AUSTIN, Texas — Thousands of Central Texas students head back to class this week, and parents have mixed reactions.
The silence on campus will be replaced with the bustle of the second semester.
"We've been doing this for the past two years," said Chris Zepeda.
Zepeda's third-grader will return to in-person learning for the first time since the pandemic started.
"He needs to be with other kids his own age," said Zepeda. "The isolation kind of got to him a little bit."
The reason the Austin ISD parent kept his son out of class is still a glaring concern for him.
"Omicron has proven to be tenacious and there are a lot of breakthrough infections," said Zepeda.
Austin ISD's two-day testing event for students and staff showed almost 15% of those who tested were positive. It was a voluntary event.
Pediatric hospitalizations in Texas have spiked. As of Tuesday, 276 children are in hospitals across the state, dealing with COVID-19. That number isn't far from the highest point we saw last year, which was 345 last September.
Most districts like AISD are trying to avoid virtual learning because it's not funded by state government.
"As the data come in, if we need to make adjustments, we absolutely will," said AISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde.
Round Rock ISD parent Erika Kinder said she would home school her teen before going back to virtual learning because he wasn't learning.
"I'm so against it," said Kinder. "He got, like, catatonic level of depressed. We thought we were going to have to take him to the emergency room. We ended up pulling him out of school for four weeks. It was horrible."
While Kinder isn't too worried about COVID-19, both parents agree if any changes need to be made, they should happen now.
"They could push off, you know, two to three weeks, the start date until we see that omicron crest and wave," said Zepeda.
On Tuesday, Austin Public Health said this surge could last until March.
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