Volume V, Issue 23 (August 7, 2020)

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” ― John Dewey

Vol. V August 7, 2020

Sharing the good news about Longview Independent School District

FARM TO TABLE

District grows garden, feeds students

L

ongview ISD has seen three years of growth with the district garden.

On a total of three acres, 13 vegetables are currently cultivated by the district.

These vegetables end up in district campus cafeterias

for students to enjoy.

“I am proud of our garden and the food that we are producing this year,” said LISD Child Nutrition Services Director Phyllis Dozier.

Food|Continued to page 14

DOZIER

Board of Trustees approve lowering property tax rate Longview ISD Board of Trustees approved the proposed 2020-21 property tax rate during their special meeting Wednesday, July 29th.

The proposal would see the tax rate decrease from $1.443 per $100 valuation for 2019-20 to $1.4394 per $100 valuation for the 2020-21 school year.

LISD Chief FiJONES nancial Officer Joey Jones said since the implementation of House Bill 3 the district has cut property taxes from $1.513 per $100 valuation (during the 2018-19 fiscal year) to the 2020-21 proposed rate of $1.4394 per $100 valuation.

A special meeting is set for 12 p.m.

Aug. 26th, during which time the public will get to voice their thoughts. The meeting will see the administration Board|Continued to page 4

McConaughey book explores his adventures Oscar winner and 1988 Longview High School graduate Matthew McConaughey didn’t want to write an ordinary celebrity book.

“This is not a traditional memoir, or an advice book, but rather a playbook based on adventures in my life,” said McConaughey about “Greenlights,” which comes

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out Oct. 20. “Adventures that have been significant, enlightening, and funny, sometimes because they were meant to be but mostly because they didn’t try to be.”

According to a press release from the award-winning actor’s publisher, the book will draw Lobo|Continued to page 3

Opinion UIL

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Rev. Jones 4 Afterschool 8

Obituaries Social

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THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

OPINION

School funding now on the agenda

By Ross Ramsey The Texas Tribune Property valuations in Texas are supposed to be complete now that the July deadline has passed. The next step is as hard as arguing over what a house is worth, as cities, counties, school districts and all those other local governments set their budgets and their tax rates.

That happens in public hearings, perhaps held in person at a time when many gatherings have moved to the tiny online boxes of Zoom, Meet, Team, Webex and other services most of us hadn’t heard of six months ago.

Those annual budget and tax hearings are where Texans find out what’s going to happen to police and public safety budgets — to steal a talking point from this summer’s justice marches and protests — and to parks and public health and the other programs and services of local government.

School districts are being

remade and reconfigsheets of numbers. ured before our eyes, as This is where public local educators contend officials say what their with major changes in governments will do and teaching, transportation, how much they’ll charge technology, food services taxpayers to get it done.

— all the intricacies of Safe to say citizens will sending 5.5 million young have some thoughts Texans to public schools they’d like to share, even five days a week, 180 if it’s not about the hot RAMSEY topics of police funding days a year. Oh, yeah, and how to keep people and in-person public in schools — young and old, staff education during a pandemic. and student — safe from a virus Public budget hearings are a that has already killed more certainty, according to Bennett than 6,200 Texans in less than Sandlin, executive director of the five months.

Texas Municipal League. Every They’ll have to figure out what city has to set a budget and has that’s going to cost and which to do it at a public hearing. Tax taxes will pay for it, even as rate hearings are conditional, he they’re pondering the changes says: Local officials don’t have in their operations and the often to have public tax hearings if confusing instructions they’re they’re not increasing their tax getting from state officials in revenues. Only tax increases Austin. require that public input.

It’s a chore, even in a normal But it all happens at the same year. Budgets and taxes are the time. Whether the calculations meat and potatoes of government start with programs and services and what voters expect from it, — how much will this cost? — or wrapped in numbingly boring with price — how much money

will taxes bring in? — it has to balance. They do those things together at the local level, deciding at the end whether the things they want to do can be done with the money they have.

If the answer is no, they choose between cutting spending and raising taxes.

Simple enough. Politically hazardous. And definitely the kinds of debates voters watch closely and want to take part in.

It’s not clear whether hearings have to be held in person or online. Lawyers for local governments are trying to sort that out, since it might mean they have to make physical spaces safe during the pandemic without making a joke of their public hearings by shutting out enough people to thwart the coronavirus. They’re hoping to get some guidance from Gov. Greg Abbott, who temporarily suspended the state’s open-meeting laws as the virus started to spread in Texas.

— Ross Ramsey is executive editor and co-founder of The Texas Tribune.

Can teachers return to work safely?

By Richard Ullman Education Week As school districts grapple with the logistical details of resuming in-person instruction following a pandemic-ravaged school year, it’s becoming disturbingly apparent that they’ll have to engineer the reboot of the one ahead without much in the way of federal-level guidance. The mandate is simply: Reopen—or else.

Except for President Donald Trump’s recent proclamation, “We’re very much going to put pressure on the governors and the schools to reopen,” and U.S Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ steadfast insistence that “kids have got to get back to school” without offering any particulars as to precisely how, education policymakers on the state and local levels are presumably expected to figure out the specifics on their own.

Stated less diplomatically, the message teachers are getting from on high is: “Even though fully reopening schools while COVID-19 numbers are

spiking is dangerous ers in many states are and unrealistic, just tasked with making make it happen.” every lesson real-world As a recently rerelevant even though tired public high school the year-end state exam teacher, nothing about on which both teachers this delusional disconand students will be nect surprises me in the evaluated emphasizes least. Indeed, during my boring, irrelevant, and 30 years in the classULLMAN esoteric content. It’s room, federal and state simply not possible to policy mandates were too often consistently meet both of these misaligned with actual circum- requirements. Period. stances. It was commonplace From having to prevent for those policies to direct my physical altercations while colleagues and me to somehow also being forbidden from ever defy basic principles of logic. putting your hands on students Permit me to provide just to being told you must magia few examples from personal cally patrol your classroom, the experience: halls, and student restrooms Teachers today are simulall at the same time, to being taneously expected to increase assigned a disproportionate rigor while also differentiating share of accountability without and simplifying instruction so any real authority or autonomy, that learning is easy, nobody the list of seemingly impossible fails, and mastery is attainable job requirements for teachers by all. By any objective stanhas always been extensive. dard, those goals contradict Have we forgotten that teacher each other, regardless of how morale and retention weren’t much pressure comes from exactly at high levels before the some chief executive’s bully COVID-19 crisis? pulpit or cabinet-level policy Still, none of these examples dictate. comes even close to the utter Similarly, high school teach- absurdity of forcing teachers,

or anyone—including students, parents, staff, administrators, cabinet members, presidents, and, by extension, all others with whom they interact—back into a setting that actual medical experts say carries the “highest risk” for the spread of Coronavirus.

