Editor’s note: We recognize the importance of the school district and its impact upon the Cypress community and Jersey Village, and realize that not everyone gets the mass email letters from CFISD, so we’ve decided to “power boost” Dr. Henry’s message from earlier today. With over 60 schools having water damage, three of which have “suffered major damage,” it’s important to also recognize the impact of the free breakfasts and lunches that some children rely upon for nourishment — and they just missed a week of meals — on top of freezing weather from Texas’ Valentine’s Freeze this week. Hopefully, schools can safely open Monday — or as soon as possible. Remember to #MaskUp, COVID-19 is still a threat.
Dear CFISD Community,
I wanted to provide you with a brief update following yesterday’s communication to the community.
Our CFISD police officers and facilities, maintenance and operations teams have continued to conduct building assessments and make repairs. More than 60 of our campuses sustained some level of water damage, with three schools suffering major damage. Many facilities are in excellent condition but have portable buildings that sustained damage to plumbing. We are also monitoring the availability of potable water, as numerous schools are currently in areas with boil-water alerts. While we had to dispose of many campus food supplies, our nutrition services team is confident that we will have sufficient food and beverages available for all students by Feb. 22.
Our operations team is collaborating with external contractors to get facilities up and running for students on Monday. Our goal continues to be to bring students back to campuses on Monday, but we need everyone to plan for the possibility of either a remote learning day for students or a staff work day (and no remote learning) on Monday.
As you know, we missed four days of student instruction last week, during a year when we have already lost so much time. While we are very thankful to have a waiver for those days, we know that there is much remediation that needs to occur in the 15 available instructional days between now and spring break.
We will continue to monitor the situation and assess the ability to provide on-campus instruction on Monday. I will provide you with another update tomorrow, and a final decision will be made regarding Monday no later than 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 21.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this unprecedented statewide winter freeze event. We know it is a stressful time for many of you. Please hang in there—we will overcome this!
Sincerely,
Mark Henry, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools