Wednesday is the first day of school in Plano ISD. Classes will be solely virtual until Sept. 9 when an in-person option is set to begin.
The group “Success 4 Students” would like families to have the option to send students to class for in-person classes on the first day.
“I’ve got a junior that does not have the skills to be able to take an SAT or an ACT because she was finishing up her Algebra II when COVID hit in March of last school year,” PISD parent of three Marilyn Loughray said.
Members of the group say they were disturbed when they heard a presentation from PISD Chief Operating Officer Theresa Williams as a recent school board meeting.
“We know many of our parents teach for us at Plano ISD and so we’ve tried to find any way that we can support our families and our teachers the best that we can and so for the first four weeks we’ve put together some free child supervision for staff who have school-aged children and that supervision will be at several of our facilities,” Williams told board members.
Some parents found that unfair.
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“I thought that was hugely disrespectful and kind of sets the tone for the mindset of what is happening,” Loughray said. “I’m extremely disappointed that they can’t be there while the other children are there. I’m disappointed that they are not going to get in-person instruction. That it is virtual.”
Plano ISD released the following statement:
"As an employer, Plano ISD operates three state licensed employee child care centers for faculty and staff for children who are 6 weeks of age until they are ready for kindergarten, which we will continue for this school year.
Additionally, for the first four weeks of the current school year, while learning is fully remote, staff members who need temporary supervision of their school-aged children, pre-k (age four) through fifth grade, can place children at one of our designated district sites. These locations are staffed by employees who would otherwise be working in a different capacity, but who are not due to current operations. This temporary service for staff is being offered now through September 4.
The children of staff members are being supervised at designated district locations while their parents are working from their own campuses and classrooms. Children work on their own--no instruction is being provided. Participants bring their own devices and school supplies. All adults and students are required to follow the district’s protocols for health and safety.
We wanted our employees to be able to return to work in a professional setting where they have access to the tools and resources they need. Providing this temporary service makes it easier for our teachers to focus on instruction while providing a quality educational experience for our Plano ISD students."
