Madi Olivier

Fliers created by the CDC are posted throughout both the main and freshman campuses to inform students about how to avoid getting sick, especially with COVID-19. The district recently began making bigger changes to keep students healthy.

The district is planning to make a decision as to whether they will extend spring break by March 21. 

“We will continue evaluating the latest information and make a decision toward the end of spring break,” Chief Communications Officer Amanda Brim stated in an email.

Although they have not made a decision yet, principal Will Skelton asked students and staff to prepare for the school to be closed down on the announcements earlier today. 

“What I would like for everyone to do, and this is for students and staff, is to please make sure we take our technology home,” Skelton announced. “So students, make sure you bring your iPads, your chargers and everything of that nature just in case we do have to miss school.”

Many students are worried about the school being closed due to the virus, which many schools across the country are doing. 

“I would rather just go to my one week spring break and then just get out on time than go to school an extra week in the summer,” junior Docian Kephart said.

However, LISD has already started making changes to its current procedures. The district announced today that all sports practices and games are cancelled over spring break. Practices will continue when school starts again, while games won’t resume until April. 

“[Students with activities over break], check for updates from Lewisville ISD at LISD.net or from your specific coach or sponsor,” Skelton announced.

On March 10, LISD sent out a request that all students and staff traveling by cruise line and/or to Italy, Iran, China, South Korea, Japan, or any other country ranked a level 2 or 3 by the CDC over spring break to stay home for 14 days and monitor potential symptoms before returning to school. 

For now, the school has put up flyers in both the main and freshman campuses recommending that students and staff wash their hands for 20 seconds. The district has also stated that it will resort to advanced cleaning methods if necessary.

“Custodians are using products that are effective against emerging viruses on all high-touch surfaces, which meets the CDC’s recommendations for cleaning,” Brim stated.

The school nurses are also following CDC protocol. They are requesting that students practice good hygiene and stay home if they’re sick with a respiratory illness or have a fever.

“Even with the best protocol the best way to prevent being ill is just to use good hand washing, stay home if you’re sick, just the basics that we know about even with the flu virus,” school nurse Margot Ell said. 

While LISD is currently unsure of the steps it will take next to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the district assures students and parents that they are in communication with local partners and following guidance from local and national health officials. LISD has created a COVID-19 tab at the top of their website to provide updates.

“Students, I also want to make sure you know where to go to get the most accurate and up-to-date information from the district, and that’s obviously the LISD.net website,” Skelton announced.

Within the past 24 hours, Texas has reached 34 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Dallas County announced five presumptive positive cases and issued a declaration of a local disaster on Thursday, March 12 at 10:30 p.m. Denton County currently has 0 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

As a result, many local school districts and colleges have already made changes due to the coronavirus. Dallas ISD canceled all district events and activities starting today. Frisco, McKinney, Lovejoy, Plano and Prosper ISDs all extended their spring breaks through Friday, March 21. In addition, UNT cancelled all in-person classes from March 16-22, while NCTC extended its spring break through March 29 and will provide online classes from March 30 to April 4. 

Some students have become increasingly concerned as the number of confirmed cases and deaths in the United States continues to rise, especially since many have plans to travel over spring break or during the summer. 

“I am personally scared of the coronavirus because I’m going to Bali this summer and I have to stop at Hong Kong before I go to Bali, so my flight might get canceled,” senior Emily McLeod said.

However, other students believe that they don’t need to worry about the virus. 

“I think that people are overreacting,” Kephart said. “I’ve noticed that a lot of people have started buying hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes and toilet paper… A lot of people are panic buying.”

However, Skelton encourages all students to check for updates and be flexible with any changes that may occur. 

“The real answer on that right now is that we’re just not sure, so what we would like to do though is keep our options open as much as we can,” Skelton announced.