Pursuant to his powers as Governor of the State of Texas, Greg Abbott has issued the following: Executive Order No. GA-14 relating to statewide continuity of essential services and activities during the COVID-19 disaster. Pawnee ISD (Ayala, Pawnee, Red River and Trinity) will extend the suspension of normal district operations through Monday, May 4th in an effort to support our nation’s need to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. We will continue to provide our instruction remotely by online and packets, along with our student meal services. Our health officials report that cases are continuing to spread in the state, and an increase in confirmed cases in our surrounding area seems likely. Suspending operations for this length of time will allow us to determine, in coordination with local health officials, whether the virus is continuing to have community spread or whether it has been contained. We are coordinating with other school districts in the county and will update our community as developments become available on whether there is a need to extend the suspension further. We will continue with both our remote instruction and meal services as are currently in place.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has outlined the need for all communities to implement a social distancing protocol. We want to reiterate a request to our broader community to take the following reasonable precautions to prevent the spread of the illness:
· Don’t shake hands
· Wash your hands regularly
· Limit movement within the community, especially avoiding crowded places and maintaining 3 to 6 ft of distance between people (at least an arm’s length)
· If you are moving around in the community, don’t congregate in large groups
· For those who have traveled to areas with known COVID-19 cases – both inside and outside of the country – we ask that you self-quarantine and monitor for symptoms.
· If you suspect you have symptoms of COVID-19, call your health care provider for medical advice .
· Keep your child at home if he/she feels ill, even if you think it is just a cold.
· Do not leave the house if you are ill, except to access medical care
This is a quickly changing situation, and we will continue to monitor information, will assess conditions throughout the week, and will provide the next update by April 10 via our website and email.
Thank you for your support and cooperation as we ensure that all members of our community stay safe and healthy.
God Bless,
Michelle Hartmann, Superintendent