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AISD's modernized Doss Elementary ready for reopening, now dealing with pandemic closures

Doss Elementary was scheduled to open on Aug. 18, but now staff and teachers are looking forward to reopening in October instead.

AUSTIN, Texas — After two years of construction, and now dealing with pandemic closures, one of Austin ISD's newest modern elementary, Doss, is ready to welcome students. It closed in 2017 because buildings were old and rundown, but now it's a state-of-the-art campus. 

"The spaces are open. I love that we have tables everywhere. Desks are able to be pushed together, not just your typical students sitting at one desk," said Morgan Zamen, a Doss Elementary fourth-grade teacher. 

It's a completely different classroom look than Zamen is used to, not only as a teacher, but as a former Doss Elementary student.

"Not that I didn't love the other campus – it was great, but it's just different. It's modern and the technology is newer and students are going to thrive here," said Zamen. "As a student, I feel like everything was a little bit older, but this is just an open, wonderful space that students are going to absolutely love."

Credit: Morgan Zamen

Crews reconstructed the Austin ISD school with $43 million from a $1.1 billion 2017 bond package "overwhelmingly" approved by voters. It is the largest bond package to pass in Central Texas history. 

The bond funds paid to rebuild several AISD schools, reconstruct new campuses and address overcrowding. 

For the past two years, Doss kids were learning at the Lucy Read campus, and Aug. 18 was supposed to be the opening date, along with the rest of the school district, but the pandemic pushed that opening back several more weeks. 

"There are a lot of things going on right now, but for us, it's just another opportunity to succeed right now," said Doss Elementary Principal Dr. Nathan Steenport. "We've gotten some solid plans in place and we're ready to move ahead. And, of course, having a brand-new, modernized campus certainly helps with that."

Steenport said they're still ironing out social distancing plans, but their spacious studio rooms should help them out. He said they're focusing on the online curriculum for now. 

Doss Elementary first opened in 1970 and this year would be its 50th anniversary. The newer campus is three stories tall and, right now, it has almost 800 students enrolled for the new year.

"I feel like, as a teacher, our attitude, especially here at Doss, is just 'go with the flow, do the best that you can with what you have,'" said Zamen. "I fully trust our leaders, AISD and just school-wide, that they will make good decisions for their teachers and students."

Teachers and staff are still moving in their stuff if they feel comfortable coming inside the building, but they'll be settled in the next couple of days and some say they are more than excited to have kids walk through their doors when it's time. 

According to Doss's website, the school district said in order for it to keep the focus on high student performance, it needs to be prepared for a variety of possibilities. It said there will likely be a point in time when any one of AISD's 127 schools may need to switch its instructional delivery model based on the health conditions at a particular school site.

This is what the preparations for the fall 2020-21 school year look like:

Our preparations include being able to deliver distance and face-to-face learning, as well as a hybrid approach.

As we move toward reopening, we would like to share with you some procedures you can expect to see on campus:

  • A no-touch temperature check and screening of students, by a staff member wearing personal protective equipment, will occur at designated spots before students can enter the school building. Screenings will take place in vehicles when possible.
  • Each person who arrives without a mask will be provided one. However, due to a limited national supply, staff and students will be encouraged to bring their own.
  • Student capacity in the classroom will be limited. Staff and student capacity will not exceed 25% of the classroom space. Depending on the specific class size and the ability to safely distance, this will average six to eight students per room.
  • Meals will be offered in the classroom. This is to ensure safety for students and staff and is in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Texas Education Agency recommendations.
  • A staff member or student will need to meet the CDC criteria for returning if they are displaying symptoms, presumed positive or have received a confirmed positive COVID-19 test.
  • A staff member or student will need to quarantine for 14 days if they have had direct exposure to someone that is displaying symptoms and/or is presumed or confirmed positive for COVID-19.
  • Additionally, every student and staff member that has had direct contact with the affected student/staff member in the last seven days will also need to quarantine for 14 days. This includes, but is not limited to, the students and staff in a class, on a bus route and in group extracurricular activities.
    • The need to shut down an entire campus, the school’s food service operations or an entire extracurricular activity for a period of time will depend on the level of contact, isolation of groups and guidance from health authorities
    • Also, we understand the need for families to have options as we reopen, and are working to have at-home learning platforms available as well.

Other procedures have and will be developed, and we will soon be sharing more. We hope this begins to paint the picture of the framework we have been focused on to assure student and staff safety. Please know we have been working nonstop to consider safety measures, teaching models and multiple scenarios that will impact our students, families and staff members.

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