DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – The Catholic Diocese of Dallas plans to reopen its nearly 30 schools this fall, assuming Governor Abbott lifts current coronavirus restrictions.
“We believe that based on the CDC guidelines and the things that TEA and the Governor are putting out, we will be able to safely reopen in the fall in person,” said Diocese Superintendent, Matthew Vereecke.
Classes have been held virtually for months amid the coronavirus pandemic and the diocese plans to finalize its preparations to reopen over the summer. Some of the new safety measures and social distancing protocol will be diocesan wide while other decisions will be left to school leaders.
“Schools will look at things like how schools will utilize their cafeteria, what types of events they will allow,” said Vereecke. “A lot of it will depend on space at the schools.”
Mandates listed by the diocese include:
• Students and faculty members will be required to stay home for longer periods of time following
an illness;
• Visitors or volunteers will not be allowed on campuses;
• Face coverings will be required for all employees;
• Face coverings will be required for age-appropriate student populations;
• Interactions and movement of students within the campus will be limited to better control
contact; and finally,
• We will be aggressive in our decisions to move to remote learning in the case that COVID-19 is
detected within a community.
“We will be testing, revising and finalizing the specifics of these plans throughout the summer as needs and conditions change, so you will get final procedures from your child’s school near the end of summer,” Vereecke said in a letter sent to parents. “In the meantime, we will be meeting for additional planning sessions with all schools within the diocese to continue to share best practices and to give specifics in terms of screening guidelines and local campus plans.”
It’s not clear when the Governor will announce a decision on reopening schools.
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