KINGSVILLE, Texas — At all eight campuses at Kingsville ISD, everybody has to meet with Dr. Owl before they can enter the building.
Dr. Owl is actually an app that asks students and staff questions related to COVID-19 exposure to ensure safety.
If anyone shows symptoms, they go to the nurse’s office.
"So when our kids come in, we screen them, first thing. And if they have symptoms of COVID, we immediately put them in a room and isolate them," said district charge nurse Lou Wilson.
Dr. Cissy Reynolds Perez just became KISD’s superintendent in August, and within a month or so, had to deal with a spike in COVID-19 cases within the district. Eight students at three different campuses tested positive.
Perez acted immediately.
"I figured, let’s go ahead and try to squash this. Let’s go full remote for those schools for a week, and let’s slow down that trend."
There are 888 students enrolled at H.M. King High School, but only a quarter of them are in the classroom.
Perez says 40 percent of all KISD students are learning remotely. The other 60 percent are on campus, like Robert Murphy, who told us he’s never tested positive, but knows students who have, and are being transparent about it.
"I believe that people are trying to announce that they have it, so they can keep other people posted, ‘cause if anyone’s holding it in, that’s only going to bring a problem."
