Frisco ISD: All in-person elementary students to return to school Wednesday

Frisco ISD has announced that all in-person elementary school students will be able to return to school Wednesday.

The announcement comes as the district moves to reopen its roughly 80 facilities after some were taken “off the grid” in the wake of an energy crisis sparked by extreme winter weather in the previous week.

“We prioritized elementary schools because these students have the most difficult time with virtual learning,” Frisco ISD Superintendent Mike Waldrip stated in a statement regarding the district’s reopening efforts. “Our middle schools and high schools will follow. Our plan is to try and open schools as they become available to operate.”

The district has said it will share daily updates with parents regarding which campuses will reopen this week. Campuses at all levels including middle and high school could reopen this week, the district stated in a Sunday email to parents.

All FISD students underwent an asynchronous virtual model of schooling on Monday and Tuesday as the district worked to restore its buildings after the weather event. FISD Assistant Communications Director Meghan Cone said in an email that the delayed return to in-person instruction is associated with the restoration of water, power and food to each campus.

Cone said parents can expect a daily notification from FISD on which campuses will open the next day to come in between 4 to 5 p.m. each day during the week.

“This timeline gives our maintenance teams as much time as possible to establish the safety of a campus prior to communicating campus openings so that we can ensure students and staff will be able to return to campuses at the earliest time possible,” she stated.

The district will also keep a running list of open and closed campuses on its website.