Fort Worth, Tarrant County schools will start online only for 6 weeks due to COVID-19
Tarrant County’s top health authorities announced Tuesday that local public and non-religious private schools will only be able to provide online classes for the first six weeks of the 2020-21 school year — until at least Sept. 28 — because of the rising cases of coronavirus.
The announcement affects Fort Worth, Arlington and all local school districts.
The goal is to keep students at home until several weeks after the Sept. 7 Labor Day holiday to avoid a potential spike in cases that could quickly spread through schools. There have been 22,665 positive cases of COVID-19, which includes 304 deaths, in Tarrant County as of Tuesday.
“This is a moment in time like nothing I’ve seen,” Catherine Colquitt, Tarrant County’s public health authority and medical director, said during the Tarrant County Commissioners meeting. “We all feel we have to do something.
“If we don’t make some effort to delay the openings, we might jeopardize our capacity to care for people.”
A joint order calling for online schooling for public and non-religious private schools in Tarrant County was issued Tuesday by Colquitt; Cynthia Simmons, the local health authority and medical director in Arlington; and Steve Martin, the local health authority and medical director in Burleson.
The order, which goes into effect immediately and runs through 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 27, says schools shouldn’t open for in-person schooling except for:
▪ Teachers and staff may conduct online classes from school if they use face coverings and social distance;
▪ School-sponsored events such as sports, band, choir and more may take place remotely or outdoors with social distancing, face coverings and other safety protocols in place;
▪ Special education may occur when necessary at schools with social distancing and face coverings; and
▪ Students who don’t have access to a computer or Internet access may learn at school.
This order does not affect private, religious schools.
The order delaying in-person instruction came a day after the Fort Worth school district released a 23-page document laying out preliminary plans for the fall 2020 school year as the coronavirus pandemic continues. The plan was to provide virtual and in-person learning for students while requiring students and staff to wear masks while on campus.
Superintendent Kent P. Scribner and board president Jacinto Ramos Jr. told reporters Tuesday afternoon that blueprint will still be used for online instruction beginning Aug. 17 and in-class learning after Sept. 28. Scribner has met regularly with public health officials, as well as other local and state leaders on this matter.
“We are as ready as any other district,” Scribner said. “These are unprecedented times, and safety and security is the number one priority.”
Arlington ISD also had announced plans to start classes Aug. 17, but with the new announcement Tuesday, the first six weeks will be online only.
Fort Worth virtual learning and coronavirus cost
Without delving into significant detail, Scribner said online classes will be “more robust” than in the spring. According to the reopening plan made public Monday, school district staff have undergone, and continue to take, training on how to teach online classes.
Teachers are required to provide at least four hours of instruction a day along with virtual office hours and parent-teacher conferences. They should work in an empty classroom on campus while teaching courses. According to the plan, the number of teachers needed will be determined by enrollment figures closer to the start of the school year.
Students with specialized learning plans may be allowed to come to campus for one-on-one instruction, Scribner said, if such learning can be done safely with proper distancing between instructors and students.
The delay to in-class learning will not affect meal programs, he said, adding that schools will continue to be social service hubs.
Despite classes being online, Scribner said the district was taking on possibly “tens of millions of dollars” in unbudgeted costs related to the outbreak.
One of the biggest challenges to online learning is access to high-speed internet. In April the district distributed 6,000 AT&T hotspots at a cost of $1.3 million. The board was expected to vote Tuesday evening on $2.4 million for more hotspots.
Costs will likely continue to grow if in-person learning is allowed, he said, as the district prepares to buy more protective gear and may need to run additional bus routes to ensure social distancing.
These investments are necessary to provide equitable access to learning, Scribner said, adding that he hoped federal and state officials would recognize the growing financial burden the virus has placed on school districts.
“An additional investment will be necessary from the state or the federal government to help school districts, particularly urban school districts,” he said.
Last week, the Texas Education Agency announced that Texas schools can limit in-person schooling for the first four weeks of the 2020-21 school year — and delay the start of school — if that’s what is needed to keep students safe as coronavirus cases rise.
The TEA guidance said schools may delay in-person classes for another four weeks if they ask for and receive a waiver from the state.
“These changes give the needed flexibility for schools to effectively provide a smooth transition for students, teachers, and staff so that they will experience the safest and least disruptive mode of learning during the beginning of the school year,” according to a TEA statement.
The new TEA advisory came after schools asked parents how they want their children to learn — in person or online.
What parents want
A recent Aledo parent survey showed that 83.2% want in-person learning and 16.8% prefer online studies.
In Arlington, 54% of parents chose in-person classes and 46% chose online learning. In the Northwest district, 64% wanted in-person classes, 22% asked for online learning and 14% said they were not ready to make a decision.
And in Fort Worth, as of July 16, 54% of parents wanted in-person classes for their children and 46% wanted online classes. These numbers did not include another 880 registrations received on July 15. That second batch showed that 40% of parents wanted in-person classes and 60% wanted online classes.
The Fort Worth school district has announced plans to hold virtual town hall meetings on July 27 and July 28 for parents, teachers, students and others to ask district leaders about plans for the fall semester. Each event will be from 5 to 7 p.m. and will be on the FWISD Facebook page. The July 27 meeting is also available at www.fwisd.org/27julio and the July 28 meeting is at www.fwisd.org/July28.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 10:24 AM.