During my three decades as a teacher, I also came to understand that the job is mostly denigrated and largely misunderstood by those outside of it.

Just when you thought teacher dignity and morale couldn’t get any lower, it would appear the very real prospect of martyrdom has now become a job requirement for those who do the actual heavy lifting in the pedagogical trenches.

Meanwhile, the power brokers who will never have to enforce mask wearing for children, coordinate social distancing (or, really, the illusion of it), or go anywhere near an actual classroom are presenting themselves as the real heroes for kids.

— Richard Ullman recently retired after 30 years of teaching high school social studies in New York state.

THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

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Online students able to participate in UIL activities With school districts working on how they plan on reopening at the start of the 2020-21 school year, University Interscholastic League has announced that eligibility requirements will be left up to districts themselves.

Longview ISD students will be able to take part in UIL activities whether they are attending class on campus or are going online.

The following UIL participation guidelines were posted to their website: As schools prepare for a variety of learning options for the coming school year, UIL is providing the following information related to those options and UIL student eligibility.

Students participating in remote learning offered by their school district, whether synchronous or asynchronous (as defined by TEA), may participate in UIL activities if they meet all other UIL eligibility requirements. Students must be enrolled in remote learning options through the school the student will represent.

Schools may develop local policies with additional requirements for participation. You can find more information related to the full-time student rule in the UIL Constitution and Contest Rules.

Schools should develop grading policies for remote learning opUIL|Continued to page 15

LOBO |Continued from page 1 upon a diary he has kept for 35 years.

“Matthew McConaughey found not only stories, questions, truths, and affirmations, but MCCONAUGHEY also a reliable theme,” said Crown Publishing last week.

“From growing up as an adventurous kid in a tough-love Texas home of rule-breakers, to revelatory journeys to Australia, Peru, and Mali, to his early days in Hollywood and meteoric rise to fame, McConaughey shares how his life experiences have instilled in him the importance of competent values, the power of new experiences, and, as he puts it, ‘either changing your reality or changing how you see it.’”

McConaughey’s memoir, and its surface-level descriptions are full of the kind of Dazed and Confused-esque, poetic, beachy drawl that has come to define the actor’s creative voice.

“Ever since I learned to write, I’ve been keeping a journal, writing down anything that turned me on, turned me off, made me laugh, made me cry, made me question, or kept me up at night,” he said. “Two years ago, I worked up the courage to take all of those journals off into solitary confinement just to see what I had, and I returned with a book.”

That book is called Greenlights, because “it’s the story about how I have — and we all can — catch more of them in this life we’re liven,” McConaughey added.

“You see, we don’t like the red and yellow lights because

they take up our time, right?

But when we realize that they all eventually turn green, that’s when they reveal their rhyme. That’s when life’s a poem and we start getting what we want and what we need at the same time. And I call that the ‘honey hole,’ a little place called Heaven on earth.”

The Lobo alumni also described the work as “an album, a record, a story of my life so far.”

“Hopefully, it’s medicine that tastes good, a couple of aspirin instead of the infirmary, a spaceship to Mars without needing your pilot’s license, going to church without having to be born again, and laughing through the tears,” he said.

Greenlights will be released on Oct. 20 and is available for preorder now. For more information please check the website greenlights.com.

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THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

Rebekkah Hernandez changed a student’s future

By Jacklyn Lora CBS19 Teachers not only teach academic lessons, but sometimes they impact students’ lives more than they know.

Each year, students at all Longview ISD campuses compete in the lamplighter essay competition — where students write about how someone has impacted their life. Maria Gonzalez was in the fourth grade when she came to the U.S. and seven years later thanks the teacher who taught her English in touching essay.

In her essay, Maria talk about her journey coming to a new country and having to learn a whole new language.

She says her teacher, Rebekkah Hernandez’s dedication and passion to teach is something she will always remember.

“She made me feel like I wasn’t alone,” Maria said. “Ms.

Hernandez taught me almost everything I know, because as far as I remember, I didn’t know English. Not even a little, but with her help I was slowly learning.”

Maria says every year she wrote about the influence Ms. Hernandez made one her, but this year was special because she wasn’t expecting to win a Lamplighter Award, “this year,

somehow I just kind of got lucky, but every year I added something to it,” she said. “I always try to get creative with you know, emotions to it and everything.”

Hernandez, a teacher at South Ward Elementary, says hearing these kind words makes teaching worthwhile. It’s even sweeter when she hears them from a student she had

in her class seven years ago.

“It was very emotional,” Maria said. “It was very touching because you don’t know what’s going on inside of the kid’s head when they are there in the classroom.”

Not only is teaching about showing students academic tools, but to make an influence in their lives.

“My goal is I always want them to have the best eight months of their time as possible with me,” Maria said. “That’s my goal, if I don’t know what the future holds for them, but when they look back on their life I want them to remember that that was when we worked really hard, they learned, read a lot, they had great times.”

Now, Maria just graduated from Longview High School, and while she’s unsure of the path she’ll take next, she will always have a special place in her heart for Ms. Hernandez.

Parenting in a pandemic: Tips to keep calm at home

By Rev. Lamar Jones Fear, uncertainty, and being holed up at home to slow the spread of COVID-19 can make it tough for families to keep a sense of calm. But it’s important to help children feel safe, keep healthy routines, manage their behavior and build resilience.

Here are some tips from the American Academy (AAP) to help your family through the outbreak.

Address children’s fears.

Children rely on their parents for safety, both physical and emotional. Reassure your children that you are there for them and that your family will get through this together.

• Answer questions about the pandemic simply & honestly.

Talk with children about any

frightening news they hear. It is OK to say people are getting sick, but say following rules like hand washing, wearing a mask, and JONES practice social distancing will help your family stay healthy.

• Recognize your child’s feelings. Calmly say, for example, “I can see that you are upset because you can’t have your friends over.” Guiding questions can help older children and teens work through issues. (“I know it is disappointing not to be able to hang with your friends right now. How do you think you can stay in touch with them?”)

