San Antonio's largest district says 1,000 staff members did not return from winter break
Priscilla Aguirre Updated: Jan. 3, 2022 6:05 p.m.
Priscilla AguirreJan. 3, 2022
Northside Independent School District said more than 1,000 staff members did not return to work on Monday, January 3. The district resumed classes after its holiday break on the same day.
Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News
More than 1,000 staff members did not return to work at Northside Independent School District on Monday, January 3, the same day classes resumed after winter break. NISD spokesperson Barry Perez tells MySA about 926 of 1,260 people out are believed to be teacher positions.
NISD has around 13,000 employees, Perez says. He adds the absences could have been for many reasons, such as seasonal allergies, family illness, and COVID-19-related illness. The average substitute fill rate is about 80 percent on a normal day (meaning about 80 percent of teachers find a sub) but ran significantly lower at 58 percent on Monday, Perez says.
Perez, however, says the district does predict the fill rate to increase and be back to normal by Wednesday. He says the district has no plans on closing school.
Several Texas districts are delaying their returns to school after the holiday break due to the rising spike in COVID-19 cases caused by the highly contagious omicron variant. In the Corpus Christi area, three districts – Bishop, Driscoll, and Kingsville – delayed their respective returns to Monday, January 10, according to KRISTV. Lancaster ISD, near Dallas, also told students it will not return to in-person learning this week, according to FOX 4.
In San Antonio, the other two large districts haven't delayed its start to the year. North East ISD retruned to school on Monday, January 3. San Antonio ISD reopened offices on January 3 and campuses will be holding intercession for students who were notified for the week of January 3-7. However, all students will return on January 11.
Read more from Priscilla
Priscilla Aguirre Updated: Jan. 3, 2022 6:05 p.m.
Priscilla AguirreJan. 3, 2022
Northside Independent School District said more than 1,000 staff members did not return to work on Monday, January 3. The district resumed classes after its holiday break on the same day.
Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News
More than 1,000 staff members did not return to work at Northside Independent School District on Monday, January 3, the same day classes resumed after winter break. NISD spokesperson Barry Perez tells MySA about 926 of 1,260 people out are believed to be teacher positions.
NISD has around 13,000 employees, Perez says. He adds the absences could have been for many reasons, such as seasonal allergies, family illness, and COVID-19-related illness. The average substitute fill rate is about 80 percent on a normal day (meaning about 80 percent of teachers find a sub) but ran significantly lower at 58 percent on Monday, Perez says.
Perez, however, says the district does predict the fill rate to increase and be back to normal by Wednesday. He says the district has no plans on closing school.
Several Texas districts are delaying their returns to school after the holiday break due to the rising spike in COVID-19 cases caused by the highly contagious omicron variant. In the Corpus Christi area, three districts – Bishop, Driscoll, and Kingsville – delayed their respective returns to Monday, January 10, according to KRISTV. Lancaster ISD, near Dallas, also told students it will not return to in-person learning this week, according to FOX 4.
In San Antonio, the other two large districts haven't delayed its start to the year. North East ISD retruned to school on Monday, January 3. San Antonio ISD reopened offices on January 3 and campuses will be holding intercession for students who were notified for the week of January 3-7. However, all students will return on January 11.
Read more from Priscilla
