Two days ago, the parents of our community were able to breathe a sigh of relief as the final assignments of the school year were submitted. This time in distance learning has put many parents into a role that they did not expect to find themselves in. While our teachers are working around the clock to bring high-quality lessons and material to our students, the in-person aspect of teaching is not able to happen right now. Because of these strange circumstances, parents, especially parents of younger students, are having to take on additional responsibilities to ensure that their children can do their work and be successful. 

Our secondary students have more time management capabilities and technological skills that make their work easier to do independently. For our younger students, parents need to have more involvement to help the student access his or her assignments, and in some cases, further explain directions or concepts of assignments. For our working parents, this can quickly become a full-time job. Additional problems arise in the case of our students who have siblings in the home who are not being required to do the same amount of work, or in some cases, any work at all. All of this, added to the stress of being cooped up indoors together. can make a terrible concoction of emotion and stress. 

On the teacher end of this situation, we are getting anxious about having the students back in school next year and what that looks like. We are setting contingency plans into play to combat future issues with COVID, but there is a strong chance that we will be in this situation again in the future. This is an incredible unprecedented time in our history. I believe that it is teaching us that we have some very strong people in our community. We have heard from so many parents who are working full time and still making time in the day to work with their children on schooling. Additionally, we have seen our teachers learning how to use new platforms and adapting their lessons to work in an online setting. We are seeing a lot of creativity and drive from our teachers as well as our parents. In a situation like this, it truly takes a village, and we appreciate the parents working alongside us to make sure their children get the best possible education during distance learning. 

We’ve made it the end of the school year. Your kids have turned in all of their assignments, but we ask you to continue teaching your children. I know, you are tired, and you want to be done with teaching. This time indoors is bringing a lot of reconnection of families. We ask that you continue to teach your children throughout the summer. There will not be formal assignments or anything to turn in. No grades or evaluations. All we ask is that you use this time you have indoors with your children to teach them life lessons. This is a great time to work on soft skills. Teach your child compassion by being patient with the grocery store employee who is making you stand in line. Develop their social skills through video chatting with friends, family, and classmates. Teach them how to grow vegetables or cook a meal or build something from scratch. Not only will your child take away a new skill from these lessons, but it will keep them engaged and used to learning. The worst thing that could happen is that the school year ends, and our students do nothing productive or educational until August. Help us keep your kids in a cycle of growing and learning throughout the year. Teachers and parents have to work together to make truly incredible students. Stay strong and keep teaching. 

-          Bria