Anthony ISD prepares for start of virtual classes; offering iPads, internet hotspots for students

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Hundreds of students in the Borderland return to classes Monday, July 27. Things will certainly look different due to the pandemic.

The Anthony Independent School District is preparing for several weeks of online-only instruction as the year begins. The superintendent reports accommodations have been made for families that lack internet access. Some families have already received internet hotspots while other families will have internet directed at their homes using hotspots located inside school buses placed throughout the area. 

Another change? Meals will be delivered. Members of the school community will receive breakfast and lunch meals delivered to their homes each week day.

Superintendent Oscar Troncoso said he hopes the district can resume on-campus learning at some point after Labor Day. When the district is able to, Anthony ISD will utilize a hybrid model that allows families to choose whether their children return to campus. On campus, individuals will be required to wear masks and have their temperatures checked. Desk dividers have also been purchased by the district to minimize the spread of germs.

In the meantime, both Troncoso and an Anthony ISD teacher offered advice for students while learning online at home.

“Even though they’re not physically in school it is important to them to get into bed at a decent time and have a regular routine and those were the kids I found that did very well,” he said. 

“The students that were very successful were the ones who we spent extra hours outside of the regular classroom hours,” said Anthony English teacher Magdalena Hernandez. “Those parents were very helpful in making sure that even outside the regular hours, at 5:30, they had their child with us doing that extra tutoring.” 

The Clint Independent School District will also resume classes Monday, July 27.