School Didn’t Stop
The other day, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said teachers “gave up” last spring during the beginning of the pandemic. I don’t think I need to convince you that’s untrue, but it did inspire me to create a short list of things educators did or continued to do as school buildings began shutting down in March. I teach at a school with around 220 students. When I say educators I mean:
Teachers, administrators, custodial staff, instructional assistants, office staff, food service staff, social workers, nurses, counselors, tutors, bus drivers, volunteers, families, IT/tech staff, and more. The whole school community linked arms (metaphorically, of course) to ensure school continued. Here are just a handful of things I remember happening within our small school. I’m sure I’m only scratching the surface.
-held instructional meetings online
-created entire virtual classrooms
-called/messaged families daily
-raised thousands of dollars to deliver grocery gift cards to families in need (shout out to our amazing Feed A Friend program and all who contribute to it through donations, delivery, and more)!
-finished a years-long wellness path campaign and watched the project FINISH! (Shout out time Eileen and the path dream team)!
-my colleague gathered photos and made staff collages with positive messages for students to see each week (go, Jane)!
-principal made signs with encouraging, personal messages for students and held them up to see outside their houses
-participated in protests with hundreds of educators insisting their black students lives matter she are sacred
-drove to student houses and talked to them from the driveway
-organized a car parade to sing happy birthday to students
-delivered supplies like chrome books, clothing, books, and classroom materials
-kept in touch with families and updated them every time news came in
-made a 45-minute virtual talent show with 26 student acts (no, really… watch here — — TALENT SHOW! )
-had at least weekly meetings with colleagues
-organized and held early career engagement sessions through Ohio’s New Educators (ONE) weekly
-continued to hold all IEP/ETR/PBIS and other meetings virtually. Some days I had 6–7 meetings.
-attended professional development/ other leadership conferences online
These are just a few that came to mind this morning. Educators didn’t give up. Entire school communities pushed forward and did everything they could for students. I would love to be reminded of more that I missed here. The narrative of what happens in schools, or in this case, outside of school buildings, must be shared by those who see it happen. Not by those who own multiple mansions, helicopters, boats, and yachts, and are determined to make awful decisions that negatively impact marginalized groups of students.
Educators, thank you for not giving up. Families, thank you for not giving up. Use your voice to share what happens in schools and in our communities. Set the narrative straight, not to boast, but to applaud your colleagues and families going above and beyond for their students. Remind yourselves of the efforts extended to provide meaningful content and connection with students even when it felt impossible. Remind yourselves that this is what we will continue to do, all we know how to do, no matter what the fall holds. This is school.
