TL;DR Warning ... posting for those who need and/or are curious.
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"Dear Humble ISD Families,
As you know, Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton issued a statement and opinion yesterday that the county and/or city health officials cannot proactively close all schools in order to prevent disease spread. Please keep in mind that this is an AG opinion and not an order. The Harris County and City of Houston order remains in effect at this time even though the AG opinion says it is not a lawful order. We are currently working through all of these changing dynamics.
The first thing we are doing, based on the AG's opinion, is restarting all UIL activities that were previously in session this summer -- per the UIL guidance. We have also decided to restart our 1:1 special education, pre-k, ESL, and advanced academics testing that had been underway. These had been in session, are completely optional, and seemed to be going well. As part of a phased and careful reopening, we believe that these are important to continue, and we know that they are very important to our students, our families, and our staff. Our staff wants to continue them.
Next, we are planning to begin instruction for all students on August 11. How that will look has not been finalized. As we consider the available options, it is very important that we have the most recent data available from all of you regarding what you and your healthcare providers feel is best for your children and for your family. If you have not indicated your preference or if your preference for in-person, online, or online + UIL instruction has changed, please update your selection at your earliest convenience.
Humble ISD is a family. It is a partnership between educational professionals, families, and our community that is focused on one thing- what is best for our students. As such, it is the very best place for children to learn and grow in my opinion. Our Humble ISD family and its culture have been built on traditions of and commitments to innovation, honesty, transparency, trust, gratitude, collaboration, empowerment, and personalization. We empower the best situated staff and families to know our students and staff well and to make the decisions that are best for them -- as close to the person as possible. This is who we are. It can be difficult to hold true to your principles and your values/traditions during times like these but we are committed to doing so.
Therefore, I want to be clear that while all indicators of community health data appear to be improving, particularly in our part of the county, the virus is still here. The virus will likely be here on September 8, and in October, and probably in December. While I am not a medical professional, it appears that the virus is very light for some (asymptomatic), flu-like for others, and for some people can be life-threatening. Given this wide variation, it would make no sense for anyone (including me) to replace your judgement with ours. This is why it is very important that every single one of us work with the healthcare professionals we trust to determine the right path for our families and our children. Each one of us must engage in a risk analysis and make the best decision possible. For some of you, you have been clear that the risks of not returning, even if there come to be positive cases on campus, outweigh the risks of the virus. For others, you are not willing to risk the chance of being exposed to the virus. We support both of you!
Humble ISD is focused on what is best for our students and our staff. I do worry that five to seven months away from school is, and has been, a very long time for our students, and I know that we have staff who are eager and/or willing to return to face-to-face instruction. It seems those folks are a match and should be allowed to move forward cautiously. In addition, we warmly welcome all personal protective equipment (PPE) that staff and students wish to wear to protect themselves and others. I believe that for healthy individuals we can offer a safe return to school. Again the definition of healthy is between you and your healthcare providers.Â
Therefore, again, we really need for you to update your preference, if you have changed your mind, to in person or online or online + UIL as soon as possible - on our Learning Location Form. These are the data we need to thoroughly review orders, opinions, desires, risks etc. in an effort to serve and support the entire Humble ISD community to the best of our abilities.
Our teaching and learning department and our teachers have worked incredibly hard getting ready for online learning. Perhaps you have seen some of that on Twitter. I have been extraordinarily proud of the Humble ISD staff. They amaze me. I have thoroughly enjoyed the feedback and support from our families too. Your engagement has been more than impressive.Â
Finally, we have always said we will monitor community health data and make any changes by August 1. We continue to do that. The County and City order plus the AG opinion have added a lot of complexity to this analysis; and our School Start Date Survey was completed under the belief/context that in-person learning was prohibited by the City and County order. We understand that those data are only valid if the order is lawful and will be followed. Therefore, we will be finalizing all of our plans Monday and sending them out Tuesday. Our teachers will be reporting Monday, August 3, per the direction of their principal.Â
Thank you for your patience and support as we work through this together.
Sincerely,
Liz Fagen"
HumbleISD Parents
skit! You done messed up A-A-ron! 😂😂😂
