North Austin News

The Liberty Hill Independent School District opened its doors for the 2020-21 school year Aug. 27 and most students walked in and started learning.

Superintendent Steve Snell told North Austin News that two-thirds of students are attending in-person classes. The other one-third are doing remote learning.

“It’s going really well,” Snell said. “The start of school always, even in a perfect world, is a little chaotic and hectic.”

But he said students have complied with the district mandating mask use and social distancing. They have been extremely cooperative, Snell said.

“They are so excited to get back to school. We’ve had a really great start to school,” he said. “Our kids are so cooperative and so happy. They’re just happy-go-lucky. They’ve got their masks on.”

Teachers are allowing brief mask breaks but, otherwise, rules are strictly enforced, Snell said, even more strictly than he had originally intended.

But he said it’s worth it to keep the district’s seven schools – a high school, two secondary schools and four elementary schools – from being forced to close by a COVID-19 outbreak.

“We’re trying to do everything we can to keep the schools open,” Snell said. “We think it’s as safe as it can be. We have to believe that is what works, because that is what everyone tells us.”

This summer the district used virtual town hall meetings to share information and learn more. A task force was formed to encourage dialogue. The district asked parents if they preferred to have their children in the school or learning from home. The initial reaction was 95% preferred in-person education.

Then, as COVID-19 numbers rose in Texas, the responses dropped to 70% in-school, with 30% saying they would keep their kids at home. The final survey found the two-thirds, one-third split.

Snell said if a parent chooses to pull their child or children out of school, they can do so immediately. However, if they want to return to the classroom, they must wait until the first grading period ends after six weeks.

“We don’t want a revolving door,” Snell said.

Liberty Hill has spent a bit less than $1 million to provide students with learning devices and individual online hot spots to allow remote learning. Snell said 95% of students have internet access in their homes, but the rolling Texas Hill Country can make Internet and phone service spotty.

Other expenses have been much the same as usual, he said. The district, with an enrollment of 5,584 students as of Sept. 1, still has the same number of teachers on staff, must maintain its buildings and provide all services.

There have been a few cases of COVID-19. During teacher development meetings, a teacher who did not know she was infected apparently passed the virus to another instructor.

Some students have been exposed when they visited older siblings on college campuses. Snell said he has no doubt COVID-19 is real and poses a threat.

Some parents disagree. He has been told it’s not real and there are no good reasons to mandate masks.

“We hear the same things that you might read on an everyday Facebook page,” Snell said. “We’ve got everybody wearing masks until the dust settled a little bit and we’ve got a handle on everything. We’ve just pleaded with parents to be patient with us.”

He is consulting with health officials and other local superintendents to share information and ideas. They agree that masks, hand-washing, the use of sanitizing agents and social distancing are the best options for now.

“One good thing that has come out of the pandemic and school closure; superintendents collaborate daily with what we are seeing,” he said. “We’ve done more communicating between districts than we have ever done before. That’s been the blessing.”

Liberty Hill is classified as a 5A school, meaning its football and volleyball seasons are scheduled to start at the end of the month. Cross country and tennis will get under way next week.

The Liberty Hill Independent School District is in Liberty Hill in central Texas just north of Austin. Its enrollment is 5,584 students.

Snell said the rural setting, with fewer people and more space, might explain its reduced COVID-19 numbers. Still, the school district is taking all necessary precautions.

Snell has been its superintendent for a year and a half. Prior to this job, he was in charge of the Spring Hill ISD in Longview. Snell has 26 years experience as an educator – 23 as an administrator.

The veteran educator said he welcomes questions from other school districts and hopes Liberty Hill can set an example on how to safely resume in-person education.

“I would love for other schools to follow our example,” Snell said.