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Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD parents Sarah Vignali (left) and Arica Butler (center) are recognized and awarded with plaques by Superintendent Joe Harrington during the district’s June board meeting. (Courtesy | Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD)
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Like many parents, Arica Butler was used to the usual after-school chatter from her daughter, Riley Carpenter. 

She’d hear about classes and lessons, friends and school assemblies. Butler likes being involved in her daughter’s life — and makes sure Carpenter knows it.

But one day during Carpenter’s senior year at Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD’s Gene A. Buinger Career & Technical Education Academy, what Butler heard made her pause: a comment she never expected to hear during the mother-daughter debrief.

“Our medical teacher resigned,” Carpenter told her mom, 18 weeks before the 18-year-old was scheduled to graduate high school as a certified patient care technician. 

HEB ISD, Carpenter and her 11 classmates hoping to earn certifications as patient care technicians and electrocardiogram technicians faced a truly unexpected challenge — finding a teacher who would step in to teach the students’ final weeks of health science courses.

“We were in uncharted territory,” Gene A. Buinger principal Debra Harvey said. 

The search began.

An unexpected offer

Harvey and her administrative team scrambled to find a qualified replacement, but with graduation fast-approaching, time was not on their side, Harvey said. The pool of available substitute teachers with the necessary medical credentials was limited, and those they did contact were unable to commit to the schedule of a full-time health science teacher. 

“I had reached out to every contact I had,” Harvey said. “I didn’t want to have to cancel the class because that’s affecting these kids’ futures.”Still, Harvey couldn’t hire anyone without them meeting industry certifications, according to the Texas Education Agency. 

While substitute teachers don’t need a teaching degree or certificate, whoever Harvey hired to finish the job needed to possess relevant clinical experience to ensure they could provide necessary instruction for the students’ certification requirements, Harvey said.

The search wrapped Harvey up in such a frenzy that she missed her first great lead: an email, patiently waiting in her inbox. 

The email came from an unassuming parent. It was Butler, offering her help.

A pair of parents 

Initially, Harvey didn’t grasp the full extent of Butler’s expertise. The offer came from a parent and, as great parents do, she offered help, Harvey said.

But as a registered nurse with the necessary educational background, Butler believed she could effectively teach the course.

“I knew I had the degree and the skills required,” she said. “I just wasn’t sure what that would look like in practice.” 

Harvey didn’t think twice about Butler’s initial email until another student, Avery Vignali, nudged Harvey in the direction of her mom, Sarah Vignali, who works for Texas Health.

Minutes later, Riley Carpenter did the same for her mom. 

“Initially, I don’t think (Harvey) really understood when Sarah and I had communicated that we would be able to help out,” Butler said. “I just don’t think it’s the normal process. It took a bit of time and communication to clarify that we were fully capable of teaching the class as registered nurses.”

Once the offer was clear and Harvey jumped through a few bureaucratic hoops, Butler and Vignali began their roles as instructors. Vignali, who was familiar with the clinical site where students do their practicals, took charge of the clinical aspect.

Butler handled the classroom instruction — the “didactic coursework,” as she called it.

Using the school’s simulation lab as well as real equipment, Butler taught students how to help patients get out of bed safely, transfer from a bed to a wheelchair and even change colostomy bags. 

An innovative solution

The effort paid off. In June, all 12 students in the program earned state certifications as patient care technicians. Carpenter is now preparing for her first year at Baylor University, where she’ll begin on a pre-med track. She hopes to work part time as a primary care technician while taking classes, her mom said. 

“The students stepped up and saw it through. I’m really proud of them,” Butler said.

She also expressed gratitude to HEB ISD for being open to innovative solutions — for their transparency and for keeping parents like her and Vignali in the know about the school’s teacher search.

Without transparency, parents can struggle to find ways to stay involved in their child’s education, Butler said. Parents’ involvement ensures students don’t miss out on critical educational opportunities, she said.

“I appreciated that they were willing to think outside the box and take a chance on us,” she said. “Their decision impacted these 12 students significantly and it’s important for the district to know that their flexibility made a real difference.”

While most parents don’t teach their children’s classes, any parent can find ways to help, Harvey said.

“Kids loosen up a little more when there’s someone who’s not a teacher, inquiring about their education,” Harvey said.

In Butler’s case, it all started with a daily conversation and one question: “So, what’d you do at school today?”

Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @MatthewSgroi1. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.