• Keep in touch with loved ones. Children may also worry about a grandparent who is living alone or a relative or friend with an increased risk of getting COVID-19. Video chats and calls can help ease their anxiety.

• Model how to manage feelings. Talk through how you are managing your own feelings. (“I am worried about Grandma since I can’t go visit her. The best I can do is to check in with her more often by phone. I will put a reminder on my phone to call her in the morning and the afternoon until this outbreak ends.”)

• Remind them that people that have COVID-19 are NOT bad people, they are just victims of a pandemic that has affected our nation, state, and city. But encourage to take the recommended precautions.

• Tell your child before you leave the house for work or essential errands, in a calm and reassuring voice, where you are going, how long you will be gone, when you will return, and that you are taking steps to stay safe.

• Look forward. Tell them that scientists are working hard to figure out how to help people who get ill, and that things will get better.

• Offer extra hugs and say “I love you” more often.

More information will be forth coming. You are welcome to share your summer activities with your community thoughts for us to share at our parent engagement corner. Information can be sent to us at lfjones@lisd.org.

district to receive attendance funding for Synchronous Remote Instruction, the board and superintendent must affirm commitments outlined in the attestation document.

“Synchronous instruction is very similar to ‘on campus,’ in that it is two-way, real-time, and live instruction between teachers and students through the computer or other electronic devices,” he said. “That said, a minimum number of daily minutes are required to earn full-day funding.”

York said that for grades 3rd through 5th, 180 instructional minutes are required. For grades 6th YORK through 12th, 240 instructional minutes are required.

However, pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade is not eligible to earn funding through the synchronous model.

“School systems can support

these grades via the asynchronous model,” he said, adding that schools can offer a mix of both synchronous and asynchronous remote instruction.

“All students at all grade levels need direct instruction and synchronous support from teachers,” York said. “The attendance funding methods are set-up to provide flexibility, so that schools can provide the right mix of synchronous and asynchronous remote instruc-

— Lamar Jones is the LISD parent liaison.

BOARD |Continued from page 1 recommend that the board formally adopt the proposed 202021 tax rate as well as approve the budget for the coming fiscal year. The board will make its final decision following the last public hearing.

ONLINE LEARNING

Board members also approved remote synchronous instructional attestations for the 2020-21 school year.

LISD Director of Elementary Curriculum John York explained that, in order for the

Board|Continued to page 8

THANK YOU THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

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During this difficult time for our community, we are so thankful for the many local doctors, nurses and specialists who are continuing their work to keep the people of Longview healthy. Longview ISD is glad to say ‘Thank You’ for being such wonderful community partners!

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Ancor Health Center

818 Fourth St 903-236-8600

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Azalea Orthopedics

925 W Loop 281 903-939-7500

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Baylor Scott & White Texas Spine & Joint

725 Fourth St 903-758-8754

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Brenda Copeland DDS

723 Fourth St 903-753-7515

5 Brookridge Internal Medicine

300 N Third St 903-315-2907

6 CHRISTUS Good Shepherd

700 E Marshall Ave 903-315-2000

7 CHRISTUS Trinity OB/GYN

323 E Hawkins Pkwy 903-315-5733

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Dental Health Center

503 N Sixth St 903-753-7685

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Diagnostic Clinic of Longview OB/GYN

709 Hollybrook Dr 903-757-6042

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Did we miss your practice? Send your business name, address and phone number to ask@ lisd.org.

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COMMUNITY PARTNERS

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East Texas Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

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Fetal Care Center

Longview Orthopaedic 20 Clinic

Fields Chiropractic

323 E Hawkins Pkwy 903-758-2746

First Choice Pediatrics

1009 Fourth St 903-212-4330

3004 HG Mosley Pkwy 903-758-3444

1009 Fourth St 972-566-5600

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2143 Gilmer Rd 903-234-2886

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1205 N Sixth 903-230-0235

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HealthCARE Express Urgent Care

1509 W Loop 281 903-759-9355

15 Jim Meyer Memorial Clinic

410 Fourth St 903-234-8808

Longview Chiropractic 16 Center

300 E Loop 281 903-234-2225

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Longview Dental Care

2200 Horsehoe Ln 903-753-3673

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Longview Eye Associates

1821 Judson Rd 903-758-8832

Longview Occupational Medicine Clinic

3202 N Fourth St 903-757-0577

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700 E Marshall Ave 903-315-1100

29 Special Health Resources

410 Fourth St 903-234-8808

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Texas Oncology-Longview Cancer Center

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Texas Sedation Dental & Implant Center

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Wellness Pointe

25 Northeast Texas Family Medicine

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Woman & Child Health Center of Longview

26 Northcutt Chiropractic Clinic

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Vaca & Kirby Dental

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Vision Source Longview

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Zeid Women’s Health

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Longview Pediatrics

28 Select Specialty Hospital

Longview Regional

2901 N Fourth St 903-758-1818

Longview VA Clinic 23

1005 N Eastman Rd 903-247-8262

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Mack Dental

3008 HG Mosley Pkwy 903-236-4050

800 Padon St 903-315-5600

1201 N Sixth St 903-236-3202

27 QuickCare by Regional Clinics

2021 W Loop 281 903-295-1396

1300 Fourth St 903-757-2122

444 Forest Square 903-704-0154

1107 E Marshall Ave 903-758-2610

402 N Seventh St 903-212-7110

3121 HG Mosley Pkwy 903-206-3464

2304 Judson Rd 903-758-9090

705 E Marshall Ave 903-315-2700

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THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

DISTRICT WIDE • International Baccalaureate project partners with “We Help Two” and sells “funky socks” to help supply legs and feet to amputees all over the world.

• LISD schools earned 40 total distinctions on state accountability ratings, an increase from 34 earned last year, and the highest in the region.

• Each year HUNDREDS of out-of-district students transfer INTO Longview Independent School District, citing “education opportunities” as their reason.

• Local corporate partnerships with Eastman and Komatsu and Longview Manufacturing Academy.

• Went totally ‘green’ on all building projects resulting in a $200,000 award from SWEPCO for energy conservation.

• Raising Highly Capable Kids parenting class in partnership with Longview Chamber of Commerce.

• Brand new partnership for innovation with East Texas Advanced Academies which will bring new funding and ideas to public education.

• LIFT program annually paying out close to $1 million in staff bonuses for improved testing scores.

