BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - The two biggest school districts in the Brazos Valley have announced they are sticking to the COVID-19 protocols implemented by the Texas Education Agency at the beginning of the school year.
Bryan ISD Superintendent Christie Whitbeck was on News 3 Now on Thursday. She says the district has come too far to go back now.
“I recommend that we leave it alone. We have 55 days of school left, we’ve had constant disruption and I want to really emphasize that all educators know that children thrive off structure, consistency and clear expectations,” Whitbeck said. “We have had nothing in the world of consistency very much throughout this year.”
There are 1,203 teachers in Bryan ISD who started the year with the expectation they would have PPE in place to protect them. Whitbeck says they would be risking too many lives and jobs if they rescinded the protocols now.
“They stepped up, they came to work, they taught our kids, they drove the buses, they did everything they needed to do. So now to say to them, well the conditions which you’ve agreed to work have now changed and we decided to take them away… well what if they need to resign? Then what has happened? We have now hurt the children,” Whitbeck said.
For the families who do not want their child to continue to wear a mask, Whitbeck reminds them there is a virtual option for the student.
“We can certainly flip a child online.”
On Wednesday, health officials announced Texas teachers are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. This includes teachers, Head Start program staff, and child care staff.
Whitbeck believes this decision is long overdue.
“I’m very disappointed that educators were not higher up in the list. I feel as though we are essential workers; that has been true since the beginning in last March. That has not changed. And I think in particular, in places like Bryan and College Station and our area where our teachers have been back to face-to-face,” Whitbeck said.
College Station ISD Superintendent Mike Martindale says there is no doubt that eliminating the mask requirement would result in many more students and staff having to miss school due to close contact with quarantine requirements.
“The focus is the safety of our students and our faculty and our staff and second is to keep our schools open and learning going in our buildings, and masks are the primary mitigating factor in that,” Martindale said.
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March 05, 2021 at 06:54AM
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Local superintendents react to recent mask mandate changes, vaccine eligibility - KBTX
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