Parents who wish to substitute teach will be paid.  KILLEEN, Texas — COVID-19 is still having a major impact on local school districts across our area. Killeen Independent School District Superintendent Dr. John Craft is asking parents to serve as paid substitutes and asking those who are sick to stay home.  District leaders say their biggest concern is not only the number of teachers out sick with COVID-19, but the number of absences being caused by the number of cases.  view article

The students spoke at the meeting Thursday night after staging a walkout during the day, saying the school wasn't doing enough to protect them against the virus.   "We really do value our education. We value being safe. Like I'm taking a total of seven AP classes this year. I can't afford to miss 10 days of school because I catch COVID," Smith said. view article

Students at Mayde Creek High School were evacuated about 10 a.m. Thursday following an “unfounded” bomb threat. The children have since returned to class. “The Katy ISD Police Department responded immediately to investigate, and students were temporarily evacuated,” an official letter to parents stated. “Following a thorough investigation of the alleged threat and campus, the police have determined the threat to be unfounded.” view article

Several Lewisville ISD schools, including some in Flower Mound and Lewisville, will close for three school days because of rising numbers of positive COVID-19 cases among staff. Bridlewood Elementary, Lillie Jackson Early Childhood Center, Indian Creek Elementary, Morningside Elementary and Creek Valley Middle schools will all be shut down Thursday, Jan. 20, through Monday, Jan. 24. Students will return to school on Tuesday, Jan. 25. view article

MILES, Texas – Miles Independent School District announced on Thursday, January 20, 2022, that the district will receive an $18,000 Health Services grant from TEA for medical-grade “H13 TRUE HEPA” Air Purifiers. In a post to their website addressing parents and families of students, Miles ISD shared, “The money will be utilized to install HEPA air purifiers in every classroom throughout the district. Air purifiers are scientifically proven to filter 99.99% of airborne particles down to 0.1 microns.” view article

CANYON, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Officials with the Canyon Independent School District released a statement regarding COVID-19, as cases have increased and other school districts have canceled classes throughout the Texas Panhandle. Former Reagor-Dykes CFO sentenced to 84 months in federal prison According to a post made to the Canyon ISD Facebook page, officials said the following: “We continue to work closely with the local health department for guidance. We have increased cleaning and disinfecting of our campuses. Each day, we monitor the number of cases of students and staff so we are able to make the best decisions for our campuses.” view article

PERRYTON, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — A local school district could soon be arming their faculty and it is a decision they are not taking lightly. “With the environment in the world today and all the different school shootings. They seem to continue to happen. So I think that it’s better to be prepared than be caught off guard,” said Perryton ISD Superintendent James Mireles. Superintendent Mireles on possibly allowing faculty to have handguns on campus. view article

CHAPEL HILL, Texas — Chapel Hill ISD officially returned to class in the midst of rising COVID cases in East Texas. However, they did so with a major difference in place, as they reinstated their mask mandate.  Masks are now required to be worn indoors for all students, staff, and visitors. They are also mandatory in school buses. view article

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Wichita Falls ISD is reporting over 570 active cases in the district as of Monday, January 17.  With so many active cases, the district has released their current COVID procedure for students who test positive or who have a household member test positive.  According to a WFISD Facebook post, students who test positive must quarantine for five days after the onset of any symptoms. Before returning to school, a student has to have remained fever-free for a period of 24 hours without taking medicine. view article

Staffing issues due to COVID-19 shut all SISD schools down for the rest of the week but district leaders are still working to make sure there will be a safe return.  SALADO, Texas — The recent COVID-19 surge is forcing Central Texas school districts to come up with ways to keep students safe, schools open and COVID-19 cases down.  Some have resorted to asking parents to substitute. Other school district's administrations are having to help fill the gaps where staff is out. Meanwhile, others are just saying it's best to close the doors for a couple of days that includes Salado Independent School District. view article

For now, the wearing of facemasks as a precaution against COVID-19 will remain optional for all Greenville ISD students and staff. On Tuesday, the GISD school board considered putting in place a short-term mask requirement in which students and staff who had been quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19 would have to wear facemasks for their first five days on campus after returning. The vote to impose the requirement came out to a tie, so the motion failed. In the brief conversation that preceded the vote, it was evident that trustees were split on the issue. view article

AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death here in the United States and according to the National Institute of Mental Health, as of 2019 around 6,500 adolescents and teens have committed suicide.  Experts like Haley Stoddard from Northwest Texas Hospital say that a leading cause of this is caused by feeling a sense of burden or not belonging in either the home or in life. And that these emotions are amplified when comparing themselves through the lens of social media. view article

