As fall semester nears, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto teachers express concerns over health, safety

Under RRISD's Reimagining Education plan released July 17, the first three weeks of the semester will be held 100% virtually, beginning Aug. 20. The district is tentatively planning to resume in-person learning Sept. 10, with e-learning continuing for those who opt into the digital program.

Estes added the district is working with staff who have requested the ability to instruct from a virtual learning platform based on their health situation. The need for in-person staff is largely dependent on how many students opt for in-person learning, she said.

Class in session

In Pflugerville, tentative plans state that school will resume Aug. 13 for three weeks of 100% virtual learning before transitioning to the choice of in-person or digital instruction Sept. 8.

PfISD teacher Kimberly Carroll said she has a son with autism and does not want to jeopardize his safety at the expense of teaching in-person.

“I want to see safety protocols in place and know that they're actually going to be enforced before I feel safe and it’s safe for the kids,” Carroll said.

Safety protocols under consideration include enhanced sanitation, temporarily suspending nonessential visitors and staggering arrival and departure times, PfISD spokesperson Tamra Spence said. Alongside enhanced safety provisions, the district is currently finalizing teacher training, specific to COVID-19.

Generating feedback

RRISD, PfISD and Hutto ISD conducted staff surveys over the summer to gauge teachers' thoughts about the upcoming semester.

A RRISD survey conducted in May reported 60% of district-based staff would be comfortable returning to campus. In response to an HISD survey conducted in June, 54.9% of staff said they would be comfortable with face-to-face interaction in the classroom. Findings from a PfISD staff survey conducted this summer had not been published as of press time July 30.

Since completing the survey, some teachers have said recent COVID-19 case spikes have altered their previous thoughts on returning to an in-person curriculum.

"Our circumstances have changed drastically, and that changes our opinions," said Nicole Muray, a Hutto ISD pre-K teacher, during the district's July 23 board meeting.

HISD's academic year begins Aug. 18 with three weeks of 100% virtual learning before an optional in-person curriculum resumes Sept. 8.

Estes, Spence and HISD spokesperson Todd Robison each said the districts continue to seek teacher feedback while planning for the fall.

In response to a RRISD human resources survey, 5.4% of district personnel requested accommodations for their return. As part of the survey, 94.3% said they would be returning for the upcoming semester, out of a total of 4,587 responses.

HISD Superintendent Celina Estrada Thomas said the district has received 25 accommodation requests from staff for virtual learning as of July 23.

“It's a constantly changing situation, but we are always trying to put our staff and our students’ health and safety first,” Spence said. “We know that everybody wants answers right now and we wish that we had every answer right now, but we are working on them around the clock and as fast as possible.”

Several area districts, such as RRISD and PfISD, established re-entry task forces to assist in creating distanced learning plans.

Franchesca Mejia, a teacher and the vice president of the Pflugerville Educators Association union, serves on the PfISD task force.

"Just because I'm an educator in your school district doesn't mean I only amount to a cog in the wheel," Mejia said. "I do have a voice."

Unanswered questions

Dan Wright serves as president of Education Round Rock—an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers—and works as a RRISD teacher. He said he understands that district leaders are inundated with information coming from the Texas Education Agency, local health authorities and state organizations.

However, Wright said at the root of teachers' safety concerns is the ambiguity of how the fall will play out and potential consequences if the virus spreads.

“We're not in any way trying to avoid our responsibilities as teachers,” he said. “We want to be back in the rooms with our students, but we would like for everyone to be safe.”