• Signing Santa to help deaf ed students communicate with “Santa.”

• Hosted Adjunct Fair for SFA to help employ Adjunct staff in Longview and through Longview ISD. • Purchased multiple pieces of strategic real estate, without increased debt, for future expansion.

• State and National Technical Student Association winners.

MONTESSORI

LONGVIEW HIGH • Longview High School celebrated a class of over 100 International Baccalaureate Diploma students for 201920.

• The senior IB Diploma students have all completed at least 150 hours of service learning activities, culminating over 6500 hours of community service for 2019-20.

• The IB students participated in the campus service learning project, We Help Two, and were able to sponsor 5 clients with prosthetic legs in developing countries.

• Longview High School began the application process to become an IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) school and to offer the IB Career-Related Programme school.

• Longview High School graduated 51 seniors who will also graduate with Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degrees from Kilgore College for 2019-20.

• Additionally, 80 seniors graduated with at least 24 hours of college credit.

• For the 2019-2020 school year, 594 unduplicated LHS students took a total 7,950 credit hours. This averages slightly more than 12 hours each. These numbers are for hours taken at Kilgore College. Other students took hours through Stephen F. Austin University, University of Texas, and LeTourneau.

• 251 members of 2020 Senior class took 3,617 hours.

This averages slightly more

• Every year of Superintendent Dr. James Wilcox tenure the LISD budget has been “in the black.”

• LISD farm-to-table program, partnering with local farmers for cafeteria produce.

• Hosted “Axe”epted East Texas meet and greet for area students attending SFA in Fall 2019.

• Partnerships in education with UT, SMU, Texas Tech, SFA, KC, Letourneau, and UT-Tyler.

• Longview ISD middle school students earn “Duke Scholar” honors every year.

than 14 hours each. These numbers are for hours taken at Kilgore College. Other students took hours through Stephen F. Austin University, University of Texas, and LeTourneau.

• 99 more of the 2020 LHS seniors qualified for the KC Connection Scholarship that allows them to complete their Kilgore College Degree or Certificate at the reduced tuition rate of 60% of regular tuition. These scholarships represent an average of $1,500 each year per student.

• LHS opened the GO Lab for students to use as needed for course work.

• Longview High School hosted it first Magnet Showcase Night.

• Largest FREE public Montessori school (for 3-to5 year-olds) in the nation, provided free of charge to Longview area children.

• Eight-week Montessori training for other districts in Texas hosted by ETMPA.

Principals, did we miss your school’s achievements? Please send us your brags and we will include them!

ask@LISD.org

THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

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Hudson PEP spirit shirts on sale Aug. 14th Hudson PEP spirit shirts and hoodies go on sale Friday, August 14. Checks may be sent with students or parents may go to campus to select sizes and pay.

Hudson can only accommodate four people in the office and foyer at a time.

Shirts are yellow green cactus and hoodies are LOBO green with yellow cactus with “Better When We Stick Together”.

Shirts are $15, hoodies are $35.

SUPPLIES

School supply packs are in for those who ordered them earlier in the year. They are

located in the student’s teacher’s classroom. First come, first serve, so call the office to get one’s name on the list. Hudson will be providing essential supplies as needed.

MEET THE TEACHER

The schedule for Meet the Teacher Drive By will be from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

First grade — Monday, August 10 — front circle drive for Mrs. Bouden, Mrs. Carlisle and Mrs. Isbell; back drive for Mrs. Mickelboro, Ms. Moren and Mrs. Webster

Second grade — Tuesday, August 11 — front circle drive for Mrs. Bledsoe, Mrs. Doom and Frs. Finn; back drive for Mrs. Frasula, Mrs. Hudson, Mrs. Reeves and Mrs. Turner Third grade — Wednesday, August 12 — front circle drive for Mrs. Bickerdike and Mrs. Patterson; back drive for Mrs. Players, Mrs. Storey, Mrs. White and Mrs. Weber Fourth grade — Thursday, August 13 — front circle for Mrs. Campbell and Ms. Mansen; back drive for Mrs. Lattier, Mrs. Farrer, Mrs. Kiser and Mrs. Coulter

Free COVID testing available in Longview Free COVID-19 testing at the Agricultural Pavilions at the Longview Convention Complex, 100 Grand Blvd.

Drive-up testing will occur from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Monday through Saturday and is expected to continue until further notice.

The testing will be conducted by private vendor Honu on behalf of the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the City of Longview and Gregg County Emergency Management.

This is not an antibody test.

The drive-up testing is free to the public, and organizers are preparing to conduct about 300 tests daily. Registration will be available online or in person.

A person does not need to have symptoms to be tested, but should bring some form of identification and have a phone number or email address available where they can receive their results. Those participating are asked to enter the Longview Convention Complex from the 100 Grand For more information, go to Blvd. entrance and follow the longviewtexas.gov. signs to the testing area.

Chicago public schools to start year with full remote learning in the fall

By Elliott Davis U.S. News Officials announced Wednesday that Chicago Public Schools will start its school year with full remote instruction through at least the first quarter, as the nationwide debate continues over whether to reopen schools to in-person learning amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

The public school system – one of the largest in the country, serving more than 350,000 students across more than 600 schools – last month announced a hybrid model in which most students would have returned to classrooms two days a week, according to WGN-TV. Now, the school year will start virtually on Sept. 8, as officials consult with public health experts and consider whether to welcome students back in a hybrid fashion starting Nov. 9.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a statement Wednesday that the decision was “rooted in public health data and the invaluable feedback” received

as officials polled families on their concerns leading up to an ultimate decision previously planned for the end of August.

But two Chicago Public Schools leaders, Chief Executive Officer Janice Jackson and Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade, said in a statement that they decided to make the call now to afford parents and families “ample time to plan.”

“As educators and dedicated education professionals, we all

want students to be in school, but at this time, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) believes that current COVID-19 transmission trends would not allow us to reopen schools in a safe and responsible manner given the sheer number of people we serve every day,” Jackson and McDade said.

The announcement comes as Remote|Continued to page 17

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THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

COVID leaves afterschool programs in jeopardy

By Corey Mitchell Education Week Thousands of afterschool programs closed their doors months ago—and a majority now fear they may never reopen.

Nearly 9 in 10 programs have long-term funding concerns because of school closures caused by COVID-19— and 6 in 10 are concerned that they may have to permanently shut their doors, a survey commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance, a Washington, D.C.based advocacy organization, reveals.