Amid low temperatures and the potential for wintry mix, Fort Bend ISD is watching weather conditions closely, according to a district Facebook post. The district will let staff members and parents know via its website, social media and mass notification system if the weather results in changes to the normal school day, operations or scheduled activities. view article

Lumberton Police and multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a telephone threat at about noon that resulted in a lockdown of all LISD campuses, ending with the lockdown lifted and no actual threat or person making the threat found, according to Lumberton Police Chief Danny Sullins and Lumberton ISD. Nederland ISD dealt with a similar threatening call earlier Wednesday, also resulting in lockdowns but no actual threat or person making the threat found, according to Nederland Police Chief Gary Porter, but resulting in a greater presence of law enforcement at NISD campuses throughout the day. view article

The Texas Tribune is using daily data from the Texas Department of State Health Services to track coronavirus vaccinations, cases, hospitalizations and deaths. The state data comes from vaccine providers, city and county health departments, hospitals and laboratories. It may not represent all cases of the disease given limited testing. view article

Due to the spread of COVID-19, Santa Rosa ISD schools will be closed on Friday, Jan. 21, according to a letter sent to parents. Crews will be using the day to sanitize all facilities and classrooms. "We want to ensure that we do everything possible that is available to us to halt the spread of this virus. We want to ensure that our students and staff learn and work in the best possible school environment," Interim Superintendent Yolanda Chapa said in the letter. view article

What an unbelievable couple of weeks since returning from the Christmas Break – this new COVID variant along with the flu, stomach virus and other illnesses have presented the BISD administrative team with some challenges and a tough decision to make.  For the last five school days, student and staff attendance has steadily declined. We are sending more students home each day than are able to return to school under the current TEA protocols. view article

EL PASO, Texas (CBS4) — CBS4 learned more about El Paso Independent School District's new mask provision with the option to opt-out. The new mask provision will go into effect on Jan. 25 and run through Feb. 15. The provision exempts students participating in athletics and fine arts from wearing a face mask during games, events, practices and performances, unless they have tested positive for COVID within the last 10 days, according to EPISD. Exceptions to the provision include the mandatory use of a face mask for any person on campus who has tested positive for COVID and chooses to return to school or work after five days of isolation without any symptoms. view article

It's a chilly Thursday, San Antonio. After putting a pause on the policy in the fall, Northside ISD has reinstated its mask requirements. Here's what you need to know.  On Wednesday, the school district reinstated the policy requiring students and staff to wear masks indoors, Superintendent Brian Woods announced in a video posted online. Woods said 20 percent of students and 15 percent of staff were absent last week. NISD saw an improvement in attendance on Tuesday, January 18, but Woods says it is too soon to say if it's a trend.  view article

A number of districts have closed through Tuesday due to a rise in COVID-19 cases. Houston area schools are struggling to stay open as they combat staffing shortages, due in part to COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the state. Houston ISD closed its campuses and offices Tuesday, citing a rise in COVID-19 cases in the community and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo raising the viral threat level to “Level 1: Red” last week. view article

MISSION — Sharyland ISD announced schools will be closed next Monday and Tuesday due to a rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across all district campuses and facilities. Students won’t be required to attend virtual instruction for those two days, Superintendent Maria Vidaurri wrote in a statement, and much of the district’s staff will use the time for remote planning and preparation. Other staff, it appears, will be spending Monday and Tuesday cleaning. view article

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance for COVID-19 safety in schools in the past week, including a few suggestions on how schools might limit extracurricular activities like sports, choir, or band. The CDC suggested that schools in areas of high transmission either cancel or hold high-risk sports and extracurricular activities virtually “to protect in-person learning.” Such measures were suggested in a published table within other guidelines for school COVID-19 prevention. view article

Crosby ISD issued a statement Wednesday regarding the deaths: "Crosby ISD has a heavy heart today. We are saddened by the tragedy that unfolded last night in our Crosby community. Although we don’t know all the details right now, we do know three young lives ended suddenly. view article

Pearland ISD employees will once again be able to take leave explicitly due to COVID-19. The PISD board of trustees at its Jan. 18 board meeting adopted the resolution to extend COVID-19 leave through February. According to agenda documents, the second extension of employee sick leave related to COVID-19 ended on Dec. 31 but the board of trustees chose to extend it due to the omicron variant. “We are recommending three [days off], and part of the rationale is of course with the omicron variant and the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s] new regulations, the time of quarantining has been reduced to five days,” Superintendent John Kelly said. “So we are saying, essentially, if we grant three and the employee takes two ... both the employee and the district share the cost.” view article

