After a year of masking, remote learning and social distancing, Dragons are finally returning to classes in person in the fall like they were before a pandemic hit in spring 2020. While COVID-19 is still a lingering concern, its hold on the district is weaker than it was last year — and Carroll’s nurses are to thank for helping return the district back to normal.
ASSEMBLING THE TASK FORCE
The district had just let out for spring break when Tarrant County got its first confirmed case of COVID-19 last March. It wasn’t that long after when the district shut its doors and shifted its classes online.
“We thought we would be back later that month,” head nurse Karen Flexer says. “When we didn’t come back and the numbers kept skyrocketing, we knew this was sticking around and we needed to get serious about it.”
The district was quick to approve a COVID-19 task force, which comprised of district nurses, administrators and school principals committed to keeping the district’s kids and teachers safe.
“The COVID task force put us all in the same room so we could hear how they were all affected by COVID-19,” Karen says. “We had to look at everything differently.”
KEEPING EVERYBODY SAFE
The task force’s first order of business was collecting masks, gloves and hand sanitizer for use on its campuses. After securing enough protective equipment, the task force strategized plans for high school graduation and returning to school in the fall, using masks, touch-free thermometers and social distancing measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“The school nurses played a huge role in the public health outreach — just educating parents on the symptoms, what to do if a family member tested positive, taking temperatures at graduation,” Karen says.
The task force also implemented a prescreening check so families could check for COVID-19 symptoms at home before sending their child to school. It also created a COVID-19 dashboard to keep track of cases throughout the school year.
MOVING FORWARD
By the end of May 2021, Carroll ISD saw 827 total COVID-19 cases throughout the school year, with zero student casualties and overall cases never exceeding 25%, according to the district’s COVID-19 dashboard. Karen credits that to everyone being patient and working together selflessly, whether it was nurses checking on students’ temperatures or parents prescreening their kids at home.
“I feel like everybody wanted to keep each other safe,” Karen says. “They were hyper-sensitive about putting anybody else in danger.”
Going into the new year, Karen just can’t wait to see everyone being comfortable around each other again.
“I saw so many parents reach out to us being grateful, notes and emails from people taking the time to thank us,” Karen says. “At the end of the day, we are nurses, and we just want to give compassionate care and be an advocate for all of our students.”