Updated at 9 p.m., Oct. 22, 2020: to correct the name of Irving ISD Chief of Marketing.
Irving, one of the cities hardest hit by the coronavirus in Dallas County, has the lowest enrollment for face-to-face classes compared to other area school districts, such as Dallas, Plano and Frisco.
About 39% of the 32,638 students registered in Irving returned to classrooms, while the other 61% took their lessons online, according to district data.
An average of 53.2% of Dallas ISD students returned to face-to-face classes, although some schools exceed those percentages. In Plano, about 47% of students returned to campus and in Frisco, 45%, according to an analysis by The Dallas Morning News.
Three factors
The possibility of exposure to the coronavirus in face-to-face classes is lower in Irving because of three factors: the adaptation of parents and students to the virtual model, the willingness of teachers to teach through this means, and the families' internet connectivity.
When the local authorities decreed a quarantine in March and the children stopped going to the classrooms, the school district gradually prepared itself for online teaching.
“Over the summer we made it a goal for all students to have internet, and we focused on tidying up the hotspots, iPads and Chromebooks,” said Nicole Mansell, Chief of Marketing and Communications for Irving ISD.
The district has distributed 2,949 mobile devices for wireless internet access and 26,401 tablets and computers.
Mansell said 96.8% of the students who opted for the online option connect to their classes.
“The attendance ratio is very high, and that is due to the work of the teachers who are making sure that the students are connected and learning at home,” she said.
Less exposure
One of the three ZIP codes with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the county is 75061, which has seen 3,085 positive cases among about 37.500 people since March. The 75211 ZIP code in Oak Cliff, south of Irving, has had the most, with 4,081 positive cases.
The 75061 ZIP code includes about 40% of the students and administrative staff who have tested positive for coronavirus in the Irving school district, according to data from educational authorities.
Since teachers returned to work Aug. 10 and students began the school year Sept. 8, 12 schools in that ZIP code have registered infections.
A total of 153 people have tested positive in this school district since then: 86 teachers and 67 students, according to the dashboard that Irving ISD updates daily.
As of Wednesday, there were 41 active cases: 19 staff and 22 students.
When a case in a school is confirmed, the principal notifies students and staff. Contacts that may have been close to the infected person are traced and asked to quarantine and go to remote learning for that time.
“The numbers change daily,” Mansell said. “We have to adapt to the guidelines that the authorities give us.”