EPISD declares emergency preparedness week following Spring Break
(EL PASO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT -- March 12, 2020) —Out of an abundance of caution, the El Paso Independent School District has declared a week of emergency preparedness follwing the already-scheduled Spring Break. Spring Break is March 16-20 and the disaster prepardness week is March 23-27. Students and staff will return on Monday, March 30.
“The health of our students and employees is our priority, and while there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in El Paso, we believe it is better to move forward using caution,” Superintendent Juan Cabrera said.
The decision was made in order to be proactive as families may be returning from spring break travel. The extended time will be used for deeper spring cleaning of schools.
During the extended week of spring break (March 23-27) some campuses will be open to offer pick-up meals for all students. A schedule of times and locations will be distributed next week.
All school-related out-of-town travel has been canceled indefinitely. While there are no reported cases of COVID-19 in the county, the District is taking all precautions to keep students and staff healthy and safe.
Please visit episd.org for more information on the District’s plan and prevention tips related to COVID-19.
Message from Superintendent Juan E. Cabrera:
Dear EPISD Families, Staff and Students:
The global concerns over COVID-19 (coronavirus) have led us to make several adjustments to our Spring Break, scheduled for March 16-20. The health of our EPISD employees and students is our priority, and while there have been no cases in El Paso, we believe it is better to operate with an abundance of caution. In order to proactively protect the health and safety of our students and campus community, EPISD has declared a week of emergency planning from March 23-27 for students and staff. The district will, thus, will reopen on Monday, March 30.
All out-of-town, school-related travel has been canceled indefinitely for students and staff.
We are coordinating all of efforts with the Texas Education Agency, Office of Emergency Management and leadership at the City of El Paso, the County of El Paso, UTEP, EPCC, local hospitals and other area school districts.
We have made this decision to be proactive as families may be returning from spring break travel and also to provide us an extended time period for a deeper spring cleaning of schools and our school buses.
All facilities will be closed to the public March 16-20. The following week, March 23-27, we will offer breakfast and lunch to all our students for pick-up at select campuses. A schedule of times and locations will be distributed next week.
We will have some staff on duty to coordinate needs at this time. Your supervisor will provide more information if you are required to come in to work at any time during the closure. Employees will be paid in accordance with policy DEA (Local) for the week of March 23-27. Please contact your direct supervisor if you have questions.
We know that many families use spring break as an opportunity for travel, please consider current state and national travel restrictions and CDC guidelines. Please visit episd.org for more information on the district’s plan and prevention tips.
Sincerely,
Superintendent Juan Cabrera