WISD sets COVID health guidelines
Wimberley Independent School District released the health and safety plan as it relates to COVID-19.
“We are trying to get back to normal as much as we can,” Wimberley ISD Superintendent Dwain York said. “We will continue our cleaning processes, and the safe breathing zones are up and running… Our goal is to not only educate our kids but to make the environment as clean and as safe as possible.”
Districts are not allowed to require masks or COVID-19 vaccinations following Governor Greg Abbott’s executive orders, but there are still many health and safety decisions left to the district as it relates to COVID-19 guidelines.
“For the 2021-22 school year all Wimberley ISD students and staff will have the choice whether they would like to wear a face covering or not, regardless of vaccination status. Campuses will have face coverings available for students or staff upon request,” the plan states.
The district is not offering any version of online learning. The health and safety plan released by the district says that the state is not offering any funding for a remote learning option. Besides the removal of the mask mandate, one of the larger changes from last year is that staff will not be doing contact tracing.
“District staff will not conduct school-based close-contact tracing,” the plan states. “Campus nurses will share information with families of students who have notified WISD of a positive test including the current CDC recommendations for isolation and quarantine protocols. This information will be shared on a case-by-case basis.”
York said that the mask component was a key part of successfully contact tracing last year and that without that measure in place it was unrealistic in the junior high and high school where students change classes consistently. However, the district will still reach out to parents when appropriate, and the school will update the number of cases of COVID-19 in each school online so that parents are aware.
“We are going to do our due diligence,” York said. “We aren’t throwing up our hands and saying it doesn’t matter. If we have information that we feel like the parent needs to make a decision then we are going to call the parent.”
In the lower school levels where classes typically stay together, parents would be notified if a student in the class tested positive.
“Parents of elementary students will be notified of positive cases in their child’s classroom. Parents of secondary students will be notified of positive cases by campus via a dashboard located at: wimberleyisd.net/covid-19.“
Students or staff that test positive will not be allowed to return to class for 10 days with the exception of those that believe the test is a false positive and receive “a medical professional’s note clearing the individual for return based on an alternative diagnosis.”
With those base protocols in place, York stated that school nurses play a vital role in initiating the process.
“That is the nurse’s job,” York said. “There is no sense in trying to map out specific scenarios… We have made it clear that, just like any other illness or infectious disease, the nurse would notify the parent (if they see symptoms). Their conversation is confidential, and then the parent makes their decisions from there with their pediatrician.”
The district outlined a “multi-layered mitigation strategy” that includes continued enhanced sanitation and classroom spacing where feasible. Hand sanitizer will be provided. The district also invested in air filtration systems called “Safe Breathing Zone Units.”
“Throughout the last school year Safe Breathing Zone Units were installed on campuses,” the plan states. “These units combine ultraviolet light, bipolar ionization and HEPA filtration technologies to ensure classrooms, administrative and nurses offices, libraries, music rooms, and athletic halls will be supplied with a curtain of super filtered air. Last fall semester, needle-point ionization units were installed into all of the district’s air units that serve large rooms, such as cafeterias, gymnasiums, and hallways.”
The plan states that all field trips, gatherings, guest speakers and special events will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
“All extracurricular and athletic events will follow participation guidelines set by the UIL (University Interscholastic League) and/ or the Texas Education Agency,” the plan states.
A limited number of visitors and volunteers will be allowed on campus at the principal’s discretion.
The plan also states “these procedures are subject to change as conditions warrant or based on updates provided by the state of Texas, the Texas Education Agency, or the Hays County Local Health Department.”