When district leaders gathered to begin planning for the 2020-2021 school year, we knew we were in uncharted territory with a situation where our “knowns” and “unknowns” were changing rapidly. What we learned in spring 2020 was that our plan moving forward needed to allow for quick pivots as external conditions shifted — all without losing focus on our values and commitment to each and every student. Out of a multi-step, design-thinking process came the Response Plan outlined on this website

Since its initial launch in the summer of 2020, the site has been revised and updated as the pandemic evolved. Our guiding principles have remained constant. These are the five truths we established early in process to direct our planning:

1. Belton ISD will provide exceptional learning experiences for each and every student.
   
   
2. Students and staff safety are the top priority.
   
   
3. Listening to the voices of our students, parents and staff is imperative to making decisions in the best interest of the Big Red Community.
   
   
4. Agility and fluidity in our decision making are important.
   
   
5. We value clarity, kindness and unity in purpose.

With these principles in mind, we began identifying scenarios we envisioned the district might face in the coming months and used these scenarios to develop our System Response Guide.

These scenarios served us well during the 2020-2021 school year and will continue to guide our thinking into the 2021-2022 school year.

System Response Guide

We know that providing face-to-face instruction in an at-school learning environment is the ideal way to ensure exceptional learning experiences for students. During the era of COVID-19, however, a range of public health prevention and mitigation strategies must be considered as we respond within a school facility setting. Our System Response Guide is not limited to guidance as it stands today but takes into account varying health and safety precautions that would support continuation of the at-school learning environment.

Scenario 1
This scenario is the closest to a pre-COVID-19 school environment. Community spread of COVID-19 is low. Students and families may still face academic and wellness challenges as a result of the pandemic but individual prevention and mitigation strategies related to masking are now optional. Some strategies used in other scenarios have been incorporated into standard practice. Reporting to local and state health officials continues.

Scenario 2
In Scenario 2, community spread has slowed significantly and community members have access to COVID-19 vaccinations if desired. Prevention and mitigation strategies remain a priority, however, some restrictions have loosened to allow increased access to campuses and higher capacity at events.

Scenario 3
In Scenario 3, students are attending class in person five days a week. Enhanced safety precautions are in place. Students may be released early one day a week to allow for cleaning and additional teacher planning time.

Scenario 4
In Scenario 4, hybrid schedules will be implemented to create smaller cohorts of students at high school campuses. High school students in Functional Academics, Life Skills, AIMS or Delta will have the opportunity to attend school four days a week. At elementary and middle school campuses, all students will learn remotely one day each week to allow for increased sanitization of buildings and additional teacher planning time.

Scenario 5
In Scenario 5, health and safety concerns necessitate the closure of school buildings to students. This could be individual campuses or a district-wide closure. At this point, all at-school learning shifts to a remote environment.

Learning Environments for 2021-2022

We will only offer in-person learning next year because the Texas Education Agency has said it will not allow a pandemic-related virtual option for the 2021-2022 school year.

We know that many students and teachers thrived in the virtual learning environment this year. A community-wide survey we conducted earlier this spring also revealed an interest in having Belton ISD offer a virtual learning option in the future. With this knowledge, we formed a team that developed robust plans to make this happen with dedicated staff and resources.

Unfortunately, during the recent Texas legislative session, House Bill 1468 did not pass which means a virtual learning option is not feasible for Belton ISD next year. While this is disappointing news, we will continue to develop our plans and be ready if it becomes an option the district can pursue in the future.