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NEDERLAND — The Nederland Independent School District amended its school calendar to begin the 2020-21 academic year with a delayed start date of Aug. 31.

The update was announced Thursday evening by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Stuart Kieschnick.

“This decision was not easy and was made after reviewing guidance issued by the Texas Education Agency, in consideration of recommendations by local health officials, and reviewing student, parent and teacher survey results,” Kieschnick said.

The amended school calendar and school hours can be found on the Nederland ISD website. The first day of instruction is Aug. 31. The last day of instruction is May 26.

An additional 30 minutes will still be added to the school day.

The additional weeks will allow for a number of outcomes including:

• Continue developing plans that help increase opportunities for positive student outcomes.
• More time to receive and distribute mobile devices and when needed “hotspots” to students.
• More time to receive additional safety and health supplies (Ex: PPE’s, Plexiglass, UV lights for HVAC, etc.) A number of these items are on backorder at this time.
• Additional opportunities to train students and parents in Google Classroom.
• Help in the efforts of flattening the curve of COVID-19.

Teachers are scheduled to return to work on Aug. 10.

All teachers and other employees will report to duty at their respective schools and work locations on that date.

At this time, there will still be an In-Person and Virtual instruction for all students beginning Aug. 31st.

Students will still be allowed to choose between either Track One – In-Person Learning or Track Two – Virtual Learning. With the current guidelines, parents will choose a track by Aug. 17th.

“We have learned so much over the last five months,” Kieschnick said. “This situation changes daily and we have to adapt to the new challenges presented to us. Our goal is to provide the best educational experience for our students as possible. We realize that this decision could place a burden on families who need to arrange for childcare. We apologize for the inconvenience. However, as a District, we feel this is necessary to keep our students and employees safe. We are eager to welcome your students back with open arms on Aug. 31.”