Houston suburbs work to support students online learning through pandemic By Savannah Mehrtens, Staff writer
Houston-area school districts have faced a tumultuous year as they transitioned from traditional classrooms to virtual “crisis learning” in the spring to a now hybrid model of online and face-to-face school as the pandemic rages on.
Vast challenges persist, including the struggle to maintain safe schools for students and teachers amid a pandemic that has claimed over 450,000 lives in the United States. Learning loss and mental health of students are also concerns, as is the stark digital divide in education.
Fort Bend ISD Superintendent Charles Dupre said online learning has morphed from what they called “crisis learning” in the spring 2020 to an organized approach in the fall semester that featured more devices and online tools, as well as higher demands on students and teachers.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) With questions looming over whether teachers should be prioritized to receive COVID-19 vaccines, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made it clear that state educators, who he considers front line workers, will be near the front of the line.
According to the Texas Tribune, front line health care workers, after nine months of battling the deadly disease that has claimed more than 300,000 lives nationally and nearly 25,000 in Texas, are first in line for the injections, which began in Texas on Monday.
Abbott said Thursday that he hopes teachers, who he called front line workers and pivotal to our society will be near the front of the line as the vaccine gets more widely distributed in the coming weeks and months.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) Some teachers in southeast Texas want priority to get the COVID-19 vaccine after health care workers and vulnerable populations.
Candis Houston with the Aldine American Federation of Teachers said with class sizes growing, many educators and support staff report wanting access to the vaccine. I think it s very important that we don t just speak about teachers, that we speak about school employees because our organization represents teachers, bus drivers, and clerical, explained Houston. All school employees are front line workers and they should be prioritized when it comes to the vaccine.
Meanwhile, Andrew Dewey with the Houston Federation of Teachers said access to vaccines for school staff is important for public education and the economy.