TEXARKANA, Texas - The Pleasant Grove and Liberty-Eylau Independent School Districts will open their doors for on-campus instruction this week, beginning an unprecedented school year experience for districts around the state and country.
PGISD is to start Monday morning, while L-EISD is returning Wednesday.
Both districts are offering on-campus and virtual learning methods to students, and will implement various safety measures and protocols to attempt to protect students, faculty and employees from contracting the coronavirus.
To get a different perspective of what to expect before students tote their backpacks through the school doors, the Texarkana Gazette sent a questionnaire to superintendents of both districts, asking what their final opinions are on navigating through a pandemic to educate students.
Here are the answers from L-EISD Superintendent Ronnie Thompson and PGISD Superintendent Chad Pirtle:
Q: What type of feedback, negative or positive, have you mostly gotten from parents regarding your district's plan to return to school? And how do you plan to address their biggest concerns?
Thompson:
Parent feedback to our reopening plans has been positive. Parents seem to appreciate the options available to them as well as clear protocols for keeping students safe. Any type of change is significant. We have worked to communicate as much as possible and to address questions as they arise. Most questions are related to either safety protocols or remote learning. The plans we have released have answered those questions.
Pirtle:
The Pleasant Grove parents and community continue to support our school district as we ensure high levels of learning for all students. The Pleasant Grove ISD State of Mind Return to School Plan provided detailed information regarding the upcoming semester and procedures that will mitigate the spread of the COVID-19. The campus principals and our teachers have spent this week communicating with our families through phone calls and email to bring comfort and excitement to families as they prepare to return to campus or begin remote learning. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive in how the district has handled the changes the pandemic presents.
Has there been more pushback from parents regarding remote or traditional learning, if at all?
Thompson:Once it became clear to parents that there would be options for returning to school, there was not push back. The choice remains with the parents, and that is what they appreciate. Many of them have strong opinions about coming back to not, and our plans provide options for both of those.
Pirtle: PGISD gave families a choice between on-campus and remote learning. Giving families ownership of the decision of their students' learning experience during COVID-19 and working together to ensure high levels of learning for all of our students has strengthened relationships between our families and the PGISD staff. Due to these options we have not received pushback but rather support and encouragement from our parents. Our families are appreciative of the option to return to campus and the option to engage in PGISD's plan for remote learning.
3. What are your overall expectations for the beginning of the school year?
Thompson: We expect the same results that we have always seen in schools. As times change and new challenges arise teachers, students, and parents work together to overcome them. That is the very nature of public schools in this country. We meet students where they are, give them our best, and help them be successful. We expect that to continue this year, whether students are on campus or at home.
Pirtle: We realize that adapting to school, both remotely and on-campus, during COVID-19 takes time and this is where we are asking our school community for patience through Labor Day. There is the instructional component to educating our students, but more importantly, we have to take care of our students' social-emotional needs. Our students have been out of school for six months and will be coming back to new school regulations (masks, social distancing, hand washing, remote learning for some, safety procedures, etc). We believe in the importance of taking it slow and focusing on the individual child to ensure their well-being as a priority. Once we get their social-emotional needs and our procedures in order with our students, we will move deeper into the academic side of school.
The mission of the Pleasant Grove Independent School District is to ensure high levels of learning for all students. Remote learning in PGISD will be significantly different from At-Home learning our students experienced in the spring. The past week we have focused on teacher training for our remote learning plan as our teachers returned to school. We also have to train our students and our parents on remote instruction. We are going to teach every student in our schools about our remote learning experience whether they are a remote learner or they are coming to school. This will make us more flexible in the future.
We are asking for grace and patience from our community until Labor Day so we can make a great experience for all students. Our teachers and administrators are working very hard to produce a great learning experience for our students and we ask the Pleasant Grove ISD community to rally around our teachers and extend grace, love, support, and encouragement this school year.
4. What are some goals you hope to accomplish by the end?
Thompson:Our primary goal for the year is to continue providing a high quality education to all students. We hope to do that in the safest way possible while meeting the individual needs of each student.
This time also gives us the opportunity to learn more about how we deliver instruction. Technology integration has been a priority in L-EISD for several years. That has made us more ready for this shutdown and remote learning than others. However, we can always improve and increase that technology access for both our students and staff. This time will give us the opportunity to evaluate even more ways we can meet the needs of our students.
A broader goal is to be able to return to "normal" school. We understand that can only happen once the risk of this pandemic has been minimized, and although we can not control most of that, we remain committed to taking whatever reasonable steps we can to help stop the spread, keep students safe, and return to normal.
Pirtle: Our mission remains the same: The Pleasant Grove Independent School District will ensure high levels of learning for all students. We are going to be flexible with our community and do a great job in serving the needs of our students. We will follow our "State of Mind 2020-2021 Plan" to keep our students and staff safe. By the end of the school year, we are going to have accomplished our mission by ensuring high levels of learning for all students.
5. Biggest concern/Thing you are most looking forward to.
Thompson: The biggest thing we are looking forward to is having those interactions with our students again. We are in the kid business. Everyone from teachers to administrators to support staff is here for kids. Seeing their faces, hearing their stories, and seeing them learn is why we all do what we do. That process starting back, regardless of how it is done, is always the best part of the year!
Pirtle: It has been so nice to have our teaching community reassemble this week. We look forward to Monday, August 10, when our students return to campus for the first time since March 16. We look forward to seniors experiencing their "lasts" and our kindergarten students experiencing their "firsts." While these are unusual times, we still want to make these memories special for our students. Pleasant Grove ISD anticipates a successful first semester with the opening of the Margaret Fischer Davis Elementary School this fall, a top-ranked football team starting the season in a few weeks, and the Newsies the Musical in our Fine Arts Department along with the many other experiences our students will have this year. We will continue to set the standard in education and provide first-class opportunities for our students at Pleasant Grove ISD.
6. Final statement before students and faculty enter the campus August 10/August 12.
Thompson: School is about embracing the unknown. That happens for kindergarten students as they walk into the classroom for the first time. That happens for our seniors as they walk across the stage at graduation. Students learn to play band instruments, run complex football plays, program robots, and weld metal together. School is a continuous process of learning and growing. Next week, our students and staff will once again embrace the unknown. But what is true in kindergarten, senior year, and in every classroom in between remains. We have an outstanding group of educators who are ready to meet students where they are and help them unearth the talents and abilities that make them unique. That dedication is not an unknown; we see it all the time.
Pirtle: As students come back to school on Monday, we want to assure our parents, students, and community that safety is our top priority. Whether students are engaged in remote learning or on-campus learning and activities, we will follow all safety guidelines to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 so that our students are supported in their learning environment. The 2020-21 year will be unusual, but we will continue to work together to build upon Pleasant Grove ISD's legacy of success. We encourage our families to stay in contact with their campus administrators and teachers, and we look forward to seeing our students on Monday.