School districts across the area decided to extend Spring Break an extra week on Friday in hopes of slowing the spread of COVID-19.

Marlin

Marlin ISD is extending Spring Break for students and will return on Monday, March 23.

In a letter to the community on Friday Interim Superintendent Jean Bahney said the district has been monitoring the status of the COVID-19 over the course of this entire week and decided that closing from March 16-20 would be best.

“The Marlin ISD leadership team has been meeting to monitor changes,” Bahney said. “We will continue to review the most current information related to this virus and determine future action steps for the students and staff of Marlin ISD.”

“We ask that everyone monitor their own health and avoid returning to work if you have a fever or any respiratory issues as we wish to avoid any exposure to this virus,” she said. “I will remain in contact with the leadership team and they will be notified if any changes need to occur.”

She asked that in the event that any of you, as parents, feel that you or your child(ren) may have been exposed to COVID-19 over the Spring Break, we ask that you keep your child(ren) home.

The district also asks that you notify your campus administration so that we can help you avoid any issue with attendance concerns. If you, as a parent, are concerned about your child(ren) attending school in order to avoid exposure to other children, please keep your child(ren) home and notify the district so they can help you with attendance issues.

Chilton

On March 14, Chilton ISD announced that they would be extending spring break for a week amidst the coronavirus scares, but they are doing it a little differently than others in the county.

The letter, from Superintendent Brandon Hubbard, explains that the district will extend learning opportunities for all grade levels, through technology or print means and that the Nutrition department will be open all week as well.

“Even though we are extending campus closure, we cannot discontinue learning and student development,” he said.

Assignments are available on the Chilton ISD website and vary between hightechnology usage and low technology usage to be sure each student can learn how they need to.

Each grade level has a different time commitment on these assignments, ranging from 20 minutes for PK-2 to 90+ minutes for high schoolers.

They are posted to both the Chilton ISD Website and their social media pages.

Students will have access to sustainable meals during this time as well.

“Though we understand that necessary precautions must be taken to limit the spread of disease,” the letter stated, “we also understand that it is essential to ensure that every child in our community has access to healthy and nutritional meals.”

Breakfast is available from 7:30-8:30 a.m. this week, followed by lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. All meals are packaged to-go and are available in the district cafeteria. Students will not be allowed to eat on site and must sanitize their hands before entering the building.

The letter also states that visitor policies will change upon return to normal scheduling. All visitors will not only have to sanitize their hands, but temperatures will be taken by Chilton ISD staff in order to check for a fever.

Anyone who refuses will be denied entry.

Contact Chilton ISD for additional information or head to their website at chiltonisd.org