PLANO, Texas — "I just worry. I really worry," said Katrina Christensen, a Collin County mother.
Christensen is a mother of four. Two of her children, Jack and Luke, were born deaf. She and her husband both have a rare recessive gene that got passed down to the boys.
Jack, now nine years old, and Luke, three years old, have cochlear implants to help them hear.
When Jack was six years old, before Luke was born, Christensen said, "We searched for the best listening and spoken language classroom for the deaf, and we quickly realized through research it was Davis [Elementary School]".
They moved from Carmel, California to North Texas three years ago. Jack joined the Plano Regional Day School Program for the Deaf, which operates out of Davis Elementary School.
According to the PTA, about one-third of the students at Davis are deaf and hard of hearing.
Christensen said the school changed her son's life. He entered first grade not knowing how to read, and he ended second grade at a fourth-grade reading level. "The reason it is so fantastic and these children are so successful is because they all love them," the mom said with tears in her eyes.
She is heartbroken by the news that came on Monday night. The Plano Independent School District board voted to close four schools, including Davis Elementary School.
Even Jack is sad to hear about his school shutting down. "I was very sad, and I just wanted Luke to have the best learning," Jack said.
Luke will start at Davis Elementary School in August, but he will only have one year on campus before it closes. Then Luke and other students will be transferred to Harrington Elementary School, less than two miles away.
Christensen said the district is expected to transfer the deaf education teachers to Harrington too, but she will be keeping a close eye on the situation to make sure they keep their word.
"It's been a wonderful three years, but now I'm terrified," she said. "We needed teachers and professionals that knew what he needed, that knew how to teach him, that knew how all the things that children who are deaf or hear through cochlear implants need. And they knew exactly how to do that."
Christensen and her husband moved 1,600 miles to give their son a stable environment that embraces her son's abilities. And she will do anything to protect that.
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