My Dear Whirlwinds,
I hope everyone is having a good summer amid the craziness associated with
the COVID-19 pandemic. The lives of so many people across the world have
been turned upside down since March. Like many of you, I keep praying that
we will wake up one day and this virus will disappear. As educators, we are
facing unprecedented times and as each day draws closer to a new school
year, we feel the weight of the world in trying to balance our professional lives
with our personal lives.
I want you to know that I, too, have many concerns regarding starting a new
school year as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise. However, the
Texas Education Agency has issued their guidance and one of their main
directives is that schools must provide daily on-campus instruction for students.
For educators, this means being on campus providing instruction to students no
matter what concerns we may have about the virus. Parents have the option to
send their child to school or to allow her or him to enter remote learning. As the
superintendent of schools and as a parent, I understand the difficulty that most
parents will have in trying to arrive at the decision that is best for their child. Our
kids are our most precious gifts and we want to ensure their safety at all times.
While schools will undoubtedly have many health and safety protocols in place,
there is no way to guarantee that no one will contract the virus. So, I fully
support the decision that any parent makes in how their child will be educated,
on campus or remotely. We will not frown on any student that enters the remote
learning method. We will try to provide the same quality education that we
provide students on campus. But, it will take parents supporting their child at
home and ensuring there is enough structure to support students completing
their work and attending synchronous instruction when required. TEA has told
us that there will be STAAR testing in the 2020-2021 school year, so we also
have that added pressure.
The UIL recently released information regarding student eligibility in extracurricular
events. While it is permissible to have students in remote learning
participate in UIL activities, our school district feels that it would not be
appropriate to have students opt for the remote learning method because of
COVID-19 concerns and then participate in UIL activities (i.e. athletic practices
and competition, band competition, etc.). Exposure to COVID-19 is still possible
in extra-curricular activities or even attending extra-curricular activities (the latter
will be left to parental choice). There are still so many uncertainties regarding
athletic events this fall. We have no idea what it would even look like if, for
example, we have football games. As UIL or TEA releases more information,
we’ll do our best to share that with you all in a time manner.
In closing, I want to reiterate that we fully support the decision that any parent
makes regarding the method of education for their child. We have been working
on a plan that can accommodate either choice. We also want you to know that
we love our students and we will pour our hearts and minds into making sure we
keep them as safe and healthy as possible if they are on campus. Together, we
can get past this turbulent time and come out stronger because of it.
With love and understanding,
Dr. Gilbert Trevino
Superintendent – Floydada Independent School District
226 West California Street
Floydada, Texas 79235
(806) 983-3498