Humble ISD strives to meet each child’s needs in partnership with parents. Humble ISD is committed to offering families choices: on campus learning, learning online at home; or learning online at home with on campus UIL activities.
In early September, district staff members developed a Closure Rubric to provide local metrics focused on our community. Since September, schools in our city, state, nation, and world re-opened for on-campus instruction. Over the past months, studies and the district’s own data have shown no consistent relationship exists between in-person school and the spread of coronavirus. Furthermore, data has shown learning loss and negative mental health impact to some children while buildings were closed.
The context in which Humble ISD’s District Closure Rubric was developed has evolved. More is known about the virus, the lack of classroom spread, the needs of our local hospitals, and students needing access to their schools, than was known in early September.
Humble ISD will continue publishing its community matrix as part of an overall dataset available to all in the Humble ISD Family so that information is publicly accessible. The matrix will not be used to make district closure decisions. Closure decisions will be made at the classroom, program, or campus level. Cases are monitored daily; case-specific triage at the classroom or program level has worked well this fall. District and campus administrators will continue to work together to determine if a classroom or activity needs to move online for a period of time.
Humble ISD receives equal funding whether students learn online or on campus. The district is required by TEA to offer on campus learning to all students except at the high school level, where a hybrid approach is permitted by the state but was found challenging by some teachers, students and parents.
For more information, please view the COVID Matrix Update Slides, video from the January 12, 2021 Board information Item Presentation