Behind the Closure of the San Angelo ISD

SAN ANGELO, TX — Superintendent Carl Dethloff told the media today that his staff has reviewed 776 incidents from faculty members and families of students where people who are teaching or being taught on district campuses may have come into contact with the COVID-19 coronavirus. The San Angelo ISD administration surveyed its population by asking them to complete a “Travel Reporting Form.”

The self-reporting on the forms revealed that many students and teachers had traveled to areas of high risk of exposure to COVID-19, areas of Texas with confirmed cases present, or expressed concern that themselves or their family members were exposed to the virus.

Opening the schools will put others at risk of exposure to the virus and could start a community-wide cycle of infection in San Angelo.

Although today Governor Greg Abbott ordered all school campuses closed from March 20 at 11:59 p.m. until April 3 at 11:59 p.m., Dethloff said the San Angelo ISD will remain closed through Friday, April 10. That means in-person classes will not resume until Monday, April 13 at the earliest.

He introduced what he called a “robust virtual learning platform” that will be used to keep district pupils busy during the shutdown. He said parents will receive more details from their child’s assigned campus by the end of the day Friday.

San Angelo ISD will continue to provide grab-and-go meal service throughout the extended spring break closure.

“This is a quickly changing situation, and we will continue to monitor information, will assess conditions throughout the coming weeks and will provide periodic updates via our website, SwiftK12, and social media platforms. If there is a need to extend the closure beyond April 10, we will notify families no later than Monday, April 6,” Dethloff said.