Some Fort Worth ISD Students To Return To Elementary Schools Next Week
UPDATE: Fort Worth ISD Scraps Summer School Plans
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) -The first Fort Worth students to return to school classrooms will be back as early as next week after campuses were closed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Four elementary schools in the district are preparing now to have students back on campus for summer school.
A total of about 300 students are expected across the four locations.
Most of them are bilingual, or English as a second language students, who the district determined would benefit from a learning environment difficult to create outside of the classroom.
"The parents wanted to consider that," said district spokesman Clint Bond. "And most of our elementary students we don't do a one to one device with them, in other words, a computer or chrome book or a hot spot."
Some special education students are also expected to attend summer sessions.
The Texas Education Agency has listed all of those student groups as children that districts may consider prioritizing the availability of on-campus summer programs.
The students will be in classrooms at C.C. Moss Elementary, Westcreek Elementary, Seminary Hills Elementary and Western Hills Elementary.
Middle school and high school students taking summer classes, either for assistance with a subject or to get ahead for next year, will continue to study virtually.
There are about 1,000 secondary students expected in the program Bond said.
The district will follow TEA guidelines on bringing students back, including wellness checks when they enter the building, and limiting classes to no more than 10 students per teacher. A district incident command team is still in the process of working out additional safety guidelines including masks, gloves hand washing frequency and spacing within the classroom.
Staff members have been required to take two online courses reviewing health and safety precautions.
FWISD is in the middle of a survey still to help determine how and when to safely bring the rest of the student population back to campus.
Asked if the summer program could help inform that decision, Bond explained district are still learning from each other on how to proceed.
"Many of us will probably try different things for summer school and see how that applies to that fall, but we have to remember as many of our elected leaders are saying, this is not over. And we have to understand that."