Los Fresnos News

LFCISD Open For In-Person Classrooms Again

by Nicholas Gutteridge
In an announcement sent out districtwide on March 29th, Superintendent Gonzalo Salazar informed teachers, parents, and students that Los Fresnos will be recommending all students to come into class physically starting April 12 due to decreasing COVID-19 infections
across Cameron County. Previously, most students participated in remote learning while a minority came to class every other day. As said by Salazar in his announcement, “Although we have seen my students thrive in this environment, we have seen many students
struggle both emotionally and academically. It is clear that a majority of our students would benefit from face-to-face instruction.” Salazar outlines that students will be required to get their temperature checked before entering the building, and when inside
campuses, they will follow full CDC guidelines. This includes mandatory masks and three feet social distancing. Although students will still be allowed to learn remotely, the announcement will no doubt bring a large influx of students into the schools. This
announcement was met with mixed reactions, with many students feeling uncomfortable returning to school so late in the school year. Niobe Leija, a junior at Los Fresnos High School, said, “I think it’s unnecessary since there are only two months of school left.
It would be difficult getting used to a new environment so soon before the end of the year.” Along with this, other students outlined the risk of forcing such a large influx of students into the schools at once. “Although they have good intentions, I believe
this is a step backward in the grand scheme of things. In-person learning helps the people that have certain disabilities and also helps promote interaction instead of looking at a computer screen, but this could also fuel the COVID-19 pandemic in our area,
something that hurts the entire community,” said junior Toby Cisneros.