March 16, 2020
Huston Academy Parents and Students:
The last week has been the most bizarre that I can remember in all of my years. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has thrown the world into turmoil. The spread of the virus seems to be growing, prompting most educational institutions extend Spring Break time and for some to even suspend face-to-face classes. Events that draw large crowds are being cancelled or postponed, including most sporting events and concerts.
However, the administration of Huston Academy has been closely monitoring the data and statistics and we originally made the decision to try to resume classes on Tuesday, March 17. But it is becoming more and more evident that at this time we should act with the utmost caution. Therefore, we have decided to extend our time out of school through the end of the day Friday, March 20. We will look at the data and make another announcement on Friday concerning next week and beyond. That being said, it appears to be increasingly evident that this health emergency could last quite a long time, but we would like to wait until Friday to make any long-lasting decisions. Please understand that we would much rather be here at school serving our students face-to-face. But at this time we feel very strongly that the safest decision is to practice the social distancing that is being recommended by the health professionals and do our part to help to keep our community safe.
So what is next? The number one priority for us is to support our students and help them to continue to make academic progress. That is not going to be the easiest of tasks but it is one to which we are committed. Our teachers have worked very hard to make plans to move all of our instruction online. For those of you who do not have internet access at home, we may have a solution for you. This is a link to a very short survey that will let you tell us if you have internet access at home and then we can reach out to you and explore a solution, https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/V2DJKM8. All students should check in with their teachers using the Google Classroom app that they normally use. Additionally, students are now free to use their student school email account, which has been opened up for students while we are working under these conditions.
Thanks to our friends at Stephenville ISD, we can offer you the opportunity to pick up a free breakfast and lunch at Henderson Jr. High. The pick-up times for breakfast and lunch will be 7:30-8:30 Monday through Friday. Again we will need to know if you want to participate in the meal program and that question is also included on the same linked survey found above. Additionally, our Huston Academy Food Pantry will be open every Thursday morning that we are working under these conditions. Pantry times will be from 8:30 until 9:30 am. You can just drive up to the front of the school and we will bring out the food to your car. There is no cost for this food.
We will continue to coordinate with national, state, and local health authorities and our nearby peers in public education. As circumstances change we will stay in contact with you through our normal means of communication, direct message, Facebook, Twitter, and our homepage at www.hustonacademy.com. Additionally, your teachers will be in contact with you in the process of supporting you with your academic pursuits. Finally, we spent quite a bit of time during Spring Break thoroughly disinfecting and sanitizing the building and plans are in place to make that a regular practice moving forward. So when we are able to return to school it should be to a clean and germ-free building.
It really does not need to be said, but diligence in personal health practices is essential for all of us to do our part in limiting the spread of this particular virus and all other harmful germs. I am including a link to a great tool that talks to these important mitigation practices. Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions or if we can be of further assistance.
COVID-19 - Stop the SPread of Germs - DSHS.Texas.Gov
Sincerely,
Mike Scott
Superintendent
Erath Excels Academy