{"id":493,"date":"2021-08-19T17:09:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T22:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cooper-for-all.local\/?p=493"},"modified":"2021-08-20T07:36:36","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T12:36:36","slug":"in-person-and-unprotected-residents-plead-for-stronger-covid-guidelines-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cooper-for-all.local\/news\/in-person-and-unprotected-residents-plead-for-stronger-covid-guidelines-in-schools\/","title":{"rendered":"In Person And Unprotected, Residents Plead For Stronger COVID Guidelines In Schools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Kaysie Ellingson from kttz.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarai Brinker thumbs through pages of comments she and a group of community members have gathered over the past few weeks. Brinker is a mom to two kids\u201410 and 11. Neither are old enough to get vaccinated, and for her, the thought of sending them back to school in person and unprotected has her uneasy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been a lot of confusion surrounding mask mandates across Texas due to the legal tug of war between the state and counties over Texas Governor Greg Abbott\u2019s ban on mask requirements. Still, some local officials continue to fight back. However, that\u2019s not the case in Lubbock\u2014the same city where Abbott announced the rescinding of the statewide mask mandate back in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of mandated public health guidelines locally pushed Brinker into action as students returned to the classroom this week. Over the past few weeks she has worked to collect those pages of signatures from people asking Lubbock\u2019s largest school district\u2014Lubbock Independent School District\u2014to strengthen their language on COVID-19 guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, almost 600 people have signed the call to action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we have hundreds of children indoors for eight hours a day,\u201d Brinker said, \u201call we want is for our kids to be able to go to school in a safe environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brinker and the others are not asking for a mask mandate. Instead, they\u2019re asking for three things from the district: For teachers and school staff to model public health guidelines. To provide masks in the classroom to students and staff who may need one. And number one on the list is to change the language from \u201cwelcoming masks\u201d to \u201cencouraging them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The different verbiage is loaded for LISD Superintendent, Kathy Rollo, who believes the shift would place the burden on the schools rather than personal decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo does encourage mean that you\u2019re putting up posters suggesting that you wear masks?\u201d she asked. \u201cDoes that mean that we\u2019re getting on the announcements every day and saying, \u2018ok everyone wear your masks.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She says the schools already know how to avoid spreading the virus. And, while she appreciates the community feedback, she\u2019s also received several other messages asking that the school not require masks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The district\u2019s firm stance is a stark contrast to the fight several counties and school districts have taken up over Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s ban on mask mandates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after the Texas Supreme Court temporarily halted lower court decisions protecting mask mandates in the Dallas and San Antonio areas, Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa refused to budge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to continue with our mask mandate,\u201d he said in response to the Supreme Court\u2019s move. \u201cTo keep students safe, to keep parents safe, to keep families safe and most importantly our teachers, who are on the front lines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Amy Thompson is on the frontlines in Lubbock. She is the chief executive officer of Covenant Children\u2019s Hospital. Classes began for most students in Lubbock this week, and as Thompson has watched local hospital bed capacities decrease, she has grown increasingly concerned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have had a number of days in these past couple of weeks where we have been out of pediatric beds in our children\u2019s hospital,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it is still true that children are less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, she explained there are still cases. But the main driver in hospitalizations among children is another virus that\u2019s on the rise \u2014 Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) \u2014 which for Thompson, is making this situation even more alarming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the double-threat, she considered her worst-case-scenario as a pediatric healthcare provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never want to have to turn away a kid that needs care,\u201d she said. It’s a situation Lubbock\u2019s healthcare providers are already experiencing in the adult units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She isn\u2019t the only one worried about capacity. Parents are too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back at Sarai Brinker\u2019s home, she clears the schoolbooks off her dining room table. She was looking forward to reverting the dining room back to its original purpose, but that\u2019s on hold for now. The call to action she submitted to the district was not adopted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, for now, maps of the country and the world decorate the teal walls along with artwork her children painted. The china cabinet is a temporary bookshelf, lined with workbooks. Until her kids can get vaccinated this room will remain as is. A makeshift classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less than a week before her 10-year-old daughter was set to start school in person, Brinker and her husband made the difficult decision to withdraw her from LISD. \u201cI went to Meet the Teacher Night,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI went into her classroom and the teacher wasn\u2019t wearing a mask.\u201d She will homeschool her daughter until things get better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her son on the other hand, about to begin middle school and nearing his 12th birthday\u2014making him eligible for the vaccine\u2014will return to school in person. \u201cI\u2019m just praying he doesn\u2019t get sick in those six weeks,\u201d she said, laughing nervously. She remained quiet for a moment, reflecting on the situation she has been forced into and muttered, \u201cI\u2019m conflicted,\u201d like so many other parents are right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brinker counts herself lucky still. Even with the difficult decision her family had to make just days before the start of school, she recognizes that having the option to homeschool her child is not something every parent has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While LISD does not intend on adopting the three requests listed in the call to action from Brinker\u2019s community group, Superintendent Kathy Rollo said they will continue cleaning protocols and encourage students and staff to get vaccinated. Students and staff can get masks from the school nurse. And they will conduct contact tracing and notify parents of COVID cases at their child\u2019s school \u2014 measures not required by the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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