Victoria East and West high schools will close starting Nov. 30 as COVID-19 numbers continue to rise, district officials said Friday.
Students will continue to learn remote instruction from Nov. 30 through Jan. 19, when they return to on-campus instruction, according to a district new release.
“Some students will be physically asked to come to campus for instruction,” Superintendent Quintin Shepherd said in an email. “Again, we are prioritizing student learning to the greatest extent possible.”
High school campuses will follow a compressed remote learning schedule. The schedule can be found at COVID.VISD.net/highschoolschedule/. Career and Technology Institute courses will follow a compressed remote learning schedule with lab and shop days designated as face-to-face classes, according to the release. Liberty students will continue to learn in person.
Specific groups will be contacted no later than Nov. 20 by their campus if their instructional setting will remain face-to-face. Homework centers will remain open to all students and be available in a virtual and face-to-face format.
The closure comes after a recent rise in cases, predominantly at the elementary school level. Last week, Torres and DeLeon Elementary School closed because of an increase among staff cases and those who came in close contact with the virus. With a significant portion of the staff sent home, in-person instruction became impossible and all students were sent home.
District officials say the campuses closed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Torres and DeLeon will continue remote learning through Nov. 30. DeLeon was scheduled to return to face-to-face instruction on Nov. 18, but that has been pushed to Nov. 30, according to a district news release.
At DeLeon, four staffers and a student has tested positive since reopening in September. The four staff cases were documented last week.
Torres has one staff case and one student case reported.
To avoid more elementary school closures, the district looked to the high schools.
Because of those cases, it has become difficult to keep elementary campuses open, Shepherd said.
“We know it is more difficult for elementary students to pivot to remote learning and is easier for high school students,” Shepherd said. “This move to remote learning allows us the opportunity to meet the elementary campus needs in an effort to keep them open for as long as possible or until the number of cases begins to drop.”
Students will continue to take fall midterms using a revised exemption policy due to COVID-19, according to the release. December STAAR End-of-Course exams will remain scheduled for Dec. 8 through Dec. 11. To ensure equity for all students, students must be supervised by a trained test administrator when administered these exams. Therefore, students will be tested at their home campuses and may not test remotely.
As for club activities and extracurricular practices, students should contact their sponsor/coach for details regarding meetings and practices.
If a student needs access to technology or internet, parents must contact their campus librarian to reserve technology. Devices will be distributed the week of Nov. 16 by appointment, according to the release.
Victoria East High School has seven student cases and two staff cases, with the most recent staffer case reported Friday. The staffer was last on campus Nov. 6. Those who came in close contact with the staffer will be notified and will have to self isolate for up to 14 days.
Victoria West High School has reported 13 student cases and four staff cases.
The district has reported 78 cases since reopening in September. Of those, 46 are students and 32 are staff members.
“We remain vigilant to keep safety as our top priority this school year,” Shepherd said. “We are also prioritizing student learning with every decision we make.”
