Dallas ISD Moving Ahead on Internet Connectivity Initiative
As local and state governments begin to look at whether reopening the economy was the right decision, they’re also beginning to look ahead to how the pandemic will impact Dallas even beyond summer. Want to stay informed? We have today’s bullet points.
- Dallas ISD looking at Fall options and moving ahead on internet connectivity initiative
- City of Dallas to close out application acceptance for rental assistance today
- George W. Bush calls for the country to unite
- North Texas Giving Tuesday will respond to COVID-19
Dallas ISD Looking at Fall Options, and Moving Ahead on Internet Connectivity Initiative
As we reported last week, Dallas ISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa is not at all confident that school will return this fall as normal – but he clarified a little more about what the district is looking at in a Monday morning press conference.
“Right now, we don’t know what we don’t know,” he said of the virus and what the landscape will look like come August. But he did know that it was “highly doubtful” that students and teachers would come back to school like normal. He was equally sure that the current model of all-distance learning was unsustainable for an entire school year.
Instead, the district is looking at three scenarios:
- All schools open Aug. 17 under normal conditions for in-school learning
- All students continue with the current at-home learning model
- The district opens with a blended model that combines some form of in-school and at-home learning
In two weeks, district officials will likely have a better idea of what will happen, but he said there are several scenarios within that “Plan C” that they are considering, too. He also knows that summer school will likely need to be online only. He also said that students will continue to have hot-spots and technology, as well as access to at-home learning materials, throughout the summer.
But a “hybrid opening,” is looking likely. That may look more like what Hinojosa described to the Washington Post, but he also said that the district is looking at variations of the model depending on the age range of the students being served – because many parents cannot get back to work without a five-day school model.
For older students requiring less supervision from parents, it may look like an alternating two-day schedule for in-person learning, and online learning the rest of the time. For elementary students, attendance may be daily, but students may see themselves reporting to a different school come fall.
“If we had all of our elementary schools and spread them out in multiple buildings, so at least we had that covered for parents that have to go to work,” Hinojosa said. “Most of our parents are hourly. They can’t work remotely, we have to take that into consideration.”
Any decision made, Hinojosa stressed, would factor in advice from state and local officials, as well as a clear plan on enforcing social distancing in classrooms, lunchrooms, and buses, as well as proper cleaning, screening of students, and the use of masks (and how to provide them to students and teachers) and other personal protective equipment.
Hinojosa said the district was also moving ahead on an internet connectivity initiative that will have him working with state and local officials to improve access across the city. While hot spots are working for now, he’d much rather, he said, see permanent access improve across the city, because it has far-reaching implications.
“Having broadband is not a luxury. It is a necessity,” he said.
Dallas ranks number six in the country – and number one in Texas – of urban cities with families without fixed Internet access. The pandemic has shown just how vital access to broadband internet is, Hinojosa said, because it’s powering job applications, unemployment assistance, seeing a doctor through telemedicine, and even getting news.
The district hopes to work with local and state officials to utilize federal stimulus money, public-private partnerships, and district reserve funds to improve connectivity. He’s also been tapped to lead a statewide effort by Texas Education Agency commissioner Mike Morath.
“We will relentlessly pursue this until we have an answer,” Hinojosa said. “Internet connectivity should join water, electricity, gas, and wastewater as an essential service.”
City of Dallas To Close Out Application Acceptance for Rental Assistance Today
Despite hiccups that left many applicants getting error messages, the City of Dallas got nearly 1,000 applications within the first 15 minutes of accepting applications for its coronavirus mortgage and rental assistance program Monday morning.
By the end of the day, there were more than 16,000 applications.
The $13.7 million is first come, first served. By Monday evening, the city had announced that the program was nearing capacity, and that applications would only be accepted through 11 a.m. today.
For those who qualify and are accepted, the program will pay a maximum of $1,500 a month to people who had limited incomes prior to the pandemic and had even further reduced incomes because of COVID-19 thanks to job loss or sickness. The funds are paid directly to the mortgage holders or landlords.
Application pre-screening is done on the phone by calling 469-749-6500, or at the online portal.
George W. Bush Calls for Country to Unite
Preston Hollow (and SMU library having) resident George W. Bush, who also just happens to be a former president, called on Americans to unite to help the country during the pandemic.
He reminded viewers of his three-minute video of how the country banded together post-911.
“Let’s remember that the suffering we experience as a nation does not fall evenly,” he said. “In the days to come, it will be especially important to care in practical ways for the elderly, the ill, and the unemployed.”
A Message from President George W. Bush@TheCalltoUnite pic.twitter.com/FIn9wuOPTF
— George W. Bush Presidential Center (@TheBushCenter) May 2, 2020
He is also the subject of the latest PBS American Experience series of presidential biographies. You can view that here.
North Texas Giving Tuesday Will Respond to COVID-19
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