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COVID-19 cases are soaring in districts across North Texas only a few weeks into the school year, and in Allen ISD, the total number of cases is already at levels not reached until December of last year.
Allen had 40 total staff cases and 327 student cases as of Aug. 29, according to the most recent data from the Texas Education Agency, with cases continuing to rise this week. That’s more than the 31 staff cases and nearly the 385 student cases the district was reporting as of Dec. 15, 2020, before COVID-19 vaccines were widely available.
Allen ISD’s online dashboard for 2020-21 was taken down before this school year, so no archive exists, district spokesman David Hicks said.
But even so, he said juxtaposing last year’s data with this year’s is not an apples-to-apples comparison.
Every student was learning virtually the first three weeks of last year, and around half of the district’s students remained virtual in September, Hicks said. Parents were also not required to inform the district about positive cases if their children were at home.
“Students who were virtual didn’t necessarily have to report their COVID cases to the district,” he said.
The district’s dashboard for this school year doesn’t keep track of the total number of cases, but it was showing 288 active cases for students and 34 for staff as of Friday afternoon. The high school had the most active cases with 36, and three elementary schools each had 24.
Elementary schools represent almost 60% of the district’s total active cases. Most students are unable to receive a vaccine, and Cook Children’s in Tarrant County and other hospitals have been reporting unprecedented demand for beds.
“Delta changed everything. Delta loves kids,” Dr. Corwin Warmink, emergency services medical director at Cook’s, told reporters this week. “The story line that this doesn’t affect children just isn’t true anymore.”
As of Friday, Cheatham Elementary was the only campus in the district reporting zero cases. On Dec. 15 last year, nine of the 18 elementary campuses had zero cases.
Allen ISD parents have protested the district’s COVID-19 response, saying they want a mask policy or an online learning option. They’re threatening to campaign against the $23.6 million bond election on November’s ballot and have retained an attorney.
Parents have also raised concerns around an in-person, indoor pep rally that thousands attended last Friday before Allen’s first football game of the season. Trustees and district administrators attended the rally and did not wear masks, according to photos posted on social media. Photos from Allen’s game against Plano East on Friday show students packed into the stands and not wearing masks.
The game was played the same week Allen High School assistant football coach James Shillam died because of complications from COVID-19. Shillam was not vaccinated against the virus, his family told WFAA-TV (Channel 8)
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But many Allen parents support the district’s pandemic response.
More than 800 people have signed a petition supporting Allen ISD not requiring masks and offering only in-person learning. The local club and political action committee We The People Allen has also organized at least one demonstration outside the district’s administration building, according to Facebook posts.
“We can’t allow our way of life to be stolen!” a message on the petition states.
The group plans to hold demonstrations on Sept. 13 and 27, according to the petition, to express their support for the district’s policies.
In response to parent feedback, the district has said it “remained steadfast” in supporting students’ needs in an in-person learning environment.