Students believe that everything is a crisis, like when they can’t go out Friday, when they are grounded for a week, or even when they have a test. If only life was that hard.

Unfortunately, there are some students that have faced more difficult problems, such as getting into accidents and becoming paralyzed, or being stricken with some debilitating disease. The majority of these students are still pursuing an education, and that’s where homebound classes come into play.

Before teaching at Bryan High, family consumer science teacher Nina Wright was a homebound teacher in Spring ISD who helped kids who couldn’t attend school due to severe health issues.

“They had to be ill and out of school for up to a month before we could put them on homebound,” Wright said. “In other words, the doctor had to sign a letter stating they’d be out four more weeks.”

Still, Wright knew the importance of the students getting all their work done.

“Even though they were ill, they had to [understand] their work,” Wright said.
Wright knew how hard it was for the students to get through classwork when some were in pain or more concerned with their reason for being in Homebound.

“[The work these kids did] may not be up to their normal level, but they worked as hard as they could, given the circumstances,” Wright said.

Though it wasn’t all work and no play for Wright and her students, her goal to help the students succeed remains.

“I still love the kids, I still laugh at their jokes, and I still appreciate their stories, [but] I still want them to be better students,” Wright said. “There is still a focus in my life.”

Child development teacher Morgan Messick sees Wright’s determination in, not only her teaching, but her willingness to help others as well.

“She’s going to support you no matter what,” Messick said. “She’ll give you anything you need. She’s going to pull out all the stops to help, whether it be for a teacher or a student.”

According to Messick, Wright believes every student has the power to achieve their potential with just a little push.

“I want to see the kids succeed,” Wright said.

Once those kids were ready for school again, Wright’s job with them was done.

“When they came back to school, that was a big day for me because that meant, that hopefully, they were caught up and they were ready to go into the mainstream of teaching,” Wright said.

Being a teacher has brought more than enough meaning to Wright’s life.

“I played school as a little girl so I knew at an early age I wanted to teach,” Wright said. “It’s my life. I’ve seen a lot of changes in education, but ultimately, you still want the student to learn the concept that you’re teaching that day. That has not changed.”

Wright sees the potential of the school and knows what it takes to get there.

“I feel that our job isn’t done yet,” Wright said. “We need to take Bryan High to the next level – a recognized campus.”

Every teacher comes to the day that they decide they have taught enough for a lifetime, but Wright isn’t quite done yet.

“At some point, all teachers have to say, ‘I’ve done all I can do,’ and step back,” Wright said. “But until I’m ready to step back, I’m not going to step back.”