BOERNE, Texas — Boerne ISD is wrapping up its second week of school with seven confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Director of Communications Bryan Benway said they can't stop the virus from getting inside their schools, but they can slow the spread. With nearly 10,000 students and about 1,3000 staff members, Benway said they've been successful at keeping cases low.
"Every school district is going to have cases pop up because that's what a virus does," Benway said. "We react immediately, we go through the protocols we put in place."
Benway said a specific crew handles each positive case. When a case pops up, they immediately isolate the students and disinfect the affected area. Then they call parents and notify the rest of the school.
From there, they begin contact tracing to see who else may be affected. Benway said teachers keep updated seating charts to make this as effective as possible.
"We know exactly who was sitting where in that class and then we can trace it back to the previous class," Benway said.
Every school in Boerne ISD has made adjustments to keep students six feet apart whenever possible. Students are required to wear masks and use hand sanitizer throughout the day.
Benway said with each new case, the district is getting faster and more efficient in its response.
"We really have limited the number of exposures," Benway said. "Because we are the first district to open up, we feel like we're really setting a good example going forward of transparency and making sure we're doing what we're supposed to."
Like the students, Benway said they'll be learning all year.
"We feel much more confident than we were at the start and we were pretty confident," Benway said. "But if we're not trying to improve every day, especially when it comes to safety, then we're not doing something right."
Benway said five campuses within Boerne ISD have confirmed cases. Champion High School, Boerne High School and Boerne Academy each have one case. Kendall Elementary and Boerne Middle School South each have two confirmed cases.
For more information about what Boerne ISD is doing to protect students, click here.