AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Education Agency has released its school guidelines for fall, but for some parents and educators, the instructions laid out are more confusing than helpful.
Patty Candelaria has been a teacher for more than 20 years.
“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher," she said. "I’ve always wanted to make a difference in the lives of children, and I feel children are the most important people on earth."
Even an interruption from a pandemic couldn’t stop her. Candelaria switched over to virtual instruction, which she continued via summer school.
“It was a learning curve for everybody. A fast learning curve!” she laughed. ”I taught summer school virtually and in those two weeks, I established a relationship with the fifth-graders, and they loved it. It was successful for me during the pandemic. Parents were on board. Because, as a dyslexia therapist, I could only do live lessons."
On top of juggling 23 students, she’s also a mom. So, as someone who’s both educator and mother, guidelines from the Texas Education Agency were much awaited. But Candelaria wasn’t happy with what she found.
“I was a little disappointed because the TEA guidelines allow parents to choose to have their teachers teach remotely, but they’re not giving us teachers the option to teach remotely,” she said.
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With COVID-19 cases still on the rise, Candelaria felt even more concerned for her health.
“I have a pre-existing condition," she explained. "I was born with a congenital heart defect and I’ve had open heart surgery three times and I don’t want to put myself at risk or my kids at risk.”
So far, Candelaria’s school district has not released its own plans. As of now, she decided to err on the side of caution.
“We’ll make it work in order to keep us safe," she said.
Patty Candelaria teaches an online class in this image from July 2020. (Victoria Maranan/Spectrum News)