SAN ANTONIO — Facial coverings to curb the spread of the coronavirus are becoming a personal marquis for messages. The mask come with everything from professional athletic teams to snarky statements with a humorous punch line.
A teacher with Northside Independent School District, who KENS 5 is not identifying, said that was her intent when she posted a picture on social media. Her mask read ‘Only wearing this so I don’t get fired.’
The educator said in a digital message she put on the mask ‘After contract hours’ to give her coworkers a chuckle in these uncertain times.
A concerned NISD parent was not amused and reported the image to the district.
“This to me is unacceptable,” the parent said. “This is just very disheartening, especially (coming) from a teacher.”
NISD Executive Director of Communications Barry Perez said the matter is a personnel issue. He released the following statement:
“We have established guidelines for the use of face coverings by staff including the expectation that any covering be appropriate for school, non-offensive, not considered derogatory or otherwise disrespectful to team members or visitors and be professionally appropriate as outlined in the District's dress code policy. Any incident where this expectation is not met will be addressed by an employee's immediate supervisor on a case by case basis.“
The teacher in question said this was an icebreaker for her coworkers.
“Teaching is my passion and that’s why I chose to be back in person with my students. Because being back together is definitely better,” she said.
Perez when students return they will still be held to the standards of their dress code, but specific face covering regulations have not been carved out.