Questions Swirling After Texas Theatre Teachers Are Placed on Administrative Leave

by Chris Peterson

This week, two theatre teachers at Waco High School in Waco, TX have been placed on administrative leave following reports of misconduct and negligence, according to statements released this week by Waco Independent School District. The district confirmed the teachers are Edward Wise and Ashley-Elizabeth Vermeulen-Wise, a married couple. District officials say the matter is under investigation and that law enforcement has been notified. Beyond that, details have been scarce.

“The safety and well-being of students is our top priority, and Waco ISD is committed to following all appropriate procedures to protect students and ensure these concerns are addressed in accordance with district policy and the law,” a statement from the district read.

Parents have been assured that student safety remains the district’s top priority and that theatre programming will continue under substitute leadership while the investigation proceeds. The district has also emphasized that, because this is a personnel matter, it is limited in what it can share publicly.

All of that is technically information. None of it, however, is clarity.

I’ve been sitting with this story for a couple of days now, not because I think I have answers, but because the longer I read the district’s carefully worded statements, the more familiar that uneasy feeling becomes. It’s the feeling parents get when something serious has clearly happened, but no one is quite telling you what it actually is.

Before anything else, there’s a line I don’t want this piece to cross. Administrative leave is not a verdict. Allegations aren’t proof. Investigations exist for a reason. Educators deserve due process, full stop. I have zero interest in turning uncertainty into a public trial or letting rumor do the kind of damage that facts never actually get a chance to do.

But I also don’t think it’s unfair for parents to ask the most basic question of all: what are we talking about?

Not details that belong in courtrooms or HR files. Just context. Is this about supervision? Boundaries? Safety protocols? Professional judgment? Paperwork and process failures? Is there something families need to be aware of right now, or is this a precautionary step while things are sorted out behind the scenes?

Because when a district says student safety is the top priority, but can’t explain the nature of the concern that triggered such a serious response, it puts families in a strange spot. You’re asked to trust without being informed. To believe everything is under control while also being told, indirectly, that something big enough to warrant administrative leave has already happened.

And theatre adds another layer to all of this that people outside the arts don’t always want to grapple with. Theatre lives after school. Nights. Weekends. Backstage. Dressing rooms. Long rehearsals. Emotional vulnerability. Physical storytelling. Close mentorship. When something goes wrong in a theatre program, it lands differently because the environment itself is built on trust and structure, and adults doing their jobs correctly.

That doesn’t make theatre teachers suspect by default. It just means transparency matters more, not less.

If the district believes there’s no immediate danger to students, say that plainly. If there were lapses that are now being addressed, acknowledge that something broke in the system. If the investigation is complex and ongoing, offer a timeline for when parents can expect an update, even if that update is limited. Silence dressed up as reassurance rarely lands as reassurance.

This isn’t about demanding details that would compromise an investigation. It’s about treating parents like stakeholders instead of potential problems. It’s about recognizing that “trust us” only works when there’s something solid underneath it.

Right now, families are left reading between the lines, trying to decode statements clearly written with lawyers in mind, not the people most directly affected. And that space, the gap between what’s being said and what people actually need, is where anxiety lives.

I don’t know how this story ends. None of us do yet. Maybe the investigation will eventually bring clarity and justify the district’s restraint. I hope it does.

But hope doesn’t replace communication. And when schools ask families to hand over their children every day and trust them to get it right, clarity shouldn’t feel like too much to ask.