MANOR, Texas — While many Central Texas students are already back in school or are heading back this week, Manor ISD students and staff still have one more week of summer. But district officials are making decisions now to try to keep the community safe.
Manor ISD Superintendent Dr. Andre Spencer joined KVUE to discuss the upcoming school year before the district's first day of school on Aug. 23.
Face masks will be required on Manor ISD property. That decision defies state orders. Can you explain the district's reasoning behind requiring masks?
Spencer: "So, first and foremost, I'd like to say our scholars' and staff's safety is No. 1 for us. That's really critical and important to us, to our board of education, to myself and to my executive team here at Manor ISD. it's just unfortunate that we're even having to engage in this conversation because of the political tennis game that has been going back and forth with the decision making. But for – not on our behalf, on the state's behalf – but for us, it's just important that our scholars and our staff are safe. And so, as we watch the science, as we monitor what Austin Public Health is saying, as we monitor what CDC is saying, everyone is pretty much articulating that wearing masks, the simple act of wearing masks will allow for us to be able to cut down perhaps on some of the cases and rise in cases that we're seeing throughout the county and throughout the city of Austin.
So, again, it's just us wanting to make certain that we are keeping our scholars and our staff as safe as we possibly can. So, that's important to us. And we're hoping that we get the support from the governor around this. We're hoping that we get this support from, and continue to get the support, from the county around the decision that we have made."
What happens if a student or faculty member does not comply with the new rule to wear masks in the classroom?
Spencer: "So, for us, we're not looking to make anything punitive. However, we are going to definitely adhere to our mask mandate. So, we're going to treat this just as we treat most other incidents that may occur within a schoolhouse. We're going to have some conversation with the individual and that starts at the schoolhouse and informing them of what the requirements are, what the expectations are. Of course, we will involve our parents in that conversation so we can solicit some support and some help from the parent to make sure that the young person is adhering to the expectation that we have in place.
We're engaging in restorative justice, restorative circles this year as one of the practices that we have to make sure that young people understand the importance of making appropriate decisions. But then also understanding the importance of continuously monitoring their actions. But we're doing the exact same thing with the adults. We had surveys that went out to our families and went out to our staff, and over 85%, 85% of our folks, respectively, have already highlighted that they are going to wear masks. So, we don't anticipate that this is going to be a problem for us."
Viewers want to know about virtual options at Manor ISD. What is your message to parents who are concerned about sending their kid back to school with this in-person instruction?
Spencer: "So, I do want to highlight that we do have a virtual learning academy option. And we had that in place, we put that in place last week. We've already had a good number of our parents sign up for the Virtual Learning Academy who will be participating in the Virtual Learning Academy. And in fact, we've had a few of our parents who have communicated now that we have the mask mandate, they now want their scholars to return in person. But for in person, we're making sure that we're keeping folks safe because that's ultimately what our goal is to keep all of our scholars and staff safe. But we do have the Virtual Learning Academy option."
What other measures do you have in place in the classroom, besides face masks, to keep everyone safe?
Spencer: "Yes, so we're also encouraging young people and staff to wear face shields and we're providing all of this equipment to everyone. Face shields, we're putting in place desk shields, which are in place at the moment. We're making certain that we're doing cleaning of every single spot, location, within the campus. If we have any issues with any outbreaks, we're immediately activating our task force, which is responsible for updating our dashboard. Also referring individuals to our decision-making tree. So, 'If you have symptoms, this is what you do.' We're encouraging our staff and requiring our staff to actually engage in a two-question self-assessment every morning to be able to determine if it's safe for them to return back to work. 'Do you have a fever? Do you have any symptoms?' If so, we're expecting you to activate that task force so that we can kick in gear to engage in the process that we have in place."
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