean?
Dallas ISD’s Board of Trustees had already planned to take up lowering educational goals due to COVID19 at their Thursday, November 19 Board of Trustees meeting. Now it appears they will also consider a return to virtual only instruction predicting lowered standards will become the norm.
It is not clear if teachers whose pay is based on student success will enjoy this same standard on goal changes with a move back to virtual only instruction.
It should be noted that two Trustees have already gone on record saying if possible students should be learning virtually.