Despite the bleak outlook, the survey of 914 after-school providers may not capture the full extent of the trouble programs face. Survey respondents were contacted in May and June, before a wave of school districts, including nine of the nation’s 15 largest, announced this month that they plan to begin the fall semester online.

“There’s great uncertainty about economics,” Jodi Grant, the executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, said in an online meeting announcing the survey results. “Programs are losing resources and funding and really struggling to sur-

vive. We’re really concerned with what is happening in the field.”

The survey, the first in a series from the Afterschool Alliance, aims to gauge the health of an industry that served an estimated 10 million children before the pandemic struck.

Now, heading into the fall, providers are bracing to serve only a fraction of that number.

Overall, the survey found that more than half of providers are unsure if the “worst is over or yet to come.” Among the programs surveyed, more than 75 percent have laid off or furloughed staff members or cut their hours. The programs that participated in the survey represent more than 6,000 af-

ter-school sites across 47 states and the District of Columbia.

“It is really concerning for us,” said Ayana Melvan, senior project manager for education initiatives at the United Way of Rhode Island, who leads the Rhode Island Afterschool Network. “Unfortunately, we heard that programs had to lay off staff, especially as they went virtual in the springtime.”

SWITCHING GEARS

As part of their efforts to remain connected with families, about 70 percent of programs were serving students in some capacity during the shutdown.

While some programs will remain sidelined during virtual learning, others may be forced to adapt.

Programs that do reopen for in-person services this fall likely will need more money to pay for cleaning supplies and personal protective equipment for staff and more space to maintain social distancing requirements—potential cost overruns that no program could have anticipated even six months ago.

In school systems that settle on hybrid learning models—a combination of in-person and virtual learning—for the fall, programs may have to hire more staff to serve extra students during a redesigned school day, one that calls for out-of-school programs to open during hours usually reserved for the traditional school bell schedule.

For weeks, Miguel Garcia, the director of Fort Worth After School, planned for an in-person, mid-August start for the district-led program that serves 7,000 students per day across 76 sites. Those plans were abandoned last week when Tarrant County, Texas, health authorities announced that all districts in the county, including Fort Worth, would only offer online classes for the first six weeks of the school year because of a surge in coronavirus cases.

BOARD |Continued from page 4 tion for students.”

PROPOSAL ACCEPTED

Trustees also approved a contracted educational services proposal from the International Academy of Science for $38,489.

The proposal calls for the International Academy of Science to provide the Acellus Leaming System STEM Lab and relevant licensing, as well as technical training for JL Everhart Elementary staff.

Sheri Broadwater, LISD Director of Federal Programs, said earlier this year the district issued an open request for proposal.

“Funding source for the program is Title I funds budgeted by the district,” she said.

CHILD NUTRITION HONORED

Superintendent Dr. James Wilcox presented LISD Director for Child Nutrition Mrs. Phyllis Dozier with a Certificate of Recognition from the Texas Department of Agriculture for the district’s achievement in the 2020 Farm Fresh Challenge.

In a statement from the of-

fice Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, the district was honored for utilizing locally-grown food.

“Thank you for the outstanding dedication shown by you and your staff during the 2020 Farm Fresh Challenge,” said Texas Food and Nutrition Assistant Commissioner Angela Olige. “Your students have learned lifelong lessons about healthy Texas products and the farmers and ranchers who grow them. You are one of the greatest resources we have for ensuring we keep the Lone Star State on the path to a healthier future.”

OTHER NEWS

During the course of the meeting, the LISD Board of Trustees also approved a request from the City of Longview for an easement on district property along Nelson Street, for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a new municipal water line; and approved Jackson Oil Company of Mount Pleasant for unleaded/diesel fuel during the 2020-21 fiscal year.

FOR MORE INFO

Trustees usually meet in the

boardroom of the LISD Education Support Center, but often set special-called meetings at various locations around the district. The next regular meeting is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 10.

Due to public health protocols currently in place, the public will not be admitted into the trustees’ boardroom.

The meeting will be streamed online at LISD.org/Board roomLive.

For more information about

the Longview ISD Board of Trustees please go to LISD.org.

THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

Page 9

Parents opt for safety first, stand with educators

By Brenda Alvarez NEA Today Many parents nationwide are questioning whether it’s safe to send their kids back to a brick and mortar school this fall. With varied life circumstances, and different districts and schools choosing different options, it’s a daunting decision to make.

For Florida’s Raquel Pantoja Lias, a mom of a rising fourth grader in Broward County, it’s a hard “no.”

Under an emergency order from the state education commissioner, most schools are scheduled to reopen on August 19 for in-person learning, five days a week, a plan supported

by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Along with educators and parents, the Florida Education Association filed suit against state officials to safeguard the health and welfare of public school students, educators, and the community at large. The lawsuit intends to stop the reckless and unsafe reopening of public school campuses as Coronavirus infections surge statewide.

The Florida governor has latched on to the claim that stu-

dents have a lower likelihood of catching the virus and therefore schoolteachers must return to work. President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have made similar statements and have threatened to withhold federal funds from K-12 schools that don’t open for in-person learning.

“I don’t care what they say,” says Lias. “Is Donald Trump’s son going to school? No, but he wants to send everybody else’s kid back and risk their lives.

Our kids are not experiments to see if reopening is going to work. So no, my daughter is not going into a school building to

Children to bear the brunt of a looming eviction crisis

By Barbara Shelly Huffington Post Mikaela Johnson has a vague notion of a home she’d like to live in with her mother and her younger brother and sister.

“A four-bedroom house,” she said. “A backyard for sure.

Maybe a house that has no mold, no pests, no cracks, no floor that sinks.”

She paused. “Maybe I’m asking for too much.”

Rarely, if ever, in her 14 years has Mikaela lived in a

home that matches her ideal. She is one of hundreds of schoolchildren in the Kansas City region who live on the brink of homelessness, their families consigned to substandard housing, when they can find it at all.

Mikaela’s mother, Ashley Johnson, has lost track of all the places they’ve lived.

There were a couple of apartments she got evicted from and others barely fit to live in. A Crisis|Continued to page 13

potentially die.”

This sentiment is a real concern for many Floridians. The state is now the new hot spot, given a surge of new Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.

Between July 16 and 24, the number of new cases increased by 34 percent, from 23,170 to 31,150. Within the same eightday period, the number of children hospitalized with Coronavirus went from 246 to 303, a 23 percent increase.

