Dear Chaparral Families,

We are experiencing history as our community, state and country responds to the ongoing health emergency caused by the COVID-19. As I am sure you are aware, Governor Abbott issued a medical disaster declaration and part of that declaration was to close all schools in Texas through April 3, 2020. Most schools in Denton County already announced closure through this date. I know that working together we will be able to support one another during this extremely challenging time. 

Starting on Monday, March 23, we will begin our instructional support for students at home. Our teachers, principals, curriculum staff have worked hard to prepare our system to help students continue their education. We know that there will be challenges with this new delivery of instruction. We ask that you give us some grace as we troubleshoot issues. Please communicate to your teacher/principal what issues you experience and we’ll work to get those addressed as quickly as possible.  

Please remember that we will distribute the “low tech” option Monday afternoon from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. This is the time that students can pick up essential items from school such as medication, band instruments, etc.  We will deliver any items “curbside” and ask that no one leave their vehicle. If you need an essential item, a member of the staff will retrieve it for you. In addition, we have turned up our wifi at our buildings so the network is better accessible in school parking lots. Students can log into the student network or you can log in to the guest network. We have also ordered wifi hotspots that we plan to place in school buses and then park buses in different areas of the district. We are hoping to have approximately 5 distributed.  We have not determined the location and will communicate that as we are able. I would not look for this until late next week or early the following week.

We are aware there are many events scheduled for mid-April and through May. We have not made a determination on the status of those events at this time. We want to wait a couple of more weeks before deciding to cancel or delaying those events. Under the present environment we are very concerned whether many of these events will take place. These include: UIL activities (UIL has announced delays until early May, 2020), Prom, banquets, etc. Please be aware that the Governor has cancelled all STAAR and EOC test administrations for this year.  Please check in on the Aubrey ISD COVID-19 webpage for updates.  

One more topic. We have been made aware by several sources including the Texas Education Agency that online scammers are attempting to take advantage of this situation. Phishing emails are being sent that may look like educational emails. Please ensure that any link you click on in an email is contained in a legitimate email address. 

As we all know this is a difficult time for everyone, particularly our Aubrey High School seniors.  In a show of support for the Senior Class of 2020, let’s all wear a red Aubrey Chaparral shirt on Monday. Please take a picture and post on the Aubrey Chaparral Facebook page. We can show our senior students and all our Chaparrals how much we care for them and are with them in this simple way. 

Thank you for your support. Our whole focus is to provide the very best support for students, families, and our staff during this health emergency. It is very important for us all to follow the CDC guidelines and the Governor’s declaration. Working together we will be able to make this new reality work as best as possible. 

Thank you,

Dr. Belding