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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Houston educator says the first week she came back to the classroom, she had a serious COVID-19 scare.
Arnetta Murray is a special education teacher at Avondale Houston.
She chose to reach out to Gov. Greg Abbott via Twitter and wrote, “I went back to the classroom and you guessed it, I’m now in a 14-day quarantine. Pray for our special needs students.”
The tweet was also addressed to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Texas Education Agency and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.
Murray said her assistant received a call notifying her that she was exposed to COVID-19 by a family member. Since Murray and her assistant had been in the classroom together, the two have been forced to self-quarantine.
Murray told Eyewitness News her school is going above and beyond to make the environment safer for students. She said officials have even installed shields.
But it’s still very concerning for Murray. She asks herself, “What if the students were in class this week and faced a possible exposure?”
She feels in-person learning is best for students, especially those with special needs, but she still has major fears.
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“We do not have all the measures in place,” Murray explained. “There’s going to be a lot of absentees, a lot of teachers quitting and children getting sick. That is not OK. I’m concerned about it. I don’t want to see children dying. I don’t want to see teachers dying.”
Murray is also a certified COVID-19 contact tracer. She believes every school needs to have a tailored plan of action immediately when kids on their campus get sick.
She is also pushing to have students and staff tested before returning to in-person learning.
During ABC13’s ‘COVID-19 and our schools’ town hall, some of the Houston-area’s top educators addressed these concerns in an hour-long discussion. You can watch the full town hall in the video below.