AUSTIN, Texas — Austin ISD announced on Friday it will close all its campuses indefinitely to help stop the spread of the coronavirus in Austin.
In a letter sent to the AISD community, Superintendent Paul Cruz said the district is taking steps to ensure the health and safety of students, staff and families.
“With this in mind, I have determined that our 129 campus buildings will remain closed for an indefinite period of time, as part of the district’s ongoing efforts to slow the spread of the COVID-19,” Cruz said in the letter.
The school district will compensate all staff through the end of their contracts or the fiscal year.
Cruz said AISD will also be offering options to teachers for content delivery, including take-home and virtual learning opportunities.
“I am convinced that with the guidance of our amazing staff, our students and their families will successfully remain engaged through continuous learning,” he said. “In this new and unprecedented environment, we will continue to further define the roles of students, teachers and families.”
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Cruz urged parents to talk to children about the ongoing situation.
“It will take time to work through the many emotions of this shift in our day-to-day life, but with this decision, we are doing our best to stay apart now, so we can be together again soon – as an AISD Family,” he said.
Read Cruz’s full letter below:
"Dear Austin ISD Family,
Campus closures are never ideal, but there is nothing more important than the safety and health of our students, staff and families. With this in mind, I have determined that our 129 campus buildings will remain closed for an indefinite period of time, as part of the district’s ongoing efforts to slow the spread of the COVID-19.
This extension to the previously announced closure, is a cautious and necessary action considering our wide-ranging community efforts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
We are pleased to be offering many options that teachers have for content delivery, including take-home and virtual learning opportunities. You can read specifics about this in an earlier letter sent to families and staff this week at: https://www.austinisd.org/covid19/communications. I am convinced that with the guidance of our amazing staff, our students and their families will successfully remain engaged through Continuous Learning. In this new and unprecedented environment, we will continue to further define the roles of students, teachers, and families.
Also, know that we are collaborating with private and public sector partners to ensure geographic areas lacking Internet connectivity are addressed. I am #AISDproud of the fact that between our previously distributed mobile devices, those that we have recently distributed and those we have a plan to distribute in the coming days, nearly 51,000 students will be assisted with technology to support Continuous Learning.
The continued separation from our campus communities may be challenging for students. As important as ongoing learning is, what is even more important is caring for the whole child with special consideration taken through Social Emotional Learning. Take time to talk to your children and process what is happening together. It’s okay to acknowledge and get their thoughts on the fact that we are in a much different place and time than we were last week, last month and even a year ago. It will take time to work through the many emotions of this shift in our day-to-day life, but with this decision, we are doing our best to stay apart now, so we can be together again soon–as an AISD Family.
Today’s announcement is intended to give parents and educators as much certainty as possible so families can make decisions and plan. While this is not the outcome we wanted for the close of the 2019-2020 school year, I am grateful for your partnership in our efforts to best prepare students for when our campuses reopen.
Again, to engage with us further, I ask you to share your thoughts with us at: https://my.thoughtexchange.com/#498310266/hub.
Health and safety is our number one priority. We will continue to work closely with public health officials to make the best decisions for our school communities.
Sincerely,
Paul Cruz, PhD
Austin ISD
Superintendent"
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