July 14, 2020

Dear Holliday ISD Families,

Let me preface this letter with the disclaimer that everything we are putting out today is subject to change.  The governor is expected to hold a press conference tomorrow that may alter the content of this letter.  As we currently continue to move forward with our plans for the 20-21 school year, we are excited about the opportunity to get students back on campus.  I think we all understand that school will look different this fall and there will be new requirements and protocols that will be put in place.  Please keep in mind that the decisions being made are in an effort to create as safe of an environment as we can for our students and staff. 

Our current plan is to open school as scheduled on August 17^th.  I was very happy to see that we had 678 families and 86 staff members fill out the surveys that were sent out.  The information that was collected has been very helpful in knowing what expectations are as we put together our plan.  The survey showed that 77.2% of our families and 94.1% of staff felt comfortable returning to campus with the various safety measures.  We also understand that there are some families that are hesitant to have their students return to campus at this time.  In accordance with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) guidelines for return to school, and the feelings of our families on both sides, we will offer parents the choice of on-campus instruction or a virtual learning option.  We will be asking parents to decide by August 3^rd which option they want for their students.  You will have our complete plan of what the two options will look like prior to you having to make this important decision.

Extracurricular activities will be guided by the TEA and the University Interscholastic League.  We will continue to follow recommendations from these two agencies concerning our students participation.  Keep in mind that it will be very difficult for a student that chooses remote instruction to be involved in these activities.  We will be making decisions on whether or not to allow students who are not physically on campus to participate in these activities. 

I am hopeful that we will have our plan in place by July 23^rd, and we will release that information once we have had a chance to get it approved.  We know that there will be many questions to be answered and want to be as diligent as we can in providing as much information as we can. 

Thank you again for your participation in our surveys and for your patience in this process.  We are doing all we can to stay up with the changes as they happen and will do our best to keep you informed.

Sincerely,

Cody Carroll

Superintendent

Holliday ISD