HISD student congress raises concerns about in-person learning
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston ISD students are expected to go back into the classroom on Monday after the first six weeks of the school year was online.
"We wanted to really see those results for ourselves," said HISD student congress speaker Jennifer Hamad. "I know HISD put out their own survey, but we had our own vision of what we wanted."
It was the same vision that led the student congress to develop their own questions regarding in-person learning in the middle of the pandemic.
The student congress conducted the survey in July before anyone was aware that online learning would be allowed.
Hamad said the districts learned from the survey that 74% of the families did want virtual learning in the fall. But as HISD students prepare to head back to in-person learning on Monday, Hamad said the student congress believes it's not the responsible thing to do.
"This idea of pushing people back to school prematurely is really horrible. It's quite a terrible position to be in as a student, possibly becoming a vector for a virus and possibly transmitting that to your parents, students, and teachers," Hamad said.
She said their survey results prove that the majority of students, teachers and parents don't approve of being on campus yet. She also said the idea of "in-person" learning for some will be more of a "babysitting" situation.
"It's actually going to be you sitting in school with your headphones in looking at your teacher on your computer screen," she said.
We know that will be the case for some HISD students.
The student congress will continue to push for transparency that allows parents and students to be involved in making tough decisions.
