Items

• 
  2022-05-05

  Wave of COVID-19 closes Enfield school

  This is a news story by 22 News by Kayleigh Thomas. This is about a school that was forced to close down due to rises in COVID cases. Of the 75 staff members, 40 have tested positive. On Monday, a letter was sent telling parents about the school closure.
• 
  2022-04-03

  Teachers reflect on covid struggle

  This article details the reflection of a few Arkansas teachers as we reach two years since the beginning of the pandemic. The teachers highlight the drastic changes not only in safety precautions, but also the adjustments in order to provide meaningful learning in an entirely new landscape. Many of the teachers reported excitement at the prospect of a return to normalcy, however they desire some aspects of the pandemic adjustments to remain in place. Flexible learning, new and creative ideas of conveying topics, and more individualized learning methods have seen an increase in retention of material, which is fