School districts across North Texas are making final preparations as thousands of students will start classes Monday, Aug. 17.
Grand Prairie ISD will offer virtual classes starting Aug. 17 and plan on offering the option of in-person classes starting Sept. 8.
“We’ve worked very hard collectively as a district to make sure that we’re prepared for our students and we’ve supported our staff so that they can provide quality instruction to our students,” GPISD Chief Teaching and Learning Officer Angela Herron said. “Our principals have done an amazing job preparing their teachers to engage with their families.”
In the next few days before classes resume virtually, some schools will hold virtual “Meet the Teacher” nights and the district is handling issues for families that have connectivity challenges.
“There are a lot of ‘solve skills’ that students will be able to learn through this pandemic that will carry them for a lifetime,” Herron said. “Flexibility, perseverance, not giving up in spite of a challenge. I think that’s something that will prove to be a benefit to all students regardless of their age.”
GPISD was able to build on the virtual model leaders implemented to finish out the previous school year.
“We’ve learned some things,” Herron said. “We’ve taken the feedback we’ve received from our parents and our students and we’ve really changed our training this summer so that this Fall we can serve our students at a higher level.”
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Some GPISD teachers have made special videos for their students to help them through a virtual campus and when they decide to return to school.
“To kind of demonstrate what the first day will look like. How it would look if they choose to come in face-to-face,” Herron explained. “Like, ‘I will stand here. You will stand over there. We will be socially distanced. You’ll have a mask. I’ll have a shield.’”
