ALICE, Texas — In-person learning is canceled for at least the next seven school days for Alice Independent School District students over COVID-19 concerns following a large weekend house party.
“The last I heard, it could have been over a hundred kids," AISD Superintendent Carl Scarbrough said.
After holding an emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon, Scarbrough sent a letter home to parents saying that students who attended the house party Friday, "may have been exposed to confirmed COVID-19 positive persons."
With several students testing positive on two campuses Wednesday and contract tracing spreading across the district, Scarbrough says they had to take action to avoid a possible outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
“This one was so large and the potential risk so great that we had to do this," he said. "And (the decision) wasn’t taken lightly. We’ll put it that way.”
An Alice High School alumna whose two sons graduated from that school in 2010 and 2012 says she supports the decision.
“I know that they’re doing the best that they can, and I just pray that everybody stays safe and healthy," Debbie Hinojosa said. "Hopefully we can get over this and the kids can return to school as well as the teachers.”
The district's plan is to resume in-person learning on November 2, but Scarbrough says the closure of campuses can be extended if COVID-19 numbers indicate that is warranted.
He's hopeful parents will make sure their kids stay safe during the pandemic, so the return to the classroom can continue.
“I know that kids want to go and see their friends and go all over the place and do sleepovers and that kind of thing," he said. "But now is not the time.”
