Another week off for students.
As Houston ISD continues to sort out which of its schools were damaged in Tropical Storm Harvey, school officials are postponing the start of the school year until Sept. 11, two weeks after school was supposed to start.
In an email to campus leaders, Houston ISD said school administrators in Texas’ largest school district will report for duty on Sept. 5, while teachers will report to their schools Sept. 8. Students will return Sept. 11.
Superintendent Richard Carranza told the Chronicle more than 35 campuses have been damaged in the storm, though its unclear how many of those sustained extensive damage and how many received minor damage.
“We are eager to get our students back into the classroom and learning. We want to provide the stability of a routine, as well as the three nutritious meals a day that so many of our families depend on,” said HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza. “But we also need to be sure that our campuses are safe and that Houston’s infrastructure and roads are ready to handle transporting our students safely to school. Our team is currently assessing any damages to our more than 280 schools from Hurricane Harvey, and I want to thank them for their efforts.”
In the email to principals, Carranza wrote that at least seven campuses would be re-routing students or would start a bit later. The email did not specify which schools were among the seven.
See here for the official announcement. I’m sure everyone, including most of the students, are ready to get back to school, as doing so will help restore a sense of normalcy. It’s hard to fault the district for wanting to ensure that all their facilities are safe first. Good luck to everyone figuring out what to do with their kids for another week.
9/11