School districts in the path of the total eclipse are going dark

KERRVILLE, Texas — School districts in the Texas Hill Country are closing schools on Monday, April 8, the day of the 2024 total eclipse.

Kerrville ISD, Boerne ISD and Comfort ISD all have schools in the path of the totality of the eclipse and have decided to give students and staff the day off.

 It’s being called the “Great American Eclipse for its path through the United States. It will be the last total solar eclipse for decades. Nearly four and a half minutes of daytime darkness will overtake some Texas Hill Country communities during the astronomical phenomenon—the longest period of eclipse anywhere in the country. 

Boerne ISD said the decision was to protect the safety of students and staff in the following statement:

“Due to the large number of people expected to visit to our area for the eclipse on April 8, we wanted to ensure that we had a student and staff holiday. We were proactive and placed this on our district calendar last year prior to the school year starting so families could plan ahead.

We wanted to avoid having our families on the roads with the increased traffic. It is just much safer for our families that way.

It will also be a great at home learning experience for our students.”

Meanwhile, Comfort ISD made the following statement: 

“Comfort ISD has designated April 8th as a holiday for staff and students since it’s anticipated that there will be a lot of people in our area to view the solar eclipse. In addition, the local library will be donating solar eclipse glasses to every student in our district.” 

Other parts of San Antonio and the surrounding areas are in the path of totality. KENS 5 is in the process reaching out to other schools districts about whether they will open on April 8, but reach out to your students’ district for plans if they are not listed in this article.