CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The deadly trench collapse on Leopard Street directly across the student parking lot from Miller High School posed challenges for teachers and school leaders.
First, they had to decide how many details about the accident they should release to students without affecting their ability to learn.
“We give as much information that we know is factual, because otherwise that curiosity is going to remain there," Miller High Principal Dr. Bruce Wilson said. "And that curiosity is going to interfere with what we’re trying to put in their brain."
Next, school leaders had to notify parents about new routes for after-school student pickup and buses with the accident forcing all lanes of Leopard to be closed at the school.
They utilized the media, social media, and emails to parents, but some parents didn't get the message.
“I don’t have nothing — a call or a message," parent Iliana Alvarez said. "I’m very surprised. I don’t know what happened.”
And despite teachers having the ability to disperse information, some students went through the day unaware of the accident.
That's the case for Alvarez's daughter Alexa who's an eighth grader at the Metro-prep Miller School of Design, which is on the Miller campus.
"(People at school) say something happened outside over there," she said while pointing towards Leopard Street. "But I don’t really know what happened."
Other students told similar stories, while others still knew some of the details.
Regardless, Wilson is pleased with his staff's performance.
“I just commend them for their patience and their resilience as far as making sure our kids education needs are met and also their emotional needs are met at the same time," he said.
