BRENHAM ISD OFFICIALS SAY FIRST WEEK OF CLASS A SUCCESS

  

With one week of school in the books for Brenham ISD, school administrators are giving encouraging reports.

None of the district’s seven schools have reported COVID-19 cases in students or faculty, and several principals say the two groups are reacting positively and adapting quickly to the new safety measures instituted for the new school year.  Meanwhile, the district is still working out the early growing pains of remote instruction, but officials say the process is becoming smoother each day.

Brenham Middle School Principal Peggy Still said she has been “unbelievably impressed” with how well students have caught on to the new protocols.

 

As the school year progresses, Still believes the district can further hone its safety procedures to make them more efficient and smooth.

Krause Elementary School Principal Courtney Mason said the amount of teamwork she has seen from faculty and staff has been promising.

 

Points of importance for Mason in the coming months are making sure teachers feel they are given enough time to plan, and staying ahead of the lesson plan.

Brenham High School Principal Joe Chandler said, over the course of six months, the district was able to completely change the look of education.

 

Chandler wants to make sure parents are supportive of the school district’s efforts, and hopes to provide more opportunities in the future for them to receive information about the district’s new learning and safety systems.

Each principal reported several students have shifted from remote to in-person instruction, after the district reviewed their circumstances on a case-by-case basis.  However, district officials stress that the proper time to make a switch in instructional method is at the end of a six-week grading period, at which time the district will send out a form allowing students to make that change.

According to the district’s reopening plan, if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a school participant, whether that be a student or employee, the district will identify and notify any individuals who had regular or close contact with the affected participant.  This may include that participant’s entire class.  Those individuals will be required to quarantine for 14 days before returning to in-person school.  If a positive case is identified in a campus or district facility, all participants in that facility will receive written notification.  The district’s COVID-19 Response Team will notify local health officials of any positive cases.

District staff are required to self-screen for COVID-19 symptoms, including temperature checks, prior to coming to work each day.  Parents are expected to screen their students for symptoms daily prior to sending them to school.  Teachers and staff will monitor the health of students and refer them to the nurse if they have symptoms.