Schools are online only for remainder of the year

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced last week that all Texas schools, including Wimberley Independent School District, will remain closed through the end of the current school year.

WISD will continue to provide remote instruction and meal services until the final day of school.

“Just like whenever the closure was announced initially back at spring break, our intentions were and still are to continue to develop instructional packets whether it is an online or physical packet,” Wimberley ISD Superintendent Dwain York said. “We are pushing them out two weeks at a time. That gives teachers time to get the information back, get it graded and assess where they are at.”

Under the governor’s executive order, schools will remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, including public, private and higher education institutions. Teachers may go into the classroom for video instruction, to perform administrative duties, and to clean out their rooms.

York said that he is proud of the way Wimberley ISD teachers have handled the changes.

“We are in uncharted territory right now,” York said. “I think our staff has done a phenomenal job. We will continue to do this until the last day of school. Some of our Google classrooms and Zoom instruction has been excellent. A lot of parents are praising their teachers for the instructional material putting out.”

Local social media was full of comments from teachers this week that were sad that school will not be in session, at least physically, for the rest of the year.

“Our teachers were very upset that they couldn’t have closure with their kids,” York said. “Those last couple of days of school, whether you are in elementary or in secondary, are important. I think this was a reality check that you need closure with those kids. You have faced challenges together and solved problems. You end up building this strong relationship and all the sudden it was just cut out from underneath them.”

But spirits remain high. York highlighted the teachers at Scudder Elementary, who have come up with some unique ways to lift their student’s spirits including wearing costumes while delivering packets.

“You should have been there at Scudder when the kids were driving through to pick up their packets,” York said. “Teachers lined up in their cars with signs that said ‘We miss you guys.’ Kids had signs for teachers. It was pretty cool.”