CYPRESS — The latest revision of the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD school calendar for the current 2020-2021 school year added seven days designed to give overworked teachers small respite.

According to a letter sent to Cypress parents, the district states: “We have determined that one area in need of immediate attention is additional planning and preparation time for our classroom teachers. CFISD teachers are committed to providing quality instruction for their students and are working harder than ever to teach students both in-person and remotely.”

Nov. 3, Dec. 11, Jan. 15, Feb. 12, March 12, April 12 and May 17 are now designated as “remote learning days,” meaning that students will stay at home and do work from home on those days.

“CyFair TSTA/NEA is pleased that CFISD Senior Administration and the CFISD Board of Trustees have appeared to have listened with regard to the additional workload placed upon teachers this year,” said CyFair TSTA President Donna Lord via email. “This is a small first step in meeting the needs of the teachers and, ultimately, the students. Teachers have been working nights and weekends since before the students stepped into the buildings or joined classes online. This small gesture will hopefully result in our teachers being able to spend important time with their families while taking time to care for themselves also. Unfortunately, CyFair TSTA/NEA does not feel one day a month is enough time to truly relieve the workload. When teachers are working 12 hour days over the weekends alone, one 8 hour day will make a very small dent in the workload. We are hopeful Senior Administration and the Board will seek true teacher input, continue to really listen to the issues presented by the teachers and the Unions and come up with a plan that allows for more than one relief day per month. It is CyFair TSTA/NEA’s position that it’s time that teachers and their representatives have a seat at the table when decisions are being made that affect teachers and students.

“Teacher morale is at an all time low. It is heartbreaking to see our colleagues and members beat down, exhausted and working themselves to the point of ignoring their health. Teacher’s families are suffering also. We speak to teachers every day who are working on an ‘exit plan’ because of the current situation. CFISD cannot afford to lose these teachers. At the end of the day, teachers are the most valuable assets of the district. The expensive schools and fancy buildings are worth nothing if the district does not have qualified, experienced teachers.”

The district states that Nov. 3 — namely Election Day — will be the first of the seven remote learning days because many CFISD schools are used as polling centers.

“Early voting has seen unprecedented numbers of people heading to the polls this week,” according to the district’s letter. “This trend is likely to continue, and for the safety and security of our students and staff, we feel it is critical to reduce the number of people reporting to campuses on Election Day.”

Remote Learning Days Plan:

On-Campus Learning students (who will be learning from home on these days) will:

Receive paper packets and assignments to be completed and turned in.
Not need devices (Chromebooks, laptops, internet) in order to complete the assignments.
Have attendance taken by showing evidence of completing assignments.

CFISD Connect students (who will remain at home) will:

Learn through pre-recorded lessons and posted assignments.
Not have check-ins by their teachers or participate in live instruction.
Have attendance taken by showing evidence of completing assignments and/or logging into Schoology.

However, parents may request on-campus learning at school for a student in pre-K through 8th grade on these designated remote learning days from home.

CFISD Cypress Fairbanks ISD calendars for the 2020-2021 school year (Oct. 16, 2020 update)

Editor’s note: We’ve updated the downloadable calendars to reflect the new, updated version of the school calendar. The latest revisions add “Remote Learning Days.”

Click the linked text below to download a PDF of the corresponding 2020/2021 school calendar.

Cypress Fairbanks ISD 2020-2021 school calendar (updated Oct. 16, 2020)

Cypress Fairbanks ISD 2020-2021 school calendar (updated 10-16-2020 start)

Cypress Fairbanks ISD 2020-2021 state testing calendar

Haga clic en el texto vinculado a continuación para descargar un PDF del calendario escolar 2020/2021 correspondiente.

Versión en español del calendario escolar 2020-2021 de Cypress Fairbanks ISD (actualizado el 16 de Octubre de 2020)

Cypress Fairbanks ISD 2020-2021 Calendar (Espanol updated 10-16-2020)

Cypress Fairbanks ISD 2020-2021 state testing calendar (Espanol)

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The Cypress News Review is your independent, locally owned online source for news, education news, information and sports in Cypress, Texas, since 2018.