Students who attend Alice Independent School District schools are getting access to computer devices and Internet services as the Fall 2020 school year approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement notably came from a posting on the district’s Facebook page.
Alice ISD Public Information Officer Ofelia Hunter said the device distribution will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day until Friday, in a drive-thru-like setting at the Alice ISD Administration Building.
The initial four-week remote learning period will start Aug. 24. Hunter said those who choose not to resume in-person classes can keep their respective devices for as long as they need for the school year.
“Anything that we can do to help our students succeed, that’s what Alice ISD is all about,” Hunter said.
The devices that have been distributed are either laptops or iPad tablets that come from the district’s inventory. Hunter said the district’s technology department has ordered additional devices and mobile hotspots for both students and teachers.
Those additional devices and hotspots are purchased using the district’s existing funds, with part of it potentially qualifying for reimbursement through state funds, Hunter said.
To parents like Clarissa Guerrero, who would otherwise only have her cell phone for her eighth- and third-grader, she said she’s appreciative of the opportunity.
Guerrero said even after the first four weeks of remote learning, she doesn't plan to let her children attend in-person classes anytime soon.
“I’d just rather not chance that,” she said. “That’s just scary — to be losing one of my kids, especially.”
Still, she remains optimistic for her children. As much as she can during a pandemic.
“It’s something new, but I’m sure that we can — we can work on that,” Guerrero said. “It’ll be — I think it’ll be OK.”
Even though Alice is a smaller community, no parents we spoke with even considered the concept of in-person classes after the initial four weeks of online instruction.