Killeen ISD parents concerned over rising cases with staff & students

KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - One day after Killeen ISD Superintendent John Craft delivered a video message to parents and staff detailing plans to keep schools open, parents like Arnesha Smalls have concerns.

“Overall, I believe he meant it in a positive light, but I think it caused more damage than it did positivity,” she said.

Smalls adds while she understands the thinking in keeping students learning in-person, her daughter’s experiences in school suggest otherwise.

“Just the consistency of I don’t know who’s gonna be my teacher today,” she said.

“For him to say our kids are in the cafeteria or gymnasium for periods and with quality educators, it just doesn’t go together.”

Smalls joins other parents in saying while complicated, maybe the best decision moving forward for the district is to split students in virtual and in-person learning environments. However, Rachel Bourrage with the Killeen Educator’s Association believes that will only make things worse.

“That’s a lot of work for the teachers,” she said.

“That’s a lot of lesson plans, curriculums, tests and grading for at-home and in school. When they did this last year, that was a lot of stress for the teachers.”

Regardless, the district’s biggest priority is having enough staff and substitutes to keep students in the classroom. If things don’t improve, Bourrage says they may have no other choice but to switch to virtual learning.

“Omicron is just getting worse, so we need to take a break,” she said.

“The Killeen Educator’s Association believes we need that break.”