Delivering hope to families during a time of uncertainty

The past several weeks have been a whirlwind of challenges as we all adjust to a “new normal” of operating in a virtual space since COVID-19 – and what that means for our community of students, parents, teachers, and staff.

As you know, we learned last week that a new executive order by Gov. Abbott will extend the closure of all Texas schools through the end of the 2019-2020 school year to continue combatting the spread of COVID-19. As such, we will continue online learning during this time.

Everyone in our community is affected by this pandemic – whether caring for children at home and guiding them in virtual instruction, juggling working remotely, or checking in on elderly relatives. We understand that some of our HISD families are facing challenging unemployment and are struggling to put meals on the table. That’s why it was important to us to get our food distribution sites up and running, so that our families could receive the assistance they need.

Food distribution is continuing this week at 25 sites across the district, and just this weekend at NRG, more than 4,000 families received food packages through a partnership with the Houston Food Bank. Between March 14 and April 10, we distributed 1.4 million pounds of food to 47,826 families, and we continue to add to those numbers every week. A complete schedule and map of food sites is available online at HoustonISD.org/HealthAlerts.

For distance learning instruction, we are working to provide readily available resources to our students, parents, and campus staff. The district will continue to utilize HISD @ H.O.M.E. (Home-based Online Mobile Education), a distance learning platform to ensure students’ academic and non-academic needs are met. Students and parents can access the site on their school’s main landing page by clicking on the HISD @ H.O.M.E. icon or by visiting the site at: HoustonISD.org/HOME. Campuses also have been instructed to provide paper-based curriculum resources to provide to families without access to technology. 

Additional distance learning supports include:

• The launch of the HISD @ H.O.M.E. Hotline to help answer parent and student questions. The hotline — 713-556-INFO (4636) — continues to be in operation daily, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at. Operators are on hand to answer questions in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Arabic.
• An updated the special education section of the HISD @ H.O.M.E page to enhance the organization of resources and tools for virtual instruction. The district is committed to providing instructional resources to parents of students with disabilities during this time away from school buildings as well as multiple ways to engage children in meaningful learning experiences. You can find more information about these resources here.
• Continued broadcast of HISD @ H.O.M.E. TV  instructional videos. The videos are broadcast from 9-11 a.m., 1-3 p.m., and 5-7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Segments in English and Spanish are streamed on HISD-TV via HoustonISD.org/LiveTV and broadcast on cable via Comcast Ch. 18 and U-verse Ch. 99 U-verse. Access to current and previous lessons can be found here.

During this time of uncertainty, one thing IS for certain: We care about our students. That fact hasn’t changed. How we are operating just looks a little different right now. Be patient with us, and know we are working hard behind the scenes. We will do everything in our power to ensure our students and families receive the support they need.

#HISDEmpowers