Many K-12 schools across the state are just returning to in-person learning. But in Lubbock, the majority of students have been back in the classroom for months.
The Lubbock Independent School District was the largest in the state to return to in-person classes when they said they would in mid-August. At the time, about 70% of the district's 26,700 students enrolled for in-person instruction.
It’s been interesting," Lubbock ISD Superintendent Kathy Rollo said. "A lot of the questions and concerns and issues that other large urban districts are facing, we’re like ‘oh yeah, we crossed that bridge a long time ago.'”
At the end of the first nine-week grading period, Rollo said another 2,000 students returned to in-person classes after starting the year virtually. Rollo said the school year has not been easy, as educators and families have been tested by the circumstances. But everyone is working together to make it happen.
“I think we’ve been able to prove, to the public, too, that we could do this safely," Rollo said. "We knew we’d have cases in the schools and we have.”
Lubbock ISD reports on its recently-launched COVID-19 data dashboard that 569 cases of COVID-19 have been connected to the school district since the start of classes. That includes an outbreak at Lubbock High School that temporarily paused the football season.
City of Lubbock Health Director Katherine Wells, whose own children are attending school in-person, said there has been minimal spread in classrooms where students and teachers are wearing masks and distancing.
“We’re not seeing transmission between two children sitting next to each other in the classroom," Wells said at a recent news conference. "We’re seeing it through all of the other extracurricular activities, those gatherings, play dates. That’s what our contact tracing shows.”
The trend is similar at Frenship ISD, where 10,000 students are enrolled. They’ve reported 155 confirmed COVID cases between students and staff, according to the Texas Education Agency. Superintendent Michelle McCord said about 90% of students are in face-to-face classes.
“It is going really well," McCord said. "Now of course, we’re not perfect when it comes to virtual learning and there have been some hiccups along the way.”
McCord described the spring semester as a period of crisis. She said the district worked to move students to off-campus learning, but did not have the chance to really improve and refine virtual options until the summer.
The different circumstances each family faces have led to figuring out details the administration had not thought of, McCord said. Things like the social services schools offer and technology needs.
“It’s just those little things," McCord said. "We’ve been a school district for 87 years and some of these things are just (happening for) the first time.”
In South Lubbock County, Lubbock-Cooper ISD recently chose to end its virtual learning option for most students. Several smaller districts in the area have done the same. The Texas Education Agency only required districts to offer virtual learning for the first few weeks of school.
Lubbock-Cooper ISD Superintendent Keith Bryant said after the first few tests, there were concerns about virtual students' class performance.
“I will say we had some kids, a very very small number and a very very small percentage that were doing very well with virtual learning. Less than 10%," Bryant said. "But we had a significant number, between 50 and 70% depending on the campus, that were really struggling.”
Ending virtual learning affected a few hundred students, though exceptions were made for some with health concerns. Lubbock-Cooper started the school year with around 90% of its 72 hundred students enrolled in face-to-face classes. The most recent Texas Education Agency report shows the district has confirmed 105 COVID cases in students and staff since August.
The three superintendents each said it was hard to guess how this year would go. They all agreed that flexibility, communication and recognizing that this is hard and new for everyone has been key.
“Education involves change, it always has, but moreso this year," Bryant said. "What you plan for one, two, three, four, nine months ahead of time can change at the drop of a hat.”
Kaysie Ellingson contributed to this story.
Have a news tip? Email Sarah Self-Walbrick at saselfwa@ttu.edu. Follow her reporting on Twitter @SarahFromTTUPM.
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