KILLEEN, TX — The start of this new school year will look different than ever before in 2020. Killeen ISD the new school year Monday with virtual classes.
For KISD, the first day of school was not only about learning your new teacher and classmates, but also about learning how to work the system and technology.
As kiddos begin a new school year, they’ll greet their classmates through a laptop, at least for now. Killeen ISD knew the first day of school would have some hiccups as families adapt to the technology.
“We’ve had about 1,800 requests today just for resetting a password. That’s because these children have not engaged since March on that platform so they probably forgot a password just like you and I do every day. We have a really large team working on that,” said Taina Maya, Killen ISD's Chief Communications and Marketing Officer.
Maya told 25 News that by noon, attendance for the first day of school showed 39,000 students had logged on, and that figure will only grow. KISD now has a team to help mitigate technical difficulties.
“We had a technology hotline and then a campus line, and then from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. we have another team of people from our technology center that answers those calls. All together right now there is probably over 300 people answering phone calls in the district, and there was about 620 this morning that are still waiting to be replied to and answered voicemails, but we are working through that list,” said Maya.
KISD says there is a learning curve, but they believe virtual learning will get better as students become more familiar with it.
“And just seeing the reaction of kids seeing each other on Zoom call for the first day of school... I think while we miss seeing our kids in person, that makes up for when they are walking through the halls and the doors for the very first day, and we can’t wait for September 8 when we are open for in-person instruction,” said Maya.
Killeen ISD sent out a statement later Monday asking families and students "to continually communicate needs and issues, while also understanding we [the district] are committed to working as hard as possible to one day soon having the kinks worked out of a new, transformed education system."