TEXAS, USA — KVUE is keeping you updated with the latest coronavirus and COVID-19 news in the Austin area.
Marble Falls ISD became the first school district in the KVUE area to close a school when it was announced on Wednesday, Aug. 25, that an elementary school in Granite Shoals was closed through Monday.
Below, we'll keep track of an updated running list of Central Texas school closures if they happen. Scroll down for the top latest updates of school closures in the KVUE viewing area due to COVID-19.
Burnet CISD is closing all campuses on Tuesday, Sept. 7, and Wednesday, Sept. 8, due to COVID-19. The district said this includes a hold on all extracurricular events and practices. It will request its board to approve a change to the calendar so Sept. 27 and Oct. 11 will become student days.
"As you are aware, COVID-19 cases have continued to spike in Burnet county," the district said in a statement. "In addition to low student attendance rates at all campuses, we are experiencing a large number of staff absences. These absences interfere with safe operations and student supervision as well as challenges for sick or quarantined students to keep pace with makeup work."
In an email to parents on Aug. 31, Hays CISD superintendent Eric Wright said several classrooms in the district were closed and had moved to remote learning due to COVID-19 cases. As of Sept. 2, those classes are:
- Two fifth-grade classrooms and one kindergarten classroom at Elm Grove Elementary School
- One fourth-grade classroom at Buda Elementary School
- One pre-K classroom at Negley Elementary School
- One special education classroom at Chapa Middle School
On Sept. 15, Hays CISD announced the closure of Tobias Elementary School until Monday, September 20, 2021. In the email sent Sept. 15, the district said:
"The campus classrooms that were previously transitioned to virtual instruction will continue with their original quarantine schedule. This includes any person who is COVID positive; they will continue to quarantine until their official return to campus date. This closure is a result of COVID positive cases on the campus totaling 10% of the campus population. Currently, we have a combined student/adult positive cases at Tobias Elementary School totaling 73 persons.
The campus will transition to remote conferencing offered through our virtual platform. The Schoology program will be utilized. Principal Dipalma will be forwarding information to parents regarding instruction."
For more information, visit the district website here.
Starting Wednesday, Sept. 8, all Lago Vista High School students will shift to remote learning through Friday, Sept. 10. All extracurricular activities are temporarily suspended until Monday, Sept. 13.
On Aug. 26, Leander ISD said it has begun closing individual elementary classrooms. On Aug. 27, it said the entire sixth grade at Canyon Ridge Middle School and Wiley Middle School would also be moving to remote instruction.
On Aug. 30, LISD closed the entire sixth grade at Danielson Middle School until Sept. 10. The district also closed a fifth-grade classroom at Steiner Ranch Elementary and a classroom at Knowles Elementary School until Sept. 7.
Starting Thursday, Sept. 2, through Friday, Sept. 10, all eighth-grade students at Liberty Hill Middle School will learn from home through remote conferencing because of the number of positive COVID-19 cases in that grade level. Sixth- and seventh-grade students will come to school like a normal day.
Some classes at elementary schools in the district are also going back to remote learning. The superintendent said the district will increase the cleaning of classrooms and monitor children for symptoms. Students are asked to wear masks, but the district does not have a mandate in place.
- Highland Lakes Elementary: Closed Aug. 26 and Aug. 27. Expected to reopen on Aug. 30.
Marble Falls ISD said in a letter to parents that all other campuses would "proceed as normal."
- Fern Bluff Elementary: Two classrooms closed for 10 days, district announced on Aug. 26. They're set to reopen Sept. 7.
- Caldwell Heights Elementary: One classroom closed for 10 days, district announced on Aug. 26. It's set to reopen Sept. 7.
- Forest Creek Elementary: Two classrooms closed until Sept. 7, the district said on Aug. 30
- Double File Trail Elementary: Two classrooms closed until Sept. 7, the district said on Aug. 30.
- Great Oaks Elementary: One class closed until Sept. 10, the district said Sept. 1.
- Teravista Elementary: One class closed until Sept. 13, the district said Sept. 1.
According to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard, there have been eight positive cases at each Fern Bluff and Caldwell Heights so far this school year among students and staff.
Parents of students in the affected classrooms were notified first, then campus-wide letters were sent out. Students in those classrooms will be offered remote learning for the 10-day period.
For a look at COVID-19 data across all of the state's counties, click here. KVUE is tracking COVID-19 data from five school districts in Central Texas. Many school districts have their own COVID-19 dashboard. To keep track of the latest COVID-19 news, visit kvue.com/coronavirus.
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