I know a lot of people have been posting about this past year, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon.
Exactly one year ago yesterday we had school just like any other day. We dismissed the students, then shortly after we received an email from our Superintendent telling us that the district would be closed from Friday, March 13th-Friday, the 20th and that they would reassess to determine if a longer closure was necessary. On Sunday 3/15/20 the Governor of Massachusetts made the decision that all schools would be closed until Tuesday, April 7th. On 3/18 we had a rolling car Chromebook pick up at each school. Parents were given a time frame to come to the school and open their trunks, when they pulled up we put the students' Chromebooks and other school supplies in the trunk so we could begin (what we hoped would be) short term distance learning. We began the crazy journey of online learning, keeping our fingers crossed that we'd be back in school sooner rather than later. Then came the next announcement from the Governor on 3/25 that schools would reopen no earlier than May 4th.
This was extremely difficult to wrap our heads around. We were seeing the impact of Covid in New York City, but we weren't really seeing it in Massachusetts. The seriousness of what was to come had not yet hit us and we were still hoping to return to school. However, on 4/21 the Governor announced that all schools in the state would remain closed for the rest of the school year. It was not a huge surprise given that other states had already made that same decision and Covid cases were quickly rising. Nevertheless, it still felt like a punch to the gut. As the school year progressed my mental health was getting worse. I had students in 5th grade who would be moving up to the middle school in the fall. We wouldn't be having their Moving Up Ceremony and we wouldn't be able to end the year with proper hugs and well wishes before they moved onto their new school. We had a virtual Moving Up Ceremony and said our goodbyes over Zoom.
I know that as an educator, you're not supposed to have favorite students. However, in a very close-knit program like mine where we make personal connections with our students in a way that a typical classroom teacher could never do, you're going to at least have a closer bond with certain students, it's inevitable. The student I had the closest bond with is now in 6th grade and I haven't seen her in person since March 12, 2020. She emails me to keep in touch and shares her school work with me so I can see what she's working on and how she's doing, but of course it's not the same.
Prior to Covid, my plan for summer 2020 was to work at the Summer Enrichment program that our district offers each summer. I had submitted my proposal back in January and was all set to teach a poetry course to middle schoolers. I was so excited and had been doing so much research and planning. Then on June 4th we were informed that Summer Enrichment would not take place that year due to Covid. I was so disappointed, but knew I needed to find some sort of income for the summer. We were told that the plan was to still hold the Extended School Year (ESY) program for our elementary school students who qualified. This includes all high needs students, and the students in my program are considered high needs. It would be quite different from previous years due to the Covid precautions that would need to take place, but it was decided that this was an important program to keep. At this point we were not sure yet whether we would return to school in the fall fully in person, with a hybrid model, or stay fully remote. The hope was that we would at least be hybrid and that ESY would be a great way to get our most vulnerable learners back in a school setting and get them ready for the possibility of being in person in the fall.
ESY was 6 weeks long and it was a challenge. Every day was a battle to get the kids to keep their masks on and to maintain some form of social distancing. It was honestly exhausting, but the kids were benefitting and that's all that mattered.
At the end of the summer the school committee voted to return to school in a hybrid model. Students in grades K and 1 as well as high needs students would be in person 4 days a week. All other students would be split into two cohorts; M/T and Th/F with Wednesday being a remote learning day for everyone in order to allow for cleaning in between the two cohorts. That's how we started school in September; with masks and desks spaced 6 feet apart. Then in October the district made the decision to bring 2nd and 3rd graders back full time as well. Last month we brought back all 4th graders, which required some teachers to change classrooms, while other classes were split into two classrooms with the teacher teaching from one room with half the students and on Zoom, and the other half of the students in a different classroom with the Zoom projected on the screen and another adult in the room basically to supervise. It's not ideal, but it's more or less been working.
Just recently the commissioner of education for Massachusetts was given the green light by our Governor to overrule all collective bargaining that has been going on all year and order all students back fully in person, five days a week starting April 5th. This would mean that some classrooms would only be able to have 3 feet of distance between desks, something that many teachers were concerned about.
I must say that I am extremely fortunate to work in the district I do. There are some towns in Massachusetts that have been remote since schools closed last year! That's insane to me and I would absolutely have lost my mind if I was still teaching from home!
I go to work in person every day, but I don't go anywhere that isn't necessary. I realize the severity of Covid; I know many people who have had it, and while I have not personally lost anyone to this disease, I know others who have. I don't leave the house without a mask and outside of work I haven't gotten together with anyone who is not my immediately family.
Like so many others, I'm tired. I'm sick of masks, I'm sick of being nervous whenever I leave the house, I want to get together with others, and more than anything I want to hug people again!
But the thing is, we're SO CLOSE! I'm getting my first dose of the vaccine on Monday and I could not be more excited! I know we still have a ways to go before everyone is vaccinated, but I'm hopeful that this summer we'll have some form of normalcy. I just beg everyone to keep going; keep wearing your mask, social distancing, get the vaccine when it's your turn. We're all tired, but we're getting there and need to stick it out a little longer so that things can get better and not worse!