And…kids are dying. As reported by several news outlets, on July 17, Kimora “Kimmie” Lynum, 9, died from Covid-19 complications. Kimmie became

the fifth minor and the youngest in the state to die from the virus. Her family has said she had no underlying health conditions.

Lias wants to keep her daughter safe through distance learning, and recent national polls from The Navigator, Axios and Quinnipiac show other parents want the same. According to The Navigator, “a majority of Americans, and parents, oppose reopening schools in the fall because of the risks, and nearly two in three parents say schools should be among the last things to reopen.”

How best to reopen schools— whether it’s in-person, hybrid, or virtual—is a much more complicated issue that’s going to require leaving behind the idea of going back to the “old normal.”

“We’re in the midst of a paradigm shift,” says Courtney Fox, a mom of a rising tenth grader in Arlington, Va. “It’s not one anybody chose. COVID chose it for us, and instead of fighting over trying to retain as much of the old normal as possible, we need to embrace this opportunity to reinvent schools and create a better future.”

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Page 11

Navigating cyberbullying difficult amid Coronavirus

By Lauren Barack Education Dive Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar knows one of the first things parents and educators may want to do when a student is cyberbullied is get them offline.

Yet the first step, according to Seigfried-Spellar, an associate professor with Purdue University’s Department of Computer and Information Technology, should be to just acknowledge how hard it was for the student to report bullying in the first place.

“Kids are afraid of being victims of cyberbullying and also afraid of how parents and teachers will react,” Seigfried-Spellar said. “They’re afraid to have their tech taken away from them.”

A majority of adults can’t imagine not being online amid the coronavirus pandemic. In the U.S. alone, 53% of adults said the internet has been essential to their lives since COVID-19 hit, according to Pew Research Center data from April. Students are increasingly online, as well, not only engaging with their friends but also taking classes.

While social distancing may have lessened physical bullying that happened between classes, in hallways or after school, it likely hasn’t done the same to cyberbullying. In fact, an April 2020 report published by L1ght, Online|Continued to page 15

More than 6,600 COVID cases linked to colleges

By Weiyi Cai The New York Times As college students and professors decide whether to head back to class, and as universities weigh how and whether to reopen, the Coronavirus is already on campus.

A New York Times survey of every public four-year college in the country, as well as every private institution that competes in Division I sports or is a member of an elite group of research universities, revealed at least 6,600 cases tied to about 270 colleges over the course of the pandemic. And the new academic year has not even begun at most schools.

Outbreaks have emerged on Greek Row this summer at the University of Washington, where at least 136 residents

were infected, and at Harris-Stowe State University in St. Louis, where administrators were re-evaluating their plans for fall after eight administrative workers tested positive.

The virus has turned up in a science building at Western Carolina, on the football team at Clemson and among employees at the University of Denver.

At Appalachian State in North Carolina, at least 41 construction workers have tested positive while working on campus buildings. The Times has identified at least 14 Coronavirus-related deaths at colleges.

There is no standardized reporting method for coronavirus cases and deaths at colleges, and the information

is not being publicly tracked at a national level. Of nearly 1,000 institutions contacted by The Times, some had already posted case information online, some provided full or partial numbers and others refused to answer basic questions, citing privacy concerns. Hundreds of colleges did not respond at all.

Still, the Times survey represents the most comprehensive look at the toll the virus has already taken on the country’s colleges and universities.

Coronavirus infections on campuses might go unnoticed if not for reporting by academic institutions themselves because they do not always show up in official state or countywide tallies, which generally exclude people who have permanent addresses elsewhere, as students often do.

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Renamed streets encouraging study

By Nupur Roopa The Guardian No map of Mumbai mentions Rehmuddin Shaikh Road.

But a local taxi driver would find the narrow lane between the huts in Ambedkar Nagar, Colaba, behind Mumbai’s elite Cuffe Parade. Despite not being officially named by the city authorities, the road boasts a new signpost.

Rehmuddin Chittasahab Shaikh grew up and still lives here. Today, he is a rugby star, winning national gold and silver medals and now coaching the Indian women’s team. He is one of the only four coaches in India to qualify for the World Rugby Level 3 coaching course.

As a child, he was a student of Door Step School, a classroom on wheels for children who had no other access to education. Now the school’s co-founder is leading the project to name these narrow, winding alleys of the slum after her best and hardest-working pupils.

“I felt honored when my name was assigned to the very alley I lived in,” said Shaikh.

“Normally, roads are named after famous people who are dead. This was the first time it

was being named after a person who is alive.”

A stranger would find it extremely difficult to locate any house in Mumbai’s slums without finding someone who lives close by to give directions. The slums are a labyrinth even for residents who face the frustrations and the challenges of living without an address, and children are particularly affected by the issue.

Bina Sheth Lashkari, the social worker and co-founder of Door Step, came up with the idea to name the streets after the most promising students to encourage local children to study. To date, a dozen streets

bear the silver and black signposts.

“When I see Devi Chauhan Road, named after a girl from my Banjara community, I feel proud, encouraged and inspired to complete my education to become confident and independent,” said Roshani Chuvan, 11, a student.

Shaikh’s mother, Saulibi Shaikh, said: “We came to Mumbai from Gulbarga, Karnataka, India, in search of work as life was tough. My son fought adversity to reach this level. I used to leave the kids when I went to work, but the teachers motivated him. I am proud about his achievements.”

It was Lashkari who talked the family into sending Shaikh to school. “We had a very tough time convincing his parents. He too was reluctant to start school but once admitted he was very sincere,” said Lashkari, who believes the street names are a huge motivation for children, their family and community, Kanchan Chandrasen More was once a pupil and is now a teacher at the Door Step School. “I felt very happy and humbled when my name was assigned to an alley,” she said.

Jayashree Chandrasen More, her mother, says she is delighted that her daughter is engaged in educating kids. “My daughter has made us proud and brought fame to our family.”

Back in 1988, Lashkari saw how the children of construction workers, mainly migrants from Gulbarga, were not going to school but instead working as labourers.

Lashkari began offering to teach after the working hours.

“If children can’t go to the school, let the school come to them,” she said.

This was the vision that led her and her colleague, Rajani Paranjpe to establish the first Door Step School in 1988.

Mexico’s school year to begin with instruction on television

By Christopher Sherman Associated Press MEXICO CITY — Distance learning will begin for more than 30 million Mexican school children Aug. 24, but a return to classrooms will remain an uncertain goal, the country’s education secretary said Monday.

