ROCKWALL, Texas — Two school districts in North Texas that will offer in-person instruction within the coming weeks are looking to alleviate social distancing concerns amid COVID-19 by staggering the return of students.
Rockwall Independent School District just announced a hybrid schedule that mixes in-person instruction with virtual learning for grades 9-12.
In a release, the district said it was making the move after a large number of students committed to in-person learning.
"With the in-person selection trend as high as 71% at Rockwall High School and 66% at Rockwall-Heath High School, we are concerned about the feasibility of providing social distancing especially at the high school level where we have student growth," Superintendent John Villarreal said.
The statement continued saying, "Our parents and staff continue to ask how we can achieve social distancing. The reality is we can't without a hybrid schedule, which allows us to reduce the overcapacity population by 50% in a rotation into the building and onto our buses."
The district plans to allow students with last names beginning A-K to learn two days of the week virtually and two days of the week in-person.
The statement said the students would rotate with remaining students with last names beginning L-Z.
The move would split 2,851 students at Rockwall High School and allow more room for them on campus.
The same goes for Rockwall-Heath High School, which has an estimated 2,665 students who would be split under the schedule.
Parents can change their preference for in-person (hybrid) or remote instruction through Aug. 12. The district announced it will begin school on Aug. 26.
At Ennis ISD, a staggered start is expected to take place after students go through 12 days of virtual learning when school begins on Aug. 20.
The district, which is considerably smaller than Rockwall ISD, told WFAA that students will rotate too--except the last names of students are grouped A-L and M-Z.
Superintendent Jay Tullos told WFAA that the staggered start will only last one week for now and is meant to allow staff and students time to learn safety protocols at 50% capacity.
"Our teachers are going to have to learn a new way to do traditional learning. There's certainly no experience for this," Tullos said.
"Having 50% of our kids in place gives teachers more time for one-on-one questions and more time to talk to students about what, how, and why we're doing these things."
If the staggered week goes well and cases aren't spiking, Tullos said the district plans to go to 100% capacity the following week.
Students who want to continue remote learning may do so, however.
Images from packed schools in Georgia have made the rounds on social media as campuses reopen there.
Those photos have drawn ire from residents in the state and nationwide alike.
Tullos said it's imperative to not have a similar situation happen in Texas.
"We don't want to rush into something that we weren't prepared for," Tullos said.
"We like this plan that gives us that."
Tullos said that plan can change quickly too, adding that he's told teachers they should be prepared to go virtual overnight if a student in their class tests positive for COVID-19.
Right now, it all depends on how the virus moves.
"We're telling our staff to be flexible and to do the best we can at this point," Tullos said.