I am sorry to say that none of the seniors from Sam Houston entered into the writing contest, so if any student would like to tell your story still, please do. I am willing to take stories from students in middle school and high school. This is your opportunity to express how this pandemic has affected your school year. The last today to submit any stories or poetry will be May 30th because many students were taking their STAAR’S test. I will choose a winner, and they will receive a $50 gift visa along with your story or poem printed in our paper. I want all students to know that if you don’t want your name in the paper, you can remain anonymous, and you will still receive the gift card. I believe that as we move forward that our SAISD students deserve a chance to tell their stories. Our student’s stories will help our district prepare a new plan for the next school year.
Then the more significant issues are how schools will obtain the funding they need to ensure that all students can get everything they need both in the classroom and learning virtually. Next, the bigger problem is in Texas, we don’t have many laws about how any online schools should be ran or held accountable for any child’s education. If your child’s attending any school within a district or charter, they will be held accountable for their work and attendance. It’s also essential that we ensure that all SAISD students get the right technology to learn from home or in the classrooms.
Our SAISD district is currently working on some solutions to fix the learning gaps; they will be offering tutoring, summer school, and possibly offering remediation. The question now is will this help all of our students catch up academically. The district is also trying to find ways to help our children with emotional support, which could help them get through this pandemic. The idea that our children have been having a hard time adapting to this new way of learning is truly a crisis that will affect them for many years. So it is essential to talk about how your children have suffered emotionally being away from their friends, teachers, and regular school classroom. Many of our students have missed out on all the regular social events and extracurricular activities. Then we have no idea if our children will be back in sports, band or any other extracurricular actives next year and in my opinion these actives give many students a reason to go to school and get their work done.
Lastly, parents know that Sam Houston High School will be offering a couple of Saturday school days. These days will help our seniors makeup attendance hours and grades its extremely important that our children get all their work done because we’re in the last nine weeks. Please know that we still need to wear a mask, wash our hands, and practice social distancing so that we can save lives. If anyone has any questions or concerns, please email me at lena.lopez@observer.com. To all of our teachers that are working endless hours trying to help all of their students know that our community appreciates all your hard work.
Have a Blessed Week, Lena Lopez