Secretary Esteban Moctezuma Barragán and executives from the coun-

try’s largest television networks presented in broad strokes a plan to put educational instruction on television.

Moctezuma said that risks to in-person education continue being too high. Officials fear children could become Coronavirus carriers, infecting relatives at home.

“We wanted to return to in-person classes, but it is not possible, nor prudent,” Moctezuma said.

CRISIS |Continued from page 9 stay in a family shelter. Too many hotel rooms and other peoples’ sofas and floors to remember. At her most desperate moment, in a Kansas City winter, Johnson signed Mikaela and her younger brother into a children’s shelter operated by the Salvation Army. She slept in her car, knowing her children at least were warm.

Mikaela just completed eighth grade. She has lived the kind of transient life that school leaders worry about — especially now. Educators know that moving around disrupts learning. They fear the upheavals created by the coronavirus will cause more instability for low-income families already

struggling to find and afford decent housing.

“Even before the pandemic we had an affordability crisis,” said Mike Koprowski, national campaign director for the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “We think there’s going to be a wave of evictions if Congress doesn’t act on another relief package. It’s going to further disrupt kids whose lives and learning processes have already been upended by school closures.”

A model created by the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project, a coalition of economic researchers and legal experts, estimates that 20% of the 110 million Americans who live in

rented homes risk displacement

by September 30 unless policymakers enact aggressive relief measures. That would amount to 19 million to 23 million people, many of them schoolchildren.

“Even if it’s remote learning, the eviction is going to have an effect,” said Lavar Edmonds, a research specialist at Princeton University’s Eviction Lab. “How are you going to do your homework or participate in classes at home if you don’t have the internet, if you’ve been kicked out of your home?”

Those concerns are acute in the Kansas City region, where, according to an annual survey by the National Low Income

Housing Coalition, two of three very low-income families spend more than half of every dollar they earn on housing and utilities. Only 33 affordable units are available for every 100 extremely low-income families.

Evictions are rampant and often mark the start of a slide into prolonged homelessness.

“Housing is everything,” said Melissa Douglas, the liaison for homeless students in the Kansas City Public Schools district.

“Moving from place to place is an unwarranted stress on adults and students. We know that the more moves [kids’] families make, the more gaps in their education that they may have.”

Page 14

THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

OBITUARIES Longview ISD offers our most sincere condolences to our extended Lobo family MARSHALL MCADAMS Marshall Spencer McAdams, 97, passed away on August 4, 2020. Spencer was born January 27, 1923, one of eight children of J.W. McAdams and Emily Wooten McAdams of Hillsboro.

He was preceded in death by his beloved and devoted wife MCADAMS of 57 years, Adeline Radke McAdams.

Spencer grew up in Hillsboro and graduated from Hillsboro High School. Upon learning of the attack at Pearl Harbor, he immediately joined the United States Air Force, and he went on to serve as an air traffic controller in the Pacific Islands. While he was deployed,

WAYMAN ‘HAMBURGER’ DAVIS Wayman “Hamburger” Edward Davis passed away peacefully on August 4, 2020.

Hamburger was born to Elwood Denison and Bessie Marie Davis on May 27, 1929 in Ringgold, Louisiana. He attended school in Marshall.

After serving his country in the Korean War, he returned DAVIS to Marshall and married Jessie Faye Parker. Hamburger and Jessie Faye moved their family to Longview. They were married for over 53 years.

Adeline wrote him a letter every single day, and Spencer shared the story of her letters for the rest of his life. They married on April 13, 1946. Spencer worked for a few years and saved enough money to attend Texas Christian University, where he eventually earned an undergraduate and a master’s degree in Spanish. He taught Spanish for Longview Independent School District from 1961 until he retired in 1983. After retirement, Spencer enjoyed gardening, woodworking, and playing the guitar. He was a member of Longview Grace Fellowship Church, and his life was a testament to his faith.

At the time of his passing he was in the care of Staci Griffith and Aleshia Fatherree of Heart to Heart Hospice.

A private service was on Thursday, August 6, at Ridge Park Cemetery in Hillsboro.

He worked at Eastman Chemical company and Johnny Cace’s for many years. He was an avid supporter of the Longview Lobo Band. He enjoyed his time with TRU Trail Riding Club.

Hamburger was preceded in death by his parents, wife, one grandson and one great-grandson. He is survived by his four children and their spouses, Carol and Billy Lee, Larry and Lynne Davis, Bruce and Sherry Davis, and Julie and Tim Motley, 9 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.

The family held a private burial service at Rosewood Cemetery and hopes to schedule a memorial service at a later date.

Donations may be made to the Lobo Band Boosters in Hamburger’s name.

FOOD |Continued from page 1 Meals at all Longview ISD campuses enjoy vegetables that are grown in the garden (as long as the vegetables last)

by LISD employees, LHS FFA help and bees from nine bee hives that pollenate them.

Over the recent summer, two high school students Cooper

Mayes (FFA president) and Grant Hockenberry helped with the garden and Dozier hopes to expand on that number in the future.

“They have learned a lot and have been a great help to us this summer,” Dozier said.

“We would love to have more

High School students work next summer.”

Child Nutrition Services Chef Chardee’ Snoddy will be teaching twice a week at Montessori. She will then have the students taste food that Food|Continued to page 17

PUBLIC NOTICES LISD Board meeting set for August 10

Trustees usually meet in the boardroom of the LISD Education Support Center, but often set special-called meetings at various locations around the district. The next regular meeting is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. on August 10.

For more information about the Longview ISD Board of Trustees go to LISD.org.

LISD Board meeting set for August 10

Longview Independent School District (LISD) is accepting competitive requests for proposals for Contracted Educational Services for the 2020-21 school year and under the guidance of EDGAR and approval of funding made available for services to be rendered. Awards will be considered NON-EXCLUSIVE, ones by which multiple vendors may be designated as suppliers for the goods and/or services covered under the terms of the contract for the duration of said contract. Contracted Educational Service providers will be used on an as-needed basis throughout the District to provide services to students and staff. Please contact Sheri Broadwater at 903-381-2260 to obtain a proposal packet, or download one from below. Proposals must be addressed as follows: Attn: Sheri Broadwater, and clearly marked “#2020 CS - RFP -CONTRACTED EDUCATIONAL SERVICES.” Proposals will be accepted throughout the school year on an ongoing basis until 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 29, 2021, at the LISD Education Support Center, 1301 East Young Street, Longview, Texas, or mailed to P. O. Box 3268, Longview, TX 75606. Longview ISD reserves the right to accept or reject any or all of the bids submitted in the best interest of the District.

DAVID DOLIVE

David Wayne Dolive, 65, passed away at his home in Longview on August 1, 2020.

He was born December 28, 1954 to Billie Jean Hoke and Wayne Dolive in Longview.

He was a graduate of DOLIVE Longview High School (class of 1973) and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas at Tyler in 1987. For most of his career, David worked in the auto parts industry. He was a friend to everyone he met and never met a baby he did not like.

David was married to Melanie Jeanne Perkins Dolive for 38 years and was a faithful member of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Longview.

David enjoyed traveling to Arkansas and hoped to retire there.

He was a fan of Dallas Stars Hockey, Texas Rangers baseball and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks.

David is preceded in death by his parents, Billie Jean Hoke and Wayne Dolive.

David is survived by his loving wife, Melanie; his brother Dr. Brian Dolive, his son Evan and wife Miranda Dolive of Longview; his daughters Caitlin and husband Jimmy Rosendo of Lewisville; Haley Dolive and Fiance Joe Deem of Hurst. David is also survived by his three grandchildren, Violet, Reid and Charlotte Dolive.

The family would like to thank the staff and caregivers of HeartsWay Hospice, Highland Park Senior Care, Select Speciality Hospital, Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center, Highland Pines Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Dr. Daniel Robbins.

Service was held at Rader Funeral Home in Longview on Tuesday, August 4, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in David’s name to: First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Longview.

THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

Two Georgia schools make masks optional

By Jeff Amy Associated Press ATLANTA – Two suburban Atlanta school districts that began in-person classes Monday with mask-optional policies face more questions about COVID-19 safety protocols after on-campus pictures showed students packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

In Cherokee County, dozens of seniors gathered at two of the district’s six high schools to take traditional first-dayof-school senior photos, with students squeezing together in black outfits. No one in pictures at Sequoyah High School in Hickory Flat or Etowah High School in Woodstock wore a mask.

In Paulding County, student pictures taken Monday and Tuesday show crowded hallways at North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia.

Fewer than half of the students shown are wearing masks.

Critics widely derided the pictures on social media, although some residents of the counties voiced support.

Georgia’s largest school district, Gwinnett County, said Tuesday that it hopes to make a phased return to face-to-face instruction after an all-remote start to classes. All students seeking in-person classes could be welcome by Sept. 8, in what Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks wrote is a “best case” scenario.

Georgia hit a new weekly high for COVID-19 deaths on

Tuesday and has averaged 51 confirmed deaths from the respiratory illness over the past seven days. Few die from the illness, and only a relatively small fraction become ill enough to be hospitalized.

Paulding County Superintendent Brian Ottot, in an email sent Tuesday, said pictures were accurate but said that the district is following state guidelines and that students need longer than a few minutes in the hall to catch the virus from others.

Page 15 ONLINE |Continued from page 11 an AI-driven startup that helps detect and filter abusive and toxic content online, found hate speech between children and teens on social media and in chat forums increased 70% since students transitioned to distance learning.

In the coronavirus era, when every one of a student’s friends is probably online, along with many of their classes in the fall, it’s impractical to have children off devices. But there are steps educators and families can take to help students — both those doing the bullying and those who are the victims — navigate the digital world more safely and thoughtfully.

Seigfried-Spellar noted while digital tools are likely crucial in an online learning environment, educators can make choices to tailor what they’re using to what they need. For example, while many educators have made use of videoconferencing tools, every feature doesn’t have to be employed, she said.

UIL |Continued from page 3 tions that outline the criteria for determining if a student is passing all courses at the end of grading and evaluation periods. Days when school is not in session should be treated as school holidays for purposes of determining academic eligibility for both remote and in-person learning. All students are academically eligible when school is not in session for a full calendar week or more.

More information related to no pass-no play can be found in the TEA-UIL Side by Side Manual.

For the 2020-2021 school year, UIL eligibility requirements for the first six weeks of school have been modified to allow a student to be eligible for the first six weeks if they accumulated at least two and a half credits since the start of the 2019-2020 school year. Schools may impose additional requirements.

The district statement regarding students taking part in UIL said that, “we do not want anyone to feel pressure to choose an on-campus or remote option because of an activity they love or the technology they may need. Families should feel comfortable with their education options and activities should not stand in the way of that decision. Extracurriculars enhance the education experience and it is our job to figure out how to make that work for our students who love to participate in them.

“With that being said, students may have to be on campus to participate in practices for their chosen activity and we are working with our coaches and organization sponsors to

figure out how to best accommodate students who are learning remotely.”

Tyler ISD is following the same path as Longview, while Whitehouse is not allowing

remote students to participate unless they have extenuating circumstances and fill out a waiver. Lufkin ISD and other districts have yet to make a final decision.

Page 16

THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

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THE LONGVIEW VOICE — August 7, 2020

Page 17

FOOD |Continued from page 14 is grown in the garden, then in the spring help, the students plant their own seed and watch it grown, eventually planting it in the raised gardens at Montessori.

Recently, Dozier sent a video of the garden and the workers maintaining the land to the Texas Department of Agriculture. They were quite amazed with what the district has done.

“They responded back about how proud they were of the district and the support that we have from the superintendent and the board with what we’ve

done with the garden,” Dozier said.

The Longview district board members were proud of the hard work of the employees and the FFA students. “(The garden) is something I have envisioned for this district since the day I moved here 22 years ago,” said Board President Virginia Northcutt.

We are proud of the hard work of the employees that work so hard for the crops that our students get to enjoy. We are also so proud of the FFA helpers. Keep up the great work!

REMOTE |Continued from page 7 the debate over whether schools should open amid the pandemic is intensifying ahead of the traditional start to the school year across the country.

President Donald Trump, who has long lobbied for students to return to school, in a Wednesday interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” repeated claims that children are “virtually immune” from COVID-19.

“If you look at children, children are almost – and I would almost say definitely – but almost immune from this disease,” Trump said.

An increasing number of public school systems – such as those in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles – have announced plans to at least start their school year with virtual learning. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said last week that the union is considering strikes if schools fail to adhere to best reopening practices.

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