All of us are scared: Teachers share concerns of growing COVID-19 cases in Manor ISD – KXAN.com

MANOR, Texas (KXAN) Two more Manor Independent School District campuses have reported positive COVID-19 cases, making it four within the last week.

Both Decker Elementary and Oak Meadows Elementary will have students isolate after a staff member and a student tested positive.

Those schools will join Lagos Elementary and Manor Elementary Early Learning Center, whose student bodies are currently under two-week mandatory quarantine. The district reports five active staff cases and one active student case.

Some teachers arent pleased with the districts response. They spoke to KXANs education reporter Alex Caprariello anonymously, fearing they may lose their jobs if their identities are revealed.

But they shared their concerns, saying their school administration and the district are not being transparent with its staff and the greater community.

All of us are scared, one teacher said. Nobody wants to take accountability for it.

Theres a lack of transparency between the district, admin and the community, the second teacher shared. We are struggling inside. No one is really asking us how we are doing.

The teachers say school administrators never communicated with them about the recent positive case, and that there are still important pieces of information missing that havent been disclosed, leading to rumors spreading among the staff.

One teacher shared that she first heard about the positive COVID-19 case from a family member and not from the schools administration.

When you fail to communicate, you are not giving us the right to plan for our families. For our students. You are taking away all of our freedom to decide what we want to do for ourselves, one teacher said.

The district disputed this claim, saying all staff was sent a letter explaining the circumstances at the same time family members were informed.

The teachers also questioned why in-person class is still in session. Only the third grade class at Decker Elementary has been asked to isolate. In comparison, two other schools in the district, Lagos Elementary and Manor Elementary Early Learning Center, sent the entire student body home.

Why do they get to quarantine? Why do they get to go have their entire school very cleanly shut down? It seems like a very well thought-out, processed decision. But when it comes to our campus, it just fell apart, the teacher said.

KXAN asked the district why some schools are being treated differently. A Manor ISD spokesperson said each situation is different, and the extent of the closure is determined through guidance issued from public health authorities.

Our decision is based on guidance from the Austin Public Health Department, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Manor ISD Health Services department requiring scholars and staff who were identified to have been in close contact with the individual who tested positive for COVID-19 to self-quarantine.

This is true for all for all cases in the district. Each situation is different and the extend of a closure, whether that be a of a classroom or a campus is identified through contact tracing and guidance issued through these public health authorities.

Austin Public Health confirmed it has recently started advising the district on the best way to determine close contacts to the positive cases. However, a city spokesperson said the call to shut down the other two schools was a decision Manor ISD made on its own.

According to Austin Public Health, the positivity rate for the zip code where Decker and Oak Meadows Elementary is located is 11.59%. There are only two zip codes in the metro area with higher positivity rates.

Reach KXANs Education Reporter Alex Caprariello by emailatalexc@kxan.comor by phone at512-703-5365, or find him onTwitterandFacebook.

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All of us are scared: Teachers share concerns of growing COVID-19 cases in Manor ISD - KXAN.com