July 9, 2020

En español

Return to School Plan - Draft Available Online

As shared in yesterday’s update, a draft of the Plano ISD Return to School Plan for the 2020-2021 school year is now available on the district website at Return Plan. We hope that having this draft plan will be helpful as parents make decisions regarding their students’ learning environment for next school year.

This draft will continue to be revised and updates will be posted on our website to keep you as up-to-date as possible as we refine reopening plans.

As a reminder, we are extending the date to select the PISD School@Home remote learning option to Thursday, July 16 in order to provide you additional time to consider your choices. Your selection can be made through the Plano ISD Parent Portal, Gradebook. Instructions on how to make your selection through Parent Portal can be viewed online at online.

If you have questions or concerns, please refer them to AskPISD@pisd.edu. 

July 8, 2020

En español

Return to School Plan, 2020-2021 

We recognize that parents are currently making a selection about the type of learning environment they would like their child(ren) to participate in for the new school year and are eager to have health and safety guidelines for reopening school in order to make more informed decisions. Therefore, we will share a draft of the Plano ISD Return to School Plan on Thursday, July 9. The Return to School Plan will also be available on the Plano ISD website at 2021 Planning, where information, including an FAQ, will be regularly updated. 

On Tuesday, July 7, Texas school districts received guidance from the Texas Education Agency on health and safety guidelines for opening schools in August. Now that TEA has released the state guidance, we want to get our Plano ISD-specific plans out to parents as soon as possible.  

Please note that we are also extending the date to select the PISD School@Home remote learning option to Thursday, July 16 to give you additional time to consider your choices. Your selection can be made through the Plano ISD Parent Portal. Get instructions on how to make your selection through Parent Portal.

We will continue gathering parent input through our Advisory Groups, which will help us refine our plan in the areas where the state’s guidance has left the school district flexibility for implementation. If you have questions or concerns, please refer them to AskPISD@pisd.edu.

July 6, 2020

En español

School Year 2020-2021 Learning Environment Options

Despite the challenges with COVID-19, Plano ISD will continue to provide the excellent education that our community expects, which will include both in-person and virtual learning environments. As the public health crisis continues, we have been planning for the opening of the 2020-21 school year with a focus on the health, safety and well-being of our staff, students and community. Visit the district website to:

• Learn more about our 2020-2021 back-to-school plans
• Make your learning environment selection
• Read the FAQ

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Minnie’s Food Pantry Family Distribution, Thursday July 9

In partnership with Minnie’s Food Pantry, Plano ISD will hold a food distribution for families on Thursday, July 9, at Williams High School, from noon until 2:00 p.m., or as long as supplies last. This distribution will be held in the back parking lot of Williams, facing 18th Street, and is available to any family in need of food.

En español

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July 1, 2020

Dear Plano ISD Parents,

As a school district, we want nothing more than to welcome our students back into our schools on August 12. Despite the challenges with COVID-19, our district plan is to continue to provide the excellent education that our community expects, which will include both in-person and virtual learning environments. As the public health crisis continues, we have been planning for the opening of the 2020-21 school year with a focus on the health, safety and well-being of our staff, students and community.

While Plano ISD is planning for two different instructional environments, please know that we will follow recommendations for school opening and operations provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as state and local health officials. We are also awaiting further guidance from the Texas Education Agency.

The situation with COVID-19 is continuously changing, as are the protocols and measures needed to keep our students safe. Therefore, we will adjust our plans accordingly, so please understand the need for flexibility and potential modifications to the plans we have outlined below. As adjustments may be necessary throughout the coming school year, it will be our priority to keep our community informed of those changes and updates. Our District website will provide you with the most up-to-date information.  

Plano ISD families will be able to choose from two different learning environments:

• Face-to-face: Students and teachers will attend class in-person, five days a week, with additional safety measures in alignment with state and federal guidelines and recommendations.
  • In this setting, teachers will provide face-to-face instruction, learning resources and support utilizing Google Classroom.
  • Teachers will plan instruction that is easily transferable from face-to-face to remote in the event of a temporary school closure due to COVID spread.
  • Social distancing requirements will be implemented to the greatest degree possible.
  • District-directed and campus-designed safety procedures will be implemented. 
  • All staff and students will receive training on safety and health protocols consistent with TEA, the District and CDC guidance in the areas of:
    • Health screenings and use of personal protective equipment 
    • Classroom and campus social-distancing including the plans for the design and layout of classrooms, grouping of students, use of common areas such as bathrooms, water fountains, lockers, clinics, playgrounds, cafeterias, gyms, library, art room, music room, etc., as well as classroom transitions and use of hallways 
    • Reducing touch points and increased cleaning
    • Cleaning and disinfecting of classrooms and other areas
    • Arrival and dismissal procedures
    • Campus visitor policies and school events
       
• PISD School@Home Program: Parents will have the choice to select this program which is virtual (remote) learning consisting of both synchronous (live) and asynchronous instruction. 
  • Teachers will teach School@Home students from their classrooms or other assigned PISD facilities. 
  • In this setting, teachers will provide instruction, learning resources and support through the use of Google Classroom. 
  • Parents will support their students to ensure they have access to a device, a place to work and are engaged in virtual learning activities. 
  • We will utilize the same curriculum as students who attend face-to-face instruction and will design strategies for learning in the remote environment.   
  • Students enrolled in School@Home will be assigned a virtual class schedule and must be available for live, synchronous instruction during each school day. 
  • Attendance will be taken based on synchronous participation and completion/progress toward class expectations. 
  • Grading will be consistent with the guidelines and practices used in all face-to-face instruction. 
  • Students in grades 6-12 choosing School@Home may be able to participate in on-campus classes for extracurricular activities (in accordance with UIL requirements) and/or electives that cannot be offered in the School@Home setting.
     
• Additional Considerations for Secondary Students (Grades 6-12) : 
  • Students who attend face-to-face instruction will be scheduled into the courses they selected last spring during course selection. 
  • All courses will be offered in both settings.
  • Some elective courses for students who select PISD School@Home may require the student to complete a required assignment or project at the campus if the course requires assignments that cannot be reasonably completed remotely, e.g., automotive technology, welding, a/v production, etc.  
    • We are working to finalize which elective courses will require in-person assignments; later in July, more information will be made available to better assist families with their elective choices
    • Students who select PISD School@Home will be contacted at the end of July regarding their schedule if the elective courses requested require an in-person component

As a family, you will select which environment you feel is best for your student(s). If you determine that your student(s) will attend face-to-face, at school, there is no action needed. If you wish to select the School@Home program (fully remote), you can do so through Plano ISD’s Parent Portal beginning July 6. In order to plan appropriately, we are asking all parents who are selecting School@Home to submit this request in Parent Portal by Monday, July 13. Receiving this information early will help Plano ISD plan for student schedules, staffing and preventative health and safety measures. 

Your School@Home selection for your student will be in effect for the first nine-week grading period. Further guidance beyond the first grading period will be provided after the start of the school year. If you do not select School@Home (remote) learning by Monday, July 13, your child’s campus will automatically schedule your student in face-to-face classes for the fall semester. We recognize that situations may develop warranting a potential change in your original choice. After July 13, please contact your child’s campus directly if you need to make changes to your selection. 

We value each of our students and families and appreciate the trust you have placed in our school system. We look forward to seeing you for the 2020-21 school year. 

Visit the Plano ISD website at 2021 Planning for regular updates regarding our 2020-2021 back-to-school plans, which includes frequently asked questions.  If you have any questions, please direct them to askPISD@pisd.edu. 

 

Sincerely,

Sara Bonser
Superintendent

Planning for the 2020-21 school year was discussed at the Plano ISD Board of Trustees meeting on June 23, 2020.

• June 23, 2020 Board Meeting Video
• Plano ISD 2020-21 School Year Planning Update Presentation

June 18, 2020

En español

As Plano ISD plans for the opening of the 2020-2021 school year on August 12, guidance from the State of Texas and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is pivotal in that planning. Following Governor Greg Abbott’s announcement on Thursday, June 18, the TEA is expected to release additional guidance for schools on Tuesday, June 23. On that same day, June 23 at 7:00 p.m., Plano ISD administrators will be presenting options for reopening school in the fall to the Plano ISD Board of Trustees at their regular school board meeting. The board meeting can be watched live online (or accessed via video archive the following day) at www.pisd.edu/pisdlive.

Parent Advisory Group Opportunity 

Plano ISD is seeking interested parents to serve on a district advisory group to provide critical feedback about our return to school plans. In addition to volunteer names submitted by each campus principal, we are seeking additional parent volunteers representing a wide cross section of student needs and interests to serve as part of this advisory group. We value your partnership as we consider different options on how to best meet the needs of all students. If you are interested, please submit your name and contact information using this link by Thursday, June 25. If selected for an advisory group, you will be notified via email during the month of July.

June 3, 2020

En español

As Plano ISD plans for the 2020-21 school year, we know that we must be prepared to deliver a high-quality education for our students in a number of ways and we must ensure our students and staff are safe as school starts again in the fall. While the future related to the COVID-19 virus remains uncertain, planning for the fall is underway. In determining steps forward, there is a concentrated focus on several key priorities:

Health and Safety

We will continue to put families and safety at the forefront of our planning. We are committed to providing safe and clean learning environments where students can learn and grow together. It is our hope that we will be able to return to the classroom this fall, in which case, all appropriate precautions and protocols will be in place. If it is not possible for all students to return to school as normal, plans for school day schedules and parent options are being developed.

Parent Choice

The feedback received so far indicates some parents are concerned about the possible state of the pandemic in fall and are interested in educational choices for their children, including learning from home; while other parents are hopeful that we will return to a more traditional classroom setting. In preparation for the start of a new school year, we are working on plans to provide traditional face-to-face learning options, as well as at-home learning options that will allow students to remain enrolled in Plano ISD with all the benefits and support available in a strong, competitive public school system. 

Innovation

We are committed to learning from our remote learning experiences this spring and seek to improve our instructional practices as well as define clear expectations for high-quality learning regardless of what format learning takes: face-to-face classroom learning, remote learning or a combination of both. This will certainly mean the use of innovative scheduling and new technology tools. To truly serve students in meeting their academic and social-emotional needs, we must provide students and teachers with an avenue for engagement, connection and interaction. We know that in order to improve upon our current practices, we must be creative and innovative in planning a new type of learning environment.

Communication

We will continue to seek feedback from stakeholders as we evaluate options for the fall including what a school day would look like, student activities and safety protocols. Please monitor the district website and your email for information about these feedback opportunities. Be assured that we will keep you informed along the way as decisions are made.

Equity

We know that education is not a one-size-fits-all opportunity. As we plan for next year, we know each school in Plano ISD might require slightly different approaches to teaching and learning based on the unique student enrollment at each school. It will be our goal to provide an equitable, differentiated learning experience designed to meet the needs of each student. 

School Calendar

One of the first decisions in planning for the 2020-21 school year is considering the District calendar. Plano ISD will proceed with the adopted school calendar for 2020-21. With our goal to have an instructional plan that allows us to move between face-to-face and remote learning, the District will not modify currently adopted calendar. Should a prolonged school closure become necessary, the District can revisit the calendar at that time. Further, students who need additional time/learning support can be accommodated without changing the adopted calendar. 

We await guidance from the Texas Education Agency about reopening school and anticipate more clarity from the agency in June and July. In the meantime, we will continue developing our plans and options so that we are prepared for whatever parameters are set by the State for returning to school. 

Planning Task Force

In addition to researching scenarios and collaborating with the Texas Education Agency and other state and local agencies to date, we have assembled a Fall 2020-21 Planning Task Force that has been working on the development of plans in these key areas: 

Prepare to hear from us frequently this summer as the District keeps you informed on the progress of the task force action teams and decisions that are made regarding 2020-2021. In addition to continued parent communications, we will be adding a feature to our district website to share decisions and plans for the 2020-2021 school year to provide as much information and transparency as possible in this time of change. Our greatest hope is that we will all return to our campuses on August 12 to resume school as normal with the addition of health and safety measures. However, we must be prepared for options that include both face-to-face and at-home learning should the need arise as safety continues to be our top priority.