GEORGE WEST, Texas — After being told of an immune-compromised mother pulling her three-year-old daughter out of the district’s Head Start program, George West administration is maintaining their position on complete in-person instruction, albeit with some exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
Superintendent Dr. Roland Quesada said the community response he’s ultimately received shows most parents support in-person learning. He adds that the decision has lessened the workload for teachers.
“Many of our kids needed to be on campus for that teacher interaction,” Quesada said. “It’s been a tough, tough learning year for the past 12 months for kids.”
The district does offer remote learning, but those classes are exclusively for students who are in self-quarantine after having close-contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19.
Mother Ritsuka Fox said she ended up taking her 3-year-old child out of school after getting continuous emails about case numbers increasing at the school district and repeated instances of finding her daughter without a mask when she would pick her up from school.
“It’s been a couple of months and I’ve still gotten an email every day about more cases,” Fox said. “There are plenty of older people and people with health issues in this area — me being one of them. If I were to catch COVID — I would probably die.”
Although the district’s position ultimately remains the same, Quesada said they are willing to continue listening to the community.
“I welcome hearing that situation just like I did this past summer and spring,” he said. “We try to keep the teachers’ workload in mind and, of course, the well-being of someone with an immunodeficiency. That’s serious. I’m open to talking to parents like that and providing whatever they need to make sure they’re successful in school."
Fox's information has since been passed along to Quesada, who said he would try to see if the district can help work something out for her daughter.
