2022 will bring Lancaster ISD back to online classes as a precautionary measure towards the rising cases of COVID-19 according to an NBC 5 DFW article from January 1 which reports,
“The rise in COVID-19 cases has prompted the Lancaster Independent School District to shift classes back to virtual learning when students return to classes the week after the holiday break.
Lancaster ISD posted on the district’s website that “students will not return to in-person learning next week.” Instead, students will attend school virtually Wednesday through Friday.
Lancaster ISD said because the pivot plan might cause problems for parents and guardians the district is using Tuesday as an “instructional pivot transitional day” for students and parents to prepare.”
The decision came right after the level threat was raised to red when a surge of cases came about and limited hospital spaces became apparent according to a Dallas Morning News article from January 2. In it they say,
“In a statement posted to its website, Lancaster cited the surge in infections driven by the omicron variant, limited hospital beds across the region, and Dallas County’s move last week to raise the coronavirus threat level to red.
“While we know this extended time of online learning presents challenges for some families, given our current pandemic status, it is necessary to prevent students from returning next week, only to have to send them home again before the end of the week,” the statement said.
Dallas County’s COVID-19 cases on Friday were nearly double that of the day before, and the average number of new daily cases in the county for the last two weeks is a more than threefold increase from the previous 14-day period.
Parkland Memorial Hospital’s emergency room saw 997 patients last Tuesday, a one-day record for the hospital, while the positivity rate for the virus across the Cook Children’s Health Care System quadrupled in just one week.
“While we are doing all we can to continue in-person learning for all, until this pandemic is under control, the possibility that there will be a need to shift to on-line learning again remains constant,” the statement said.
Additionally, the Public Health Committee issued a letter to Judge Clay Jenkins regarding the present situation around Dallas County which the Judge posted in his twitter profile. Apart from the current rising cases of COVID-19, the committee also suggested a more active encouragement of having the people vaccinated and boosters so as to prevent a more serious implication and effectively slow down the spread of the virus. 
In response to the situation and to the encouragement of the public health committee, Lancaster ISD will be offering vaccinations and boosters for both students and parents in the community.
