You can bet that at the end of the 2020-21 school year educators across the country breathed a collective sigh of relief and said, ‘We made it’. Many educators had to relearn their craft of the delivery of instruction from face to face to virtual, societies problems were laid at the feet of the school house doors: how to feed the children, ensure their social/emotional safety, make sure they have internet, stay engaged….We also faced the brunt of the blame when parents no longer had childcare and were unable to work, when children were unengaged, or ‘falling behind’. We worked overtime calling, emailing, zooming, and Facebook stalking our students and families because we weren’t going to lose a single kid. At the end of it all we also said, ‘Can’t wait to have a normal school year’.
Summer months had us optimistic. Mask mandates were cancelled, restaurants were at full capacity, stores were open, we gathered for the Fourth of July and vacationed. Community transmission rates were low. And then there was the Delta variant. We stayed the course, planning master schedules, specials classes, lunches and recesses for a school full of children at capacity. We were excited to welcome back our staff, students and families…but we were cautiously optimistic. After last year, when we would go from hybrid to virtual, virtual to face to face, face to face to virtual….on the fly, we waited…we prepared….but we wouldn’t have been surprised with a last minute change in plans.
The First day of school at SPA never passes with out the fanfare of our Red Carpet Event. Our students are the stars of the show, and we roll out the Red Carpet complete with balloons, and sometimes our friends from Jtv…we let the parents play paparazzi and take pics, and while it takes a good 40 minutes to get all the kids in the door, it is so worth it to have the excitement and tear free time welcoming our kiddos back to the building. This year was no different.
Returning to school in 2021-22: The Good, The Bad, and the UGLY
Starting with the good could be hard, but I will try to get the main points in a nutshell as opposed to a novel. First and foremost, the kids are back! Last year, with our district being a hybrid model for school attendance, we lost about 10% of our student body to neighboring districts who were offering a five day a week program, or who opted for a 100% virtual experience through a charter or the district’s virtual program. It was nice to see about 25% of these students returning to the building this year. It was shocking to see how much our virtual students grew since we had seen them 17 months ago when schools went virtual at that start of the pandemic. Their excited and eager faces made all the stress of planning for the oddities this year is sure to bring so worth it! Most importantly, and the best thing BY FAR is the number of families that are grateful to have their kids back in school full time, the parents who have sent us messages of encouragement and telling us that no matter what, the bottom line is they know their children are in good hands, The parents who have thanked us for making the mask optional policies we have in place work for them and their families. Good may not be a strong enough adjective for that feeling.
When we were on our hybrid program we followed a strict social distancing protocol, and that meant no hugs. Now, while in my day to day life I am not a huge hugger, I always have a hug for a kiddo who needs or wants one, and boy did I get my fill as we greeted kids on the red carpet. It was a great first day and I LOVED the love my kiddos showed me, helping littles across the crossbars for the first time, hearing about the new babies, puppies and kitties, life events, and adventures the kids had over the course of the pandemic, watching my rowdy and rambunctious first grade boys gently holding the hand of a child in need of a buddy, and most of all, the pictures, rocks, twigs and other gifts of endearment the kids have showered me with.
The enthusiasm of the staff in welcoming the students, but also in welcoming new staff members, reuniting with staff members returning after a leave, and in general their willingness to put their own uncertainties aside and be full on 100% present for the kids. Listening to the laughter and happy voices of teachers around the copier, in the office and in the hallways, cracking jokes and ‘positively speaking’ …making lemonade.
The bad is bad. I have been stewing over this for a while and there isn’t a good solution. But suffice it to say that nobody is going to be happy with whatever choices are made with regard to the rules that are established to mitigate the spread of the Delta Variant. We are seeing this around the country in various embodiments: mask mandates and anti-mask mandates. And yep, Nobody is happy. Take Florida for example where the governor decided no district shall be allowed to impose a mask mandate, in deference to the families, and then sanctioning districts who have made the decision to require masks, threatening to with hold funding, or salaries of individuals responsible for the decision. In our own state, the governor is saying that each county health department can decide based on the needs of the communities they serve, and many people feel like that is passing the buck. And once again….The schools are the bad guys no matter what they do; we are either called names and threatened if we dare try to mask their child, or called names and belittled for failing to keep the kids safe. Which brings me to the ugly.
In the last three weeks I have been on the receiving end of UGLY. While these Ugly situations are FAR outnumbered by the positive interactions we have daily, it is still a tough pill to swallow. Angry and confrontational parents, belligerent and tearful parents who are afraid for their children, and parents who have sent me angry emails telling me that while it isn’t my ‘fault’, they are withdrawing their children until such time as_____________. Thank blank can be filled with a few different outcomes, but none of them are where we are at currently with a mask optional policy. I have had to explain, numerous times, that I am not the person who makes decisions of that magnitude. I have had to explain that my personal beliefs about mitigation strategies are irrelevant to the policies that have been established by our Board of Education. I will abide by those policies, and make sure that my students and families feel good about the choices that they personally make for their children, and will do the best we can to support those decisions, from ensuring their children remain masked, are seated in a socially distanced manner, and not eating in the presence of other kids, to the complete opposite. It is a balancing act to make sure that all of our families feel heard, respected, and that their wishes regarding their children are followed.
Ultimately, it is my sincere hope that we can remain in school, that we can prevent illness from spreading (no matter if it is a cold, the flu or covid, we want our children healthy), and that we can provide our students and families with a year full of learning, fun, and positive memories.
