An Open Letter to the VHS Community

Dear Viper Community,

The first two days of the school year were magical. The staff was elated to be together and reunited with their students. However, it was disheartening to see the teacher’s enthusiasm begin to fade as the new debate over masks spilled back into their reality. Clearly, the pandemic has worn on everyone. However, with staff vaccinations, we were poised to return with a vengeance to the in-person learning that we know our students and staff need to thrive. The problem now is not COVID. The problem, in my opinion, is the lack of cohesive, positive support for the efforts of schools to meet these challenges. The support I’m referring to doesn’t cost a dime. We simply need people to cut schools some slack and encourage our teachers and remind them of their value to what makes our schools and communities special.

I have tried to be transparent about the mask mandates and received backlash from some parents for sharing that “opt-out” was a legitimate right for each student to consider. I believe it is disingenuous to have a process that is deceptive or that tries to effective an outcome out of ignorance of the process.

The current LISD mask mandate is a commitment to trying to keep students and staff safe, and schools open. Even though the opt-out makes it essentially an “optional requirement,” it still conveys our organizational commitment to wearing masks to protect others, not just ourselves. If only one additional student, even a vaccinated student, chooses to wear a mask to protect others, that should be celebrated and not ridiculed. Currently, we have about 450 students who have selected to opt out of mask wearing, which is about the same amount as the pre-mandate student participation.

Our recent unwillingness to show come common respect and decency for others is starting to change our community culture. Facebook alone has devolved into a discouraging wasteland of vitriol about schools and our leadership. Parents turn to social media are hungry for real answers and genuine dialogue but are met with angry rhetoric and verbal bullying. Last night, I was called a “coward” and another profanity simply for sharing the LISD opt-out process for our students and families. This was a parent I have known for years and is respected in the community and in her profession. It was personally and professionally discouraging to not only see the comment, but to not see anyone else speak up on the behalf of me, or LISD.

I am gravely concerned that the divisiveness created by external politics and conflicting mandates is driving our best out of the teaching profession. For the first time as a principal, I had to open a school without a teacher in some classrooms. I am still 4 Instructional Assistants and a teacher short, with ZERO applicants. We do not have a robust substitute teaching pool, nor the ability to cover even minimal teacher absences. The fact is: you need both students and teachers to run a school. With over 95% of our students back to in-person learning, I have the students, and I’m begging our current staff to hang on.

If you value your community public schools, the time is now to do something. First, stop any behavior that discourages our front-line teaching staff. Secondly, find a way to show support and encourage our staff and students and let them know that a quiet majority of parents moved here for the schools, and value their efforts.

I’ve lived in the Steiner Ranch/Four Points area for over 25 years. I am proud to have had the honor to open Vandegrift High School in 2009 and have had 2 students graduate and a current student who is a senior. Like you, I am part of this community. I am proud of Vandegrift and all our schools but there is so much work yet to be done. Our namesake Lt. Matthew Ryan Vandegrift sacrificed his life for our freedoms. What does it say about ourselves if we aren't even willing to sacrifice and endure some minor inconveniences to possibly save others, or at the very least, just get along?

In the end, a community gets the schools they deserve. I hope we can work together to sustain our schools with dignity during these challenges, so we have the schools we truly want and deserve when we are on the other side of this pandemic.

Respectfully,

Charlie Little

Principal

Vandegrift High School