AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Austin ISD officials said late Thursday that the district will re-open in-person learning to every student that wants it beginning next week.
AISD Superintendent Dr. Stephanie Elizalde made the announcement in a letter to the district community Thursday. "Because of the improvements we are seeing on our campuses and in our community, and in consultation with Dr. Mark Escott of Austin Public Health, beginning Monday, Jan. 25, every family who selected on-campus learning will be invited to return to campus once again," Elizalde said.
For the past two weeks, the district had been strongly recommending that any students who could switch to remote learning, while continuing to offer in-person learning to students who required it.
Elizalde said the district has seen a 35% decrease in daily positive COVID-19 cases since the first week after the winter break, along with a 28% decrease in the cumulative number of weekly cases. The district's current positivity rate is 4.01%, down from a peak of 7.07%.
According to data from Austin Public Health, the positivity rate for Travis County is down to 12.8%, from a high of 17.8%.
Elizalde said returning to on-campus learning is not mandatory, and remote learning will continue to be offered for the rest of the school year.
