EPISD Adopts Year Round School Calendar

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we do pretty much everything including the way we send out kids to school. The coronavirus outbreak changed spring break for El Paso students because it was extended at first for a week and then another until finally the spring semester was called off and replaced by distance learning. As the stay at home orders went into place and things looked pretty bleak, school district officials in El Paso and nationwide weren't sure that students were going to be able to pull off having students in classrooms for the 2020 - 2021 fall semester.

Fast forward to last week and the Canutillo Independent School District announced plans to adopt a year-round school calendar along the lines of the Socorro Independent School District which has been on a year-round schedule for years. Because the Texas Education Agency is trying to give school districts enough flexibility to be able to close down schools if need be in case of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, they strongly suggested that school districts statewide go to a year-round schedule.

The change will shorten the summer vacation, but there will be breaks throughout the year for staff and students. As of right now, the El Paso and Canutillo school districts are scheduled to begin the new school year on August 3.

It is a little odd that that is the start date for the school year for EPISD and CISD as it is the anniversary of the El Paso Walmart shooting tragedy. No one is saying this has been a normal school year or that the coming school year will be normal either, but as we did in the aftermath of the Walmart massacre, we can do this as El Pasoans and get our kids back on track.