It's a time to support one another

We're all dealing with something that none of us learned in "principal school".  Starting on Thursday, COVID-19 (coronavirus) became real for us.  We had meetings with our administrative team and our instructional team.  We had begun to plan for a possible school closure.  And then Thursday night we became aware of a possible case in our school community.  We moved quickly with the incredible leadership of our superintendent and Waukesha County and realized that we needed to close school on Friday for the health and well-being of our students and staff.  That was followed by two separate Google hangouts with our administrative and instructional teams.  We discussed the uncertainty of the length of our closure and what we needed to do to support our students, our staff, and our families.  We are still discussing what learning will look like, realizing that what is most important is the health of our school and our community.  We are hoping to have our staff come in a couple of days next week to provide support and time for creating virtual learning experiences for our students.  We have provided families with a technology survey and will reach out to those who haven't completed it so that we can make sure our students have the necessary technology access for some of our learning.  We are speaking with our food service about meals for our students.  We are speaking about ways to maintain and even foster the relationships that our teachers have with our students.  We are speaking about ways that we can give access to our schools because many of our students left most of their school supplies at school.  These are just some of the things we are thinking about.  But I am also thinking about these things, and I encourage you to do the same.

• When is the right time to check in with students, staff, and families?

• Some staff have reached out to me and I have reached out to some staff.  This morning I'm going to check in with staff either via video or Voxer.  I'm honestly not sure what my message will be yet, but I'm certainly going to have my thoughts organized.  Monday I'll be checking in with students via email and our school Instagram account, just to check in.  Our superintendent will be reaching out to families on Monday to update them on our specific situation and what we will be doing moving forward.

How often do I check in with our students?

• The students are my why and my daily interactions with them are what I will miss most.  I'm trying to figure out ways to connect to maintain the relationships we have with one another, but not being able to high five or fist bump or elbow bump will be tough for me.  I'll probably try some videos, but that's just one-way communication.  Student cell phone numbers aren't in our student information system so I can't just give them a call at home because many families, mine included, have gone away from landlines in their homes.  I know I'll post things on our school Instagram account but that's one-way communication, too.

• How often do I check in with our staff?

• My plan is to continue my weekly staff nuts and bolts, but I'm not sure about the frequency of checking in with staff outside of this normal weekly communication.  Do I check in on Mondays and Fridays?  Do I check in once a week?  Should I organize Google hangouts or Zoom meetings (just saw Zoom is free for schools impacted by the coronavirus) with grade level or content teams?

• How often do I check in with our families?

• My plan is to continue my weekly family smore, but I'm not sure about the frequency of checking in with families outside of this normal weekly communication.  Do I try to connect with Facebook Live?  How can I provide "office hours" in case families have questions?

• How do I take care of myself?

• I'm fortunate to have an amazing wife, daughter, and family who support me all of the time, but we are in uncharted waters.  I also have an unbelievable PLN who is always there for me and for each other.  None of us have gone through anything like this before and we are encountering something new almost every day.  I'm going to make sure to connect with my PLN daily to make sure that they're okay and to get some support myself.  As an example, after a string of voxes, Joe Mazza texted me just to check in.  We had a 15 minute phone call that was just what I needed.  Thanks, Joe!

We are all in education for our kids.  They are my why, and I'm sure they are your why, too.  As we continue to go through this uncertain time, let's make sure that we support one another.  Let's stay connected with our colleagues, our students, and our families.  Let's look at this time as an opportunity to show the resilience of educators and an opportunity to try something new for our kids.  As Gene Krantz, NASA flight director for Apollo 13, says in the movie Apollo 13, "With all due respect, sir, I believe this is gonna be our finest hour."  We've got this!  I believe in you!