BC ISD addresses parents and students with plans

Published 5:03 pm Wednesday, March 18, 2020

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Dear Bridge City ISD Family,

Orange County has declared a local state of disaster that follows Governor Abbott declaration of a state of emergency. This also follows many conversations with community leaders and other superintendents about the impact of the COVID-1 9. Bridge City ISD’s classes and extracurricular activities including athletic games, practices and rehearsals are cancelled from Monday, March 23, 2020 through Friday, April 3, 2020. Our instructional plan is to offer a Flexible Education Program within our school district. We anticipate this program to begin on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 through April 3, 2020 .

In order to fully comply with the Disaster Declaration, we are also closing the use of all outside facilities including fields, playgrounds, common areas, etc. We have to ensure clean areas so uncontrolled area usage will be a hardship for our staff to ensure they are disinfected during this closure.

Many factors were considered before making this decision. The prevailing wisdom from the experts we have consulted continues to be that gatherings of 10 (currently) or more accelerate the spread of COVID-19 across cities. The symptoms have an effect on vulnerable people in our city and the overload it poses on medical providers are both problems. We want to do our part to prevent this type of medical challenge.

We are aware the closing of our schools presents challenges for families. We also know that many of our students depend on the healthy breakfast and lunch they eat at school. However, the risk of contracting COVID-19 – to children and family members or employees who have underlying health conditions – is far too great.

The Bridge City ISD Child Nutrition department will provide “Grab and Go” meals for students at the BCHS cafeteria and the BCE cafeteria beginning Tuesday, March 24, 2020. Breakfast and lunch will be distributed from 9:00 am – 11:00 am each day. Students can receive food at the nearest school handing out meals.

We know that some families may need to collect prescription medications from our school nurses. We are working to schedule a time the week after Spring Break when these medications can be picked up.  We will communicate that in a separate message.

We will monitor this continually evolving situation and will be in contact with families throughout this closure. Please regularly check our website and social media accounts for updates on the situation.

This is a serious health threat. We highly recommend that families follow the Centers for Disease Control guidelines for households.

As we make decisions, the health and safety of our students, staff, and community will be our top priority.

 

Sincerely,

Todd Lintzen,  Superintendent