Los Fresnos News
Home / LFCISD / LFCISD may delay start of new school year

LFCISD may delay start of new school year

  • Updated: July 16, 2020
Classes at Los Fresnos CISD could start a couple of weeks later if the board adopts a new academic calendar year. Photo: Tony Vindell / LFN

By TONY VINDELL
LFN

LOS FRESNOS – A revised plan for the 2020-21 academic calendar for Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District was scheduled to be discussed for adoption at the district board of trustees meeting set for July 13.

If adopted, the first day and last day of classes would be Tuesday, Sept. 8, and Thursday, June 17, respectively.

Gonzalo Salazar, the district’s superintendent, was to present the recommendation which called for a delay in response to the rising number of COVID-19 positive cases.

Here in Los Fresnos, the number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus continues to rise – a trend going on all over Cameron County, the Rio Grande Valley and the state.

Salazar said the idea behind the new schedule is to buy some time to help flatten the curve.

The 2020-21 school year was originally set to begin Aug. 12 and end May 26, 2021.

The superintendent said the district is also working on a couple of models to give parents an option for the new academic year. One, he said, is to have all classes online, but some things need to be ironed out. The second option is to introduce a hybrid model in which parents could choose between online and traditional classroom settings.

“We are working diligently to adjust and prepare for a safe return of our students and teachers this fall,” Salazar said. “We are making data driven decisions because we want to start safe and finish strong.”

The proposed delayed start date is in response to the recent rise in the number of positive cases in the Los Fresnos area, therefore a delayed start to the school year will allow time for the measures recently implemented by state and county officials to flatten the curve.

“We have listened to the feedback from parents, students, teachers and community members in coming to this recommendation,” he said. “We are all trying to reinvent 200 years of the education system.”

The district has been meeting with advisory groups for the purpose of collecting feedback and suggestions for refining its plans.

The Los Fresnos News will report the board decision in its next issue a week from now.