BRENHAM SCHOOL BOARD DISCUSSES BACK-TO-SCHOOL REOPENING PLAN

  

Brenham ISD could have to prepare for a larger remote learning plan in the fall than initially anticipated.

At the Brenham School Board’s meeting Monday, its first in-person meeting open to the public since March, Interim Superintendent Huey Kinchen gave an overview of the responses to a survey posted last week, asking parents and staff their feelings on returning to class in the fall.

Kinchen said the survey, which is still available to take through Friday at www.brenhamisd.net, currently has over 1,500 parent responses and roughly 370 staff responses.  Of the responses received, Kinchen said 32 percent of parents currently prefer remote instruction to on-campus instruction.  Kinchen said the district was originally expecting around 20 percent of parents to be in favor of remote learning.

When considering staff responses, Kinchen said 48 percent of staff are somewhat comfortable to returning to campus, while 34 percent are very comfortable and 16 percent are not comfortable.

Kinchen also noted that an overwhelming 87 percent of parents—at this point—would prefer to bring their students to school themselves, rather than have them use buses.  He said this could prove to be very positive for the district if the response holds through the end of the survey, reducing the need for school transportation.

The board voted to add ten instructional days to the end of the 2020-21 school calendar.  Kinchen called the added days “COVID-19 discretionary days”, saying they will add some flexibility in the event schools have to be closed.  He said the days will only be used if a school closure is needed, and the school year will end as normally planned if the days are not needed.

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Brandi Hendrix went over the facets of the reopening plan concerning instruction, saying this fall’s remote learning plan will be very different from what was seen in the spring.  She said Google Classroom will be used as the learning management system, with teachers employing Google Classroom plans instead of regular instructional plans.  She said a positive of the COVID-19 pandemic is that students will benefit from the added integration of technology into education plans.

Assistant Superintendent of Operations Paul Aschenbeck said the district is receiving 45,000 facemasks, including 13,000 reusable masks, and 636 face shields.  The district has received 540 gallons of hand sanitizer, but is still working on getting the proper dispensers for the sanitizer.  He said items such as plexiglass sheets are hard to come by right now, but hopes to acquire some to potentially use in the cafeterias.  The district still has a few items on backorder, such as infrared thermometers and gloves, but should obtain them soon from the Region VI Education Service Center.

The school board will meet again this (Tuesday) evening to name a lone finalist for superintendent of the district.  The board will meet at 5 p.m. in rooms 111 and 113 at Brenham High School.  Seating will be limited, as social distancing guidelines will be followed.  The meeting will be available on YouTube for those not attending in person.

Anyone looking to submit public comments must do so between 4 and 4:30 p.m. this evening to be included in the meeting.