MESQUITE, Texas — As students, parents and educators get acclimated to the new school year, many Texas students are back in the classroom for the first time since the start of the pandemic in March of 2020.
What You Need To Know
- Mother of three Teia Collier is wary of sending her kids back to school, especially her youngest who is too young to be vaccinated
- Collier is Mesquite ISD's first single mom to hold a seat on the Board of Trustees
- She is the digital publisher of the "Dallas Single Parents" website, which offers resources including relationship and financial advice
Mesquite mom Teia Collier sympathizes with parent who may be nervous about sending their students back to school because she’s one of them.
A proud mother of two teenagers and a 7-year-old who suffers from a chronic lung disease, a condition that would make catching COVID-19 worrisome, she’s hoping mask mandates, social distancing and online learning options stick around for the remainder of this school year.
Her 15-year-old daughter Zenora and 13-year-old son Soloman have both been vaccinated, but her youngest, Noah, is at high risk. He is too young to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and is sharing a home with two siblings returning to campus.
Zenora, a tenth-grader at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing Arts in Dallas, caught COVID-19 last October and had to quarantine in her room for two weeks while her mother took extra care to make sure she didn’t come in contact with her two younger siblings.
Soloman, an eighth-grader at Frasier Middle School, is one of those students returning back to in-person learning after spending all of 2020 attending classes from home, an experience he didn’t enjoy. Noah misses attending classes at Mesquite’s Rugel Elementary — his absence a mandate from his doctor, who feels sending him back to campus could be dangerous for his health. Collier said although he would prefer returning to school like his two older siblings, he’s enjoying the extra time he gets to spend with her as she works from home.
On top of raising the three as a single mom, Collier is keeping particularly busy this year, growing her audience as a digital publisher of a website she founded, "Dallas Single Parents," and serving as a first-time member of Mesquite ISD’s Place 1 Board of Trustees in the spot of Archimedes Faulkner, who recently resigned due to illness.
In June, the trustees voted to appoint Collier as the district's first single mom to hold a seat based on a recommendation of a board subcommittee of officers.
On her website, parents can find numerous resources including relationship, financial and career advice, along with her professional car reviews. In an article titled "Things You Can Do for Your Teen to Get Them Past the Covid Blues," she aims to give parents of all backgrounds practical advice.
“There hasn’t been nearly enough attention on teens and the second-order pandemic effects they are suffering,” she said in the article published in April of this year. “You can’t protect them from everything. But you can make a real difference by giving them a healthy outlet for their energy, taking an interest in things they care about and keeping them as social as possible."
Collier’s brand is positive and encouraging, and she aims to grow the website over the next year while focusing on her new role as board member, with hopes of making MISD a more inclusive community as she represents the district's single parents.
"I'm so excited to make a difference in this district I love," said Collier about being named to MISD's board. "I get to give back to my community where I'm from and where I have two children in school."
Collier said she was impressed when board president Gary Bingham supported requiring students, staff and visitors to wear masks in all Mesquite ISD schools and facilities. On Aug. 17, the board released a message to parents which said, “The Governor's order GA-38 (disallowing mask mandates) is suspended and not enforceable against school districts.”
“It made me proud,” said Collier. “Seeing my fellow board members support this common-sense mandate was a relief. I just need it not to become a political thing, I need it to be a human issue. It stopped being political when people started dying.”
Collier is planning to keep the family wearing masks while on campuses or shopping at local book stores. She said being extra careful is a necessary struggle she and her kids have had to adapt to.
“I have a kid that I put oxygen on,” she said, referring to Noah. “For me, it’s not this abstract theory. For me, it’s real. This is a day-to-day thing, it’s part of my everyday life.”
Since Noah can’t return to his elementary, for now his school is providing a district teacher who will visit weekly to give at-home lessons.
On her social media, a common theme is urging parents to take the pandemic seriously while remembering one important aspect to parenting.
“Have fun, like literally have fun,” she said with passion in her voice. “You do not want to look back on these 18 months and realize all you did was panic about the pandemic. You want good memories, because you don’t get this time back, pandemic or not.”
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