COVID19 Updates

District COVID19 Updates: What you need to know.
Posted on 03/19/2020
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COVID-19 District Updates: What you need to know. 

DeSoto Independent School District continues to actively monitor the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation in conjunction with local and federal health authorities. While the district is closed, DeSoto ISD emergency and essential personnel for this evolving situation continue to consult with local health authorities and to convene virtually and regularly in order to conduct a full and ongoing assessment of risks for students and staff. As always, the safety of our students, staff, and families remain a top priority, and we will act out of an abundance of caution to protect everyone’s health and wellbeing.

 

DeSoto ISD has extended the closure of schools and suspended normal operations indefinitely. This decision will be reassessed as more information becomes available.  This suspension of normal school operations, taken in conjunction with surrounding districts, is in support of the Nation’s effort to “flatten the curve” of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has outlined the need for all communities to implement a social distancing protocol. On March 17, 2020, the President publicly shared that the community should not gather in groups larger than 10 people. The District will remain flexible as leaders plan for long-term delivery of instruction and continue to navigate the many details of this unprecedented situation. 

We will provide updates on an ongoing basis. In this update, you’ll find information regarding:

 

               DeSoto ISD closed dates

              School Meals

               Event Cancellations

               Cleanings

               Extended Learning Plans

               Attendance

               Testing

               Graduation

               Pre K Enrollment

               Enrollment

               Learning

               Controlled Substance/Medication Left at Schools

               Employee Communication

               FAQs

 

DeSoto ISD has closed its campuses indefinitely.

Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety and well-being of our students and families, we have made the proactive decision that ALL DeSoto ISD schools will be closed indefinitely.

While the district is closed, DeSoto ISD emergency and essential personnel for this evolving situation will continue to consult with local health authorities and convene virtually and regularly in order to conduct a full and ongoing assessment of risks for students and staff. The length of closure will be reassessed as we continue to monitor this growing epidemic.

SCHOOL MEALS

Free meals will be available to all children ages 18 years and younger at the following distribution sites:

  • ●The Meadows Elementary
  • ●Frank D. Moates Elementary
  • ●DeSoto High School - Freshman Side
  • ●Woodridge Elementary and Amber Terrace DDC - Food Truck

The packaged meals will be distributed from 9 AM to 1 PM on Monday through Friday in a drive-thru fashion. No one will need to exit their personal vehicles, but all participating children must be in the vehicle. Children do not have to be a student at the campus to qualify for the meal, and families can visit any of the participating sites.

Click here for more information regarding school meals.

DISTRICT EVENTS AND EXTRACURRICULAR EVENTS CANCELLED OR POSTPONED

Effective immediately, all district events and extracurricular activities are canceled until the District reopens or further notice. This includes all district-sponsored UIL, athletics, fine arts, clubs, and group events. The district has created a webpage dedicated to UIL updates. Please click here.

EVENTS CANCELLED OR POSTPONED

The following DeSoto ISD events originally scheduled for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year are postponed, cancelled, or implemented in an alternative measure. An update regarding event rescheduling will be provided prior to the district reopening. A few events that have been postponed or cancelled included:

      Female Leadership Forum

      Male Leadership Symposium

      Hall of Honor Induction Ceremony

 GRADUATION & PROM

Due to the extended closure of district campuses and the suspension of all activities as a means to limit community spread of Coronavirus, the district will no longer offer prom. Leadership is considering an alternative to the traditional graduation ceremony for this year's senior class. More information will be forthcoming about adjustments for senior events including graduation. The COVID-19 situation is evolving daily. Please continue to follow our updates for more information.

ALL SCHOOLS AND FACILITIES DEEP-CLEANED

All DeSoto ISD schools and facilities have been deep-cleaned over Spring Break and during the extended closure. Campuses and all district offices are closed to all students and non-emergency personnel until the district reopens. All buildings are closed to outside rentals during this time. 

EXTENDED LEARNING PLANS

DeSoto ISD is enacting a district-wide closure of schools and offices to encourage social distancing measures for the health and safety of our community in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). We have come together to create a plan for student learning and a collection of resources for families to accommodate our immediate and indefinite closure for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. (This decision will be reassessed as information is released) We have generated distance learning plans for students that began Tuesday, March 17, 2020, with individual activities you will find in the document container below.

Click here to view the Distance Learning Plans for Weeks 1 & 2

UPDATES ON STANDARDIZED TESTING (STAAR)

Governor Greg Abbott today announced that he has waived the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) testing requirements for the 2019-2020 school year. We are continuing to follow updates from the College Board considering ACT, SAT, and AP testing.

DESOTO ISD EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION

DeISD employees will receive regular updates from district communications via the Weekly Eagle Newsletter on a daily basis until March 31st. Additionally, employees will receive continuous information from their respective principal, director and/or chief.  

PRE-K ENROLLMENT AND GENERAL ENROLLMENT

We are working on our enrollment options. Please continue to follow our updates for more information.

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES/MEDICINE RETRIEVAL PROTOCOL

We understand that there may be essential items that students may need to retrieve from campuses. Please use this form to submit a request to retrieve such items. An administrator from the campus you select will contact you and let you know when you may access the campus to retrieve your student's belongings. (If you have more than one student, please complete the form separately for each student).

In addition, if your family is experiencing a need due to the extended closure of not only schools, but other resources, please utilize this form and we will try to connect you to an outreach service.

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdgnBu0Eoz7w4P6YLz21Ke_5ixPpDlr57UGQpvc9WCq9gySgA/viewform?usp=sf_link 

FAQS:

We will update frequently asked questions daily on our COVID-19 page www.desotoisd.org/coronavirus.

Staff-focused FAQ can be found here

If you have questions, we’re here to help. Please email all questions to [email protected] or message us on any of our social media platforms.  We will review questions and provide answers as quickly as we can, but our hope is to provide you the most critical information every day.

Please check our Facebook page here for information. However, all critical updates will be located on our COVID-19 page.

HOW CAN YOU HELP

We have received many messages from our caring DeSoto ISD Family asking how to be of service during this situation. DeSoto ISD is grateful for the many requests from our community to assist and volunteer. While schools are closed, we ask that everyone practice social distancing to help prevent the spread of infection, so at this time, no volunteers are needed. Curbside food distribution may only be done by certified food handlers, and we have this covered with certified staff.

At this time, the most helpful things you can do include:

      Sharing DeSoto ISD updates with friends and family

      Following recommended CDC health practices such as washing hands frequently, avoiding large gatherings and practicing social distancing

We know this is a time of great stress. Although our district will operate differently during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are in this together for our community. Thank you for your continued patience, sacrifice, and support.  Please continue to monitor your email and visit the District website and social media channels for regular updates. The health and safety of our DeISD students, employees, and community are always our priority, and we will continue to work together to take good care of one another.