Because a large number of students and staff were absent due to Covid, the district closed school on Friday, Jan. 14 through Tuesday, Jan. 18.  

“I was surprised school closed because the district is usually so stubborn,” sophomore Kathy Cao said. “I’m glad that they thought about the students and workers’ health. The district includes so much more than the teachers, there are also the janitors, cafeteria workers, and bus drivers.”

Cao said she understands why parents want school to remain in session.

“The parents want their kids to stay in school because they need to work,” she said. “They can’t have unsupervised kids at their house.”

Teachers and students were not required to do online instruction and won’t have to make up the days.

“It felt blissful to have a break and not do the work, as they usually would have us work virtually,” Cao said. “It was nice to not have to self-teach because self-teaching is not for everybody.”

The two days off backed up to the MLK holiday weekend, resulting in five consecutive days off. 

“The extra-long weekend was relaxing,” sophomore Kevin Truong said. “I got to spend time with my siblings indoors and I caught up on some shows.”

The day before school was closed, MISD had 750 students and 195 staff out with confirmed cases of Covid. 

“Here we go again with Covid, I’m tired of it,” sophomore Derrick Scott said. “People need to start wearing their masks again. As long as people know it’s not mandatory they’re not going to wear it.” 

With a high number of continued staff and student absences, many wonder if the closings will happen again.

“I don’t think school will close again because they know what they need to do to help keep school safe,” Truong said. “The surge in cases was probably because people came back from traveling during winter break.”

As of Jan. 25, there were 3.6 million new daily cases worldwide of COVID.

Truong said, “Hopefully, students and the district will be more cautious by keeping the area clean and wearing masks.”

Unlike Dallas ISD, students in MISD still have a choice whether or not to wear masks. 

“I got vaccinated, that’s why I’m more comfortable without my mask on,” Scott said. “But sometimes I just leave it at home and forget it. If I know it’s mandatory I’d wear my mask. It’s not a big deal.”