Also Approve Hybrid Instructional Model for District High Schools
The Fort Worth ISD Board of Education has voted to extend virtual learning by an additional two weeks to Oct. 19 with in-person instruction phased in beginning Oct. 5 for various and special student groups.
The District must still seek a waiver from the Texas Education Agency in order to implement the new timeline, the district said in a news release.
The decision came at the end of a marathon 10-and-one-half hour meeting which began at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22 and ended close to 4 a.m. on Wednesday. Earlier in the evening, trustees heard more than three hours of public comment from almost 200 citizens, followed by reports from senior staff detailing several options.
At the same time, trustees also approved a hybrid model of in-person instruction for the district’s high schools. The plan will split students into two groups that will alternate two days of in-person and two days of virtual education. The two cohorts would then attend school every other Friday.
– Ninth-grade students will start the hybrid model during the phase-in week of Oct. 5 and 10th grade students will begin the hybrid model the week of Oct. 13.
– The full implementation for grades 9-12 will happen on Oct. 19.
Specific schedules and details will be shared soon by each high school, the district news release said.
Phase-In Timeline:
Under the two-week virtual instruction extension plan, teachers will report to campus on Sept. 28.
Asynchronous instruction will continue district-wide on Oct. 1 and 2, which will also be designated as days on which teachers can prep their rooms for in-person instruction.
Pre-K, Kindergarten, first grade, 6th grade, and 9th grade students – as well as self-contained special education classes – who choose in-person instruction will return on Oct. 5. Seventh-graders at Rosemont, Wedgwood, McLean,and Forest Oak Middle Schools who choose in-person instruction will also begin this day.
Monday, Oct. 12, will be a teacher “flex day” for professional development. This will be a holiday for students.
Then, second, third, seventh, and 10th-grade students who choose in-person instruction will begin classes on Oct. 13.
Finally, all students will participate in either in-person or virtual classes on Oct. 19.
Campuses will proactively communicate all of these plans to parents and students.