Editor's Choice - Ready For Back To School?

written by RIKI MARKOWITZ

August is National Back to School Month (yes, that’s a real thing), and no one is more ready to get back into classrooms than students. It doesn’t matter how old you are or what you’re studying. Austin Board of REALTORS (ABoR) 2021 president Susan Horton agrees. “Our education program is off the charts,” she tells RealtyLine this month. Classes are fuller and the organization is experiencing record-breaking new memberships. ABoR also offers a virtual learning option at all levels, including continuing education classes, for anyone who’s not ready to get back to in-person learning.

Parents are also looking forward to kids getting back to classrooms, too. Many K-12 students can hardly contain their excitement. For much of the year, school administrators in Texas have been working hard at getting schools and staff ready for students this fall. As of this moment, all districts surrounding Travis and Williamson Counties will open their doors the third week of August. But the particulars, from mask mandates to virtual learning options, are changing minute to minute, leaving everyone from kids and parents to teachers and administrators unsure about how the fall semester will look. Right now, here is where things stand.

In the ongoing battle against Covid-19, Travis and Williamson counties moved back into the highest stages of risk-based guidelines. So parents and teachers are understandably concerned with how schools are going to keep everyone safe. That said, most families are pleased that schools are determined to open their doors for in-class instruction, while some families remain on the fence. For the latter, their decisions hinge on reversing Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting face mask mandates in the state, which extends to schools.

Check out current opening plans for school districts in and around Travis and Williamson Counties.

Classrooms are back in session on August 17. Recently, AISD announced that a virtual learning option will be available for K-6th graders. The reason it’s limited to this age group is because the vaccine has not yet been approved for kids under the age of 12. And since schools are not permitted to pass a mask mandate, this population of unvaccinated students is more vulnerable to the highly contagious Delta variant.

When AISD announced they would be offering a virtual learning option, the board said that they might not be able to accommodate every student who wants it. AISD officials didn’t announce the virtual option until now because they weren’t sure if the district could afford it, according to Claire McInerny, an education reporter with KUT. While funds were allocated to districts under the coronavirus relief package passed by Congress, McInerny says that schools need more. “The federal government is giving school districts money to help with COVID-19 relief, but it is not enough to fund virtual learning in addition to all of the other issues that came up from the pandemic, such as needing to support students who have fallen behind and upgrading HVAC systems in school buildings.”

At the end of July, AISD sent a survey to parents asking if they want school staff to make sure children wear a mask. Almost 22,000 responses came in. Some 39 percent answered yes; but 44 percent said yes to an indoor-only mask policy. For parents of elementary-school aged students, 45 percent of respondents want staff to enforce a mask policy.

Round Rock schools open their doors on August 18. Earlier in the summer, the board announced that kids could enroll in a virtual learning curriculum. Round Rock ISD says they plan to remain flexible, will adjust to and enforce prevention measures “to the extent possible and allowable under Texas law,” and will continue following local health authorities and the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

On elementary and middle school campuses, parents are not permitted to escort kids into school. And administrators are planning to stagger dismissal times to limit the number of students and staff moving around indoors at the same time.

Pflugerville students are returning to classrooms on August 12. The district strongly encourages unvaccinated students and staff to follow CDC mask guidelines and to wear a mask when in the vicinity of non-family members. Parents won’t be permitted to bring students into the building and staggered dismissal times will be implemented. Kids will be socially distanced in classrooms as much as instructionally possible, according to PFISD.

Hays CISD will open doors to students and staff on August 19. After a conference call between the school district and TEA, Hays CSID’s chief communication officer, Tim Savoy, wrote to parents that schools are moving forward without a mask mandate and at this time, they don’t anticipate changing the policy.

On August 19, Georgetown schools will be back in session. According to Superintendent Fred Brent, GISD will not be offering a virtual learning program. In a memo to families, he said the decision was based on a variety of factors, including students’ emotional needs and the fact that remote learning reduces the school’s funding qualifications. Administrators said that based on school attendance last spring — when Travis County moved down to Stage 3 health-risk guidelines for the first time since November 2020 — 85 percent of students supported in-person learning. In recent weeks, parents were given a chance to provide feedback on the district’s back to school plan. If any changes are made, GISD will announce them in the coming days.

With only a few more days to go before kids are back on campus, some Texans are stillhoping Abbott reverses his ban on mask mandates for K-12 public schools. One group ofparents launched a petition on July 31 addressed to the governor and TEA Commissioner MikeMorath, an Abbott appointee. It urges the lawmaker and school administrator to “[give] schoolsthe autonomy to determine their own policies for masking.” In nine days, the petition collectedmore than 22,000 signatures. The day it was filed, some of the largest school districts in Texaswent against the governor and announced a K-12 mask mandate. The fight could end up infront of a judge.

Undoubtedly, there are some reservations regarding going back to school, no matter yourage or field of study. But, again, everyone is thrilled for life to get back to normal. Jazz Lough,a REALTOR and broker at Austin Real Estate Experts, says she’s thankful that her daughter willexperience her senior year of high school actually in school. “And my son will finally get to stepfoot into high school going to his classes for the first time as a sophomore.” Lough admits thatright now she has a lot to balance. “It’s going to be an adjustment not only personally, but professionally.[And clients] are seeing that things are moving toward some sort of normalcy, too.We’re all ready for things to settle before school starts.”

Disclaimer: This story was factual at the time of publication and the policies regarding this evolving story may have been updated since the paper was printed.