Laredo College will start its spring semester as planned Jan. 18 but with health and safety protocols in place.
“Due to our anticipation of another possible surge of cases and taking this into consideration when planning our academic schedule and course delivery options for the spring, our semester will continue as scheduled with a start date of Tuesday, Jan. 18,” Laredo College wrote in a press release. “With over half of Laredo College students enrolled for the spring semester taking online courses only and the stringent health and safety measures implemented at both campuses, our institution is confident that we will continue to provide a safe environment conducive to student success.”
This week Texas A&M International University announced it would postpone face-to-face learning until Jan. 24 due to COVID-19 precautions.
United Independent School District and Laredo Independent School District both elected to go back to remote learning for the week of Jan. 17 through Jan. 21 as well.
“COVID-19 numbers have been rising in our community and in the state of Texas,” UISD Superintendent David Gonzalez said at a special called meeting Thursday. “This has resulted in a lack of employees being able to report to campuses because of quarantine and isolation periods.”
LISD Board of Trustee Monica Garcia asked students to use this time wisely and not to take time off.
“We’re doing this to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Don’t use this to go on vacation,” she said. “We cannot tell you how to use your time, but we want to go the extra mile to provide an added layer of safety for everyone. Be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”
The city of Laredo has seen a rise in cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks reporting 1,846 in the span of a week, up from 1,821 the week before.
Despite being halfway into the month, Laredo’s total cases for January had already reached 3,667 — the second-highest month recorded over the past 12 months — as of LMT’s last report. It’s also trending to easily take that top spot as it trails only August 2020 during that time period which had 3,941 positives.
Laredo College will go forward with classes as planned but students will continue to be advised to follow city guidelines and the entity will encourage hand-washing, social distancing, cleaning and disinfecting frequently used surfaces, limiting contact with others and staying home when sick.
“We take pride in safeguarding our students and employees by offering education and resources to help them stay safe and healthy,” Laredo College Interim Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs and Compliance Dr. David Arreazola said. “We anticipated this surge and thus kept our courses mostly hybrid and online. Hence, there is no need to make any changes to our current semester schedule. Although we remain cautiously optimistic, we always plan with a worst-case scenario in mind and remain vigilant of any developments regarding this quickly-evolving situation. Our decisions are grounded in the scientific and empirical data at our disposal along with the guidance of our health authorities.”
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Originally Appeared Here