Most students prefer to be on campus

Posted 8/8/20

Though local public schools had a high percentage of students opt for in-person learning this fall, first-day enrollment appears to show a slight drop.

Mineola ISD reported its first day student …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Most students prefer to be on campus

Posted

Though local public schools had a high percentage of students opt for in-person learning this fall, first-day enrollment appears to show a slight drop.

Mineola ISD reported its first day student count of 1,483, down 95 from the first day last year.

At Alba-Golden, the district had 848 students report, down by 39.

The attendance figures include in-person students and those who opted to stay home and learn remotely.

By Monday MISD enrollment had rebounded with 385 in primary, 339 in elementary, 371 in middle school and 483 in high school for a 1,578 total – the same as the first day a year ago.

The ratio for in-campus versus at-home in Mineola was 79% to 21%.

Alba-Golden ISD wound up with 86% of its students on campus, but enrollment was down slightly.

Quitman reported 947 of its 1,122 students on campus for more than 84%.

Mineola, Alba-Golden and Yantis began classes last Thursday and Quitman opened on Monday.

Alba-Golden Superintendent Cole McClendon said the number of in-person students continued to increase as the first day approached.

That percentage was a little higher than what was expected and what the parent surveys showed, he said.

One factor may be the district’s decision to require those participating in extracurricular activities to attend school in person. Only three students who were involved in extracurriculars opted for virtual learning.

The district had 25 new students in junior high and high school but lost 45. In elementary grades, there were 34 new students and 53 withdrawals. McClendon said he assumed those were being home schooled.

McClendon noted that some students who initially opted for virtual learning were allowed to enroll for in-person school this week.

“Maybe they just saw some of the safety things we had in place,” he said.

Mineola Superintendent Cody Mize pointed to great patience and cooperation in helping school reopening to go smoothly.

He noted that so far students riding buses have been able to spread out effectively, aided by fewer riders.

One of McClendon’s greatest concerns is teachers having to do two jobs. They teach all day as normal (at least as normal as all the safety protocols allow), then have a period when they must stay up to date with their virtual students.

McClendon said he doesn’t want teachers staying up until midnight trying to stay in touch with remote students.

They have their own families to attend to, he noted.

McClendon said the district was able to add more internet hot spots during the summer for students with connectivity challenges. With only 14% of students participating virtually, the challenge was not as great as in the spring.

The district is also up to a one-to-one ratio for student devices, he said.

Mineola Assistant Superintendent David Sauer outlined the district’s plans for virtual learners to be instructed using the asynchronous method. Districts were given the option to have both synchronous and asynchronous learning. Mineola opted for asynchronous as it allows more flexibility, Sauer said.

With the asynchronous model, students do not take part virtually in each class but must spend the same amount of time with the same assignments and tests as those in the classroom.

The board will review the plan for official approval in September.

He noted that students in some career and technical education courses must still come to campus for lab work even if they opt for remote learning.

“We have a handful we are trying to work with,” he said. “For the most part they are coming (to school).”