MISD to provide school supplies for all, phasing in instruction
(Marlin, Texas) - During Monday’s Board of Managers Workshop, it was announced that Marlin ISD would be providing all school supplies to students for the 2020-2021 school year.
“ It is our obligation to ensure that each student in Marlin ISD has what they need to be successful,” Superintendent Dr. Darryl Henson told the Marlin Democrat. “We want for our families to know that we are here for them during this unprecedented time and that our utmost priority is that our students return to school ready to learn and not worried about purchasing pencils, crayons, or notebooks.”
This will be funded with $25,000 from the Cares Act Grant. The grant allocation for MISD totals $415,235.00 and will be used for personnel in addition to purchasing school supplies. Both an additional custodial and maintenance position, as well as two deans of instruction, one for each secondary school, and two instructional coaches for elementary students.
During the meeting, the last four of those positions were filled. Kris Shaver was appointed as the Dean of Instruction at Marlin High School. Shaver is a graduate of Marlin High School and most recently served as the Principal in Buckholts ISD. William Ealy was appointed as the Dean of Instruction at Marlin Middle School. Mr. Ealy most recently served as a Math Instructional Specialist in Fort Bend ISD. Kristina Sanchez will serve as an Instructional Coach at Marlin Elementary School. Sanchez most recently served as an Academic Interventionist at Marlin Elementary School. Demetrium Smith will serve as an Instructional Coach at Marlin Elementary School. Mr. Smith is a graduate of Marlin High School and most recently served as an Academic Interventionist at Marlin Elementary School.
During the meeting, it was also announced that the 2020-2021 school year will begin with phased-in instruction. The week of Aug. 3 will begin with online instruction only, phasing in different schools in the two weeks following.
“With our students transitioning back to school for the first time since March, we felt it was important to begin the year remotely to allow students the opportunity to become readjusted to instruction through the same format they last left off, virtually,” said Henson. “This also allows teachers the ability to ensure that all students have connectivity to remote instruction in the case of a potential closure in the future.”
Elementary students will be back on campus on Aug. 10, while upper level students remain learning virtually. Both secondary schools will be in class on Aug 17. According to Henson, this gives educators the opportunity for an “all hands on deck” approach to meeting the needs of younger students and their parents.
“With this being the new normal, the district wants to ensure that we can make our reentry process as smooth as possible by starting with reopening Marlin Elementary School only,” he said.
After that third week, the district will continue to administer virtual instruction, with Marlin Virtual Academy (MVA,) for those students whose parents choose to keep them out of the classroom. This option is required by the Texas Education Agency as a response to COVID-19. Once a choice of in-person or virtual instruction has been made, students will be required to commit to it for an entire grading period (six weeks) by turning in a commitment form. These will be sent out to parents on July 17. If one is not turned in for a particular student, it will be assumed that the student will be attending in-person classes.
A survey was circulated to families to gauge where they currently felt. There were six different options presented, ranging from virtual instruction only to in-person instruction only. Of 148 families that responded, over 50 percent opted for in person instruction with significant social distancing or an option that included a combination of virtual and in-person learning. Around 35 percent of responses noted that they would opt for virtual only instruction.
“Campus principals and district leaders reviewed the survey results, as well as other feedback that they have had from parents (emails, phone calls, conversations), and determined that starting school in-person on August 3rd would have made almost 40% of those who took the survey uncomfortable.” Henson responded when asked how the survey was analyzed. “In listening to their feedback, we want to make our parents comfortable with our reentry plan by having a phase-in approach to starting school.”
“The survey results informed the district that we need to ease students and parents back into face-to-face instruction.” he said.
The district will be implementing self-screenings for COVID-19 symptoms before entry to the district, policies for students and parents with lab confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, screening questions, and multiple social distancing measures. There will be sanitizer at entrances and in classrooms, an emphasis on frequent hand washing, frequent cleaning of classrooms, and the availability of PPE equipment.
The district will receive both face masks and multiple gallons of hand sanitizer from the TEA. Face masks will be required per Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order. Class sizes for the year will depend on the number of students who opt for in-person instruction, but classrooms will be set up for maximum social distancing and partitions may be used as needed.
Weeks four and five of the school year will consist of beginning of year assessments, along with an emphasis on the curriculum. Week six begins “The Takeoff,” which is a navigation plan to elevate Marlin ISD. It was created by district administrators to ‘provide students with an education that prepares them for the challenges of life and ensure that projects and programs immediately impact our students and community.’
There are multiple phases of the plan, beginning with facilities changes, technology updates, realignments of the student; teacher ratio and the implementation of Staples Learning Centers. All three campuses are set to be updated in a number of ways concerning facilities, encompassing both interior and exterior elements, as well as the addition of learning centers within each school. There will be a total of six centers: one in each of the elementary school and middle school libraries, both middle school computer labs, the vocational superlab, and the downstairs MHS library computer lab/storage area.
The Staples Learning Centers are being implemented to encourage collaboration and can be used as classrooms when needed. Dr. Henson is stout in his belief that these spaces will promote educational development.
“In thinking about today's collaborative learning spaces in higher education or meeting spaces in the workforce, we want to ensure that our students have the capability to learn and collaborate in more than just rows of desks,” he remarked. “I have always believed that when a learning environment is updated and modern, students can actually see that we value their education.” “Just as some students need different learning styles to maximize their potential, some students need different learning spaces to do the same,” the educator continued.
There are multiple options of how to move forward with this endeavor and the Staples design team will be on-site this week to discuss options. These changes, along with all maintenance related upgrades, have a goal to be completed by December of this year.
The computer labs can only be removed because the district is implementing a one to one device to student ratio. Students in third through twelfth grade will have a chromebook for the year in order to access educational resources both at school and at home. Students without internet access can check out a hotspot, up to the 250 devices available. These chromebooks also allow for increased virtual collaboration, both with peers and teachers, as well as gives every student access to a multiple of free online resources to further their education.
Pre-K through second grade classrooms will have a set of five ipads, used for the same reasons. These will remain in each classroom, to be used as learning stations. These are used instead of computers to allow students to concentrate on the content instead of trying to learn how to use a more complicated device
Other technology updates include installing 110 wifi access points throughout the school to allow for increased device availability and consistent service and replacing outdated projector technology with flat screen TVs in 15 classrooms. The rest will be updated as time passes. In a price comparison, it was cheaper to replace projectors with these instead of newer projector technology.
Student teacher ratios were updated, to be observed as follows: Pre-K 3: 18 to 1; Pre-K 4: 18 to 1; Kindergarten: 22 to 1; 1st Grade: 22 to 1; 2nd Grade: 22 to 1; 3rd Grade: 22 to 1; 4th Grade: 19 to 1; 5th Grade: 21 to 1; 6th Grade: 19 to 1; 7th Grade: 20 to 1; 8th Grade: 17 to 1; 9th Grade: 17 to 1; 10 Grade: 18 to 1; 11th Grade: 20 to 1; 12th Grade: 20 to 1. This will save the district $420,000 for the upcoming year.
More plans are expected to come. Phase to will be the instructional plan for the 2020-2021 school year and is expected to be released sometime in september. For more information on The Takeoff and Marlin ISD’s plans for reopening in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, head to www.marlinisd.org. Links to both can be found by scrolling down on the home page.