School start delayed, remote learning to begin year

Last week, Superintendent Pedro Martinez and Chief Academic Officer Patti Salzmann shared San Antonio ISD’s plans for safely starting the 2020-2021 school year. The briefing was live-streamed to all SAISD employees across the District.

The major takeaways are:

• Changes to the 2020-2021 instructional calendar: (1) to begin school on August 17, not August 10, as previously announced,  (2) to remove one of the three intercessional week-long breaks, and (3) to remove the now-canceled November Fiesta date for the Battle of Flowers Parade. The last day of school will now be June 17, 2021.
• Remote learning will take place the first three weeks of the school year. In September, after Labor Day, in-person classes will begin for families who choose that option, and the fully-remote options will continue.
• A detailed “working plan” document has been developed that outlines the associated safety protocols, as well as plans for providing academics, meals, transportation, extra-curricular activities, and other District operations. The draft document is being shared on the website www.saisd.net/schoolstart, with a comments feature to gather input.