51% of CCISD student enrollment heads back to campus on Tuesday

By BRITTANY FHOLER 
Cove Leader-Press 

The first day of the 2020-2021 school year for more than 8,000 students in Copperas Cove Independent School District will begin Tuesday morning. 
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents were given the option of either on-campus learning or at-home learning for their students. 
The district sent out a parent commitment survey the first week of August, to select one of the two options. More than half, at 51 percent, selected on-campus learning, while 41 percent selected at-home learning. 
The other eight percent had not responded to the survey, as of press time.
For those who have not responded, campuses are calling parents using the phone number provided in the student’s prior enrollment records to determine the preferred learning option, according to CCISD’s Director of Communications Wendy Sledd. 
Without a response from the parent regarding the learning option, CCISD is not able to assign a student to a teacher or provide a schedule. 
If a student arrives at school without having a learning option selected, they will be accommodated with a classroom teacher, however. 
Once a parent has selected their student’s learning option, they cannot change until the first six weeks grading period is finished. 
Families who chose at-home learning and who need an electronic device and/or internet hotspot may check out a device from the district. 
Parents could begin contacting their student’s home campus August 10 to schedule an appointment to check out the mobile devices. 
For students in Pre-K to 1st grade, the devices will be iPads, while students in 2nd grade through 12th grade will receive laptops. The period to check out these devices is still open. The devices must be signed out by a parent and returned in good working condition when all students return to the campus. 
In addition to the limited number of hotspots available for checkout, the district does also offer WiFi at each campus’ parking lot for families who need to access the internet. 
According to the district’s Return to School 2020 plan on www.ccisd.com/backtoschool, students doing At-Home Learning will “engage in daily activities that combine video-based, teacher-led instruction along with independent learning.” 
Learning activities will primarily be delivered through an online learning management system known as Schoology (PK-12th grade) and/or Edgenuity (6-12th grade).
Students will receive a structured schedule, indicating recommended times for participation in approximately four hours of video-based instruction, followed by two to three hours of independent learning activities. 
The website also has samples of Pre-K, Elementary and Secondary schedules.
Even doing At-Home Learning, student attendance will be counted. Students must login to each course daily, participate and make progress to be counted in attendance.  If a student does not participate daily, that student will be counted as absent for the day. 
Some teachers have created virtual classrooms to help make their students feel more welcomed. 
For students participating in on-campus learning, a face covering is required. The district provided an update as of July 24 that students may wear a face covering of their choice as long as it complies with the student dress code, meaning no bandanas and no masks with inappropriate logos, markings or sayings. 
The district has also updated its visitors’ policy. Visitors to schools or district facilities, including parent/guardian visits, are restricted to visits deemed essential to school operations. They will be required to schedule appointments for campus visits.
 All visitors to campus will have their temperature checked. Refusal to comply with the temperature check will result in a denial of admittance to the campus, as will a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.  
All visitors will also complete a screening tool to determine if the visitor has had close contact with an individual who is lab-confirmed with COVID-19 and are exhibiting symptoms. If so, the visitor must remain off campus until the 14-day incubation period has passed.
Parents/guardians will also not be permitted to eat with their student, go to the cafeteria or escort their student to class, nor will they be permitted to deliver food to their student for lunch without administrator approval.
There will be no in-person assemblies or programs held during the fall semester, and parents will be allowed to attend any class parties or performances virtually only. 
Parents will be receiving any future updates through their Schoology account.