WESTPHALIA, TX — Due to school closures and switching to remote learning in the spring, many students have fallen behind, making summer school programs more important than ever. On Monday Westphalia ISD opened their doors for the first time in five months.
The school district was one of the first districts to reopen to students in Central Texas. Monday, the district once again began teaching.
“I emailed all the parents in the district and told them this was our summer jump-start. We are really going to look at the ten weeks we missed, what do we think we might need to work on to help those kids and also get them back acclimated to the school,” said Westphalia ISD Superintendent Robert Hudson.
Hudson said that despite being a smaller school district, they do have the size and resources to be able to social distance and follow the safety guidelines issued by the Texas Education Agency and the state.
“We’re taking their temperatures in their classrooms. We are six feet apart. Any of them that are ten or older are wearing masks. All of the adults is wearing masks,” said Hudson.
The superintendent confirmed that so far, no one has tested positive for COVID-19, but they do have a plan in place if a student or staff member were to contract the virus.
”Always the first thing is the safety of our kids and our staff, but so far so good. Today we thought everything has gone well and we hope it will continue to be that way,” said Hudson.
While not all students are back quite yet, all the teachers did return and were overjoyed to see the kids.
“The kids are full of information. They want to talk about what’s going on, what they have done. So I think it's been a really good day for everybody involved,” said Hudson.
The superintendent did want to remind everyone that the students and teachers who did return came voluntarily. He hopes that these two weeks will help determine what works and doesn’t work for a smoother transition in the fall.
