Many school districts across North Texas resumed classes this week after a couple weeks off for winter break.
Some parents at Lakewood Elementary School in the Dallas Independent School District shared their complicated feelings about sending children back into classrooms, as the highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19 continues to surge.
Uncertainty persists
Amid the hugs and "love you's," help with backpacks and face masks, mom Lauren Cureton was ready for a return to the daily schedule when school resumed Wednesday. Her family was able to get away to France over the winter break.
"We all got tested before we went and after we came back," Cureton said. "Over there, you have to have a health pass to go into every restaurant and every store...so we felt safe. But it was awesome to just get away and feel normal for a bit.鈥�
But Cureton said the sharp spike in COVID-19 cases means uncertainty and worry persist.
鈥淚 feel like it gets better and then it gets worse and it gets better and it gets worse,鈥� Cureton said. 鈥淗ow long is that going to last? I mean, I feel like until everyone gets vaccinated and gets on board with taking care of each other, it's going to be this roller coaster for a while.鈥�
Jim Barrett said his entire family had been vaccinated and also received their booster shots. He鈥檚 aware, however, that many Texans remain unvaccinated.
鈥淚 don't understand why everyone's so reluctant to get shots,鈥� said Barrett. 鈥淵ou know, we've been doing it for decades with all the shots required to go to school anyway. Everyone's had their measles, mumps, rubella shot. Why not (the) COVID shot?鈥�
Another Lakewood Elementary parent, Joe Hildebrand, likes that his kids are back in class. They鈥檙e also all vaccinated and the district makes them mask up.
鈥淏y a long shot. It's far more important for the kids to be in school than to be at home,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he importance of education far outweighs the risks of the virus.鈥�
To mitigate that risk, Dallas ISD insists everyone on any school property wear a mask. That runs counter to the governor鈥檚 order against any mask mandate.
With omicron鈥檚 spread, a few Texas school districts chose to postpone in-person classes. Lancaster ISD for example will hold virtual classes this week. It鈥檒l welcome students back on Monday, Jan. 10. Other Texas districts re-opening later than planned 鈥� because of omicron 鈥� include Weslaco, Driscoll, Mercedes, Kingsville and Bishop.
Got a tip? Email Reporter Bill Zeeble at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on Twitter .
