As the impact of COVID-19 began to flood the news and people became aware of the seriousness, businesses and schools all over the country began to shut down. Amongst the closures, senior Alejandra Olvera received a message from her boss not to return to the restaurant, Hideout Burgers, for several weeks until they announced a plan for restaurants in the pandemic. “I started working at the restaurant in May of last year. When the school announced that we weren’t going back for another week after spring break, my boss let me know because of corona they were only doing to go orders,” Olvera said. “The week turned into about two months of me not working and I didn’t know I could file for unemployment.” Students experienced job loss as restaurants and other places of business laid them off. However, others were able to earn jobs when businesses reopened. Senior Emarie...

Many Americans remember where they were and what they were doing during the Sept. 11 attack, including teachers at Legacy. Mr. Howard Ritz watched the damage caused by the first plane crash from his classroom at Burleson High School. When the second plane hit, the whole room became silent. “I thought, ‘This is unbelievable,’” Ritz said. “I couldn’t believe it was happening”. Ritz’s daughter lived in New York City at the time, only blocks away from the World Trade Center. After repeatedly calling her and never hearing back, Ritz began to worry. “I had no way of knowing where she was,” Ritz said. “I was numb and in denial.” Ritz finally received a call back from his daughter saying she was fine. She had been busy working, unaware of what had occurred. Ms. Debbie Larimore was working at Worley Middle School at the time of the attack. She found out about...

Jimmy Alcorn, Assistant Principal "The pandemic creates a dynamically shifting landscape of district needed positions and how to respond as quickly as possible to filling those needed positions. The awesome Principal, Dr. Butler, the administrators, and teaching staff have received me warmly and been very supportive as I better understand my roles and responsibilities and culture here at " The Great legacy high School." Leslie Barton, SPED "My biggest challenge is that I’m not able to get to know my students. I’m very much a people person and getting to know the students I work with first hand is a huge priority for me. Everyone at Legacy has been very welcoming! People don’t hesitate to assist you in whatever you may need. I can see myself staying here until I’m ready to retire and hang up my ID! Loving Legacy!"

On Aug. 17, the Mansfield ISD School Board announced that Dr. Deborah Cron would assume the role of acting superintendent after Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Cantu notified the district she would take medical leave for an emergency medical procedure.  “I will be serving in this role for about three weeks, and I have been very pleased with the leadership in this district,” Dr. Cron said. “The Board of Trustees is an amazing group of individuals. They really care about the district and have high expectations for this district.” With more than 35 years of experience in education, the Board decided that Dr. Cron fit the role as she served as the interim superintendent for Garland and Duncanville ISDs and the superintendent at Weatherford ISD. School Board President Karen Marcucci strongly believes in Dr. Cron’s leadership and agrees that she is more than qualified to...

MISD will distribute free meals during the summer for the sixth year in a row. Meals will be distributed at Icenhower Intermediate, Lake Ridge High School, Perry Elementary, Mary Jo Sheppard Elementary, Morris Elementary, and Harmon Elementary on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9-11 a.m.. However, Rita Denton, director of student nutrition, has altered the precautions taken at the meal distributions amid COVID-19. In order to prevent further spread of COVID-19, volunteers and staff must follow strict safety precautions such as washing hands every 30 minutes and wearing single use gloves when handling food. “Student Nutrition staff and volunteers complete a health screening prior to entering the building each day,” Denton said. “We practice social distancing during prep, meal assembly and as much as we can during service.”. Amid the extension of spring break, MISD Student...

As the sun rose, breakfast sat on the table and ironed uniforms were laid out on the couch for sophomore Jadyn Sivong. Backpacks weighed down by books and folders were slipped on in a rush. She heaved a quick sigh and walked out the front door to leave for another day at her charter school, Arlington Classics Academy (ACA).     “When I first came to ACA, I hated it cause I had to make new friends and I struggled to keep up,” Sivong said, “but as I got older, I really appreciated going to ACA. It’s a good school and it gives students a good challenge.” The summer before their freshman year, Sivong, along with her friend sophomore Blakley Canty, made a decision in transferring from a charter school to a public school. They went through the necessary steps by transferring transcripts from ACA to Legacy and buying the proper supplies for public school. Eventually,...

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak across the country, SAT and ACT tests were cancelled for high school students everywhere as people feared the virus and close proximity to one another in a testing environment. As the news of the cancellations rang out, junior Casey Burkham and other prospective college students lost out on opportunities to take the college admittance tests before their application process.  The cancellations caused colleges to ease some of the student’s stress about their upcoming college applications in the near future and allow the standardized test requirements to be waived for the upcoming graduate classes.  “I was excited [for the opportunity of test optional schools],” Burkham said. “I get nervous about testing and now my admittance can be based on the work I do in school.” Instead of the previous standardized test score evaluation in the...

Update 5/8 7:14 p.m.: MISD announced graduation ceremonies will take place at Globe Life Field on June 2 and 3. The in-person ceremonies will follow safety precautions to prevent further spread of COVID-19. Campus principals will release more information about parking, ticket procedures and tickets per graduate. Update 4/17 1:14 p.m.: Governor Greg Abbott announced on a Facebook Live stream that all Texas schools will remain closed for the rest of the year. Abbott also announced that retail stores will be able to reopen next Friday, April 24. State parks will reopen Monday as long as visitors wear face masks and remain at least six feet apart. Update 4/16 6:02 p.m.: College Board has cancelled the June 6 SAT and SAT Subject Tests amid school closures. Additionally, College Board cancelled the April PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9 administrations. In the event schools reopen,...