Today, I'm in school learning with students and staff. I retired as a principal in 2022 but have found a new calling as a part-time assistant principal and guest special education teacher in a nearby district. Today's really not too different than nearly every school day since August of 1987. But today I really was struck by the fact that 5 years ago I was a principal in a school that I loved, and still love, not realizing that it would be a long time before I was in person with students again. Five years ago today, COVID became more than just news. COVID took over the news. And even five years later, I remember the school day pretty well.
The last day with students was Thursday, March 12th. We had concerts on Tuesday night (March 10th), my normal morning student assembly on Wednesday (March 11th), and an NJHS induction ceremony during the day on Thursday. We had heard about COVID but never really thought it would reach little ol' Merton, WI. (For some context, I often introduce myself as Jay from little ol' Merton where we have two bars, a feed mill, and a stop sign.). We were wrong. And we had three separate activities that brought a lot of students and families together in our gym. We definitely had no idea that it would have been best to be six feet apart for any of those activities.
That Thursday started out pretty normal for me. I got to school early, recorded my video announcements for school, and made sure that all of the classroom doors were unlocked for our teachers. I headed back to my office to check emails and then headed outside to greet our 7th and 8th graders as they arrived for the day. There's also a chance I was playing music from my "JammyPack" while the students were hanging around pretending not to listen. When the students entered the school I spent my time walking the halls, checking in with students and staff to gauge their mood for the day. I checked in to the office and then was back to my normal routine- visiting classrooms, checking in with students, and leaving notes for staff.
When lunchtime arrived I was in the cafeteria until it was time to head out for recess. Like I mentioned earlier, it was a normal day. The only real difference was our afternoon NJHS induction ceremony. This is run by the students so I was able to enjoy the ceremony, interact with the guests, and congratulate the students. After the ceremony, the school day came to an end and I once again headed outside to wish the students a good evening and told them I looked forward to seeing them tomorrow. But they didn't return the next day, or the next week, or for the rest of the school year.
I received a call from the superintendent's wife later that night. It was actually after 9:00 and I normally don't have my phone on past then. But I did the night of March 12, 2020. I answered and found out I was needed at their house. It was only a few houses down from mine but it was a cold night so I drove. I was greeted by his wife and entered their dining room. Quickly I realized this was something big. I was given the task of calling each of the school board members while he remained on two phones while in touch with the health department and the county. My job was easy- tell the school board members that we would be closed on Friday. We needed to figure out what to do, with no road map to lead our direction. Almost all other districts near us were open on Friday, March 13th but we weren't. They had the chance to say goodbye to their students in person but we weren't.
So why do I share all of this with you? I guess I just wanted you to realize that you never know when your last day will be with your students. Because of that I urge you to make every day count with them. If the day doesn't start out well with a particular student, do your best to connect with them before the day is through to let them know you care about them. Get out of your classroom or your office and connect with your students. Join them for lunch or recess. Hang out with them in the hallways. For some of our students, we might be the best part of their day. Listen to them when they are talking to you. Encourage them when they are down. Celebrate the little things because to them they might be big things. That two minute conversation you just had with them might be the thing that turns their entire life around.
No comments:
Post a Comment