Agua Dulce ISD will close Thursday, Jan. 20 and Friday, Jan. 21 due to a high rate of illness and the possibility of freezing temperatures. Benavides ISD will have early release Thursday and no school at all on Friday, Jan. 21. Corpus Christi ISD: According to Chief Communications Officer for CCISD, Leanne Libby, the district will have a two hour delay on Friday, Jan. 21. Classes will remain on regular schedule Thursday. Friday, Elementary school will start at 9:50 a.m. while middle and high school campuses will start at 10:50 a.m. Thursday and Friday dismissal is scheduled to be the same, along with extracurricular activities unless instructed otherwise. view article

The Killeen Independent School District on Wednesday announced it will remain open while following new CDC guidelines. KISD Superintendent John Craft stated in a video to parents that the school district is working effortlessly “to remain open mainly due to the logistics of a school district their size.” view article

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — KFOX14 learned more about El Paso Independent School District's new mask provision with the option to opt-out. The new mask provision will go into effect on Jan. 25 and run through Feb. 15. The provision exempts students participating in athletics and fine arts from wearing a face mask during games, events, practices and performances, unless they have tested positive for COVID within the last 10 days, according to EPISD. view article

SAN ANGLEO, TX – San Angelo ISD reported on Tuesday that over 400 students tested positive for COVID-19 last week. According to San Angelo ISD, from Jan. 10-14, 408 students and 42 staff members tested positive for COVID-19. view article

Academy ISD Superintendent Billy Harlan announced Tuesday that school will be canceled for the rest of the week because of a rise in COVID-19 cases. In a letter to parents, Harlan said COVID-19 has hit faculty and staff hard recently, and student attendance has also dropped. He says without staff, the entire school function is disrupted. That includes child nutrition, transportation, and daily cleaning. While school is not in session, all campuses will be sanitized and air filters will be checked and replaced as needed. view article

Denton ISD said police have given the “all clear” and campuses operations have returned to normal at all schools: Guyer High , Calhoun Middle and Newton Rayzor Elementary schools, Ryan High School and Denton High School. Denton Police said one person at Denton High School and one person at Ryan High School have been detained. view article

As of Wednesday, Jan. 19, the Victoria ISD will begin following additional protocol regarding the identification of Covid-10 amongst staff across the District. Each campus will monitor staff attendance thresholds by campus. The district will also provide weekly Covid-19 updates regarding staff and students districtwide. Victoria ISD will then post these updates at the end of every week at https://www.visd.net/covid. view article

Masking is a critical public health tool for preventing spread of COVID-19, and it is important to remember that any mask is better than no mask.  To protect yourself and others from COVID-19, CDC continues to recommend that you wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently. view article

McKinney ISD reported 803 active COVID-19 student cases on Tuesday, an increase of 150% since last Tuesday, Jan. 11, according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard. With 23,487 students enrolled in the district, Tuesday’s case count represents 3.42% of the student population. On Jan. 11, the district reported 321 active student cases. McKinney Boyd High School has the highest active student cases, with 187 students testing positive for the virus. Of the district’s staff, 3.25% are testing positive for COVID-19, or 91 staff members out of 2,800 total staff. Among the district’s elementary and secondary schools, Press Elementary reported the most active student cases at 30 while Evans Middle School had 61 active cases. view article

Leverett's Chapel ISD will remain closed until Monday, January 24 due to increasing rates of COVID-19 infections among staff and students, district Superintendent Josh Johnson announced in a Facebook post today. The district reported five active staff cases and 11 student cases, with "many more" students listed as potential close contacts to someone with COVID, the post said. "It was my hope that an extra day off this weekend would slow down our COVID spike. Unfortunately, it has not," Johnson said. "In addition to the staff, we've had more students test positive as of today. When they test positive, their siblings must go home as well. This has caused a major hit to our attendance." view article

The Donna school district Monday joined a growing number of Hidalgo County school systems that have approved additional paid leave for employees isolated because of COVID-19 since the beginning of the spring semester.  Donna Independent School District logo  The resolution greenlit by Donna’s board approved up to seven days of isolation because of COVID-19 and is retroactive as of Jan. 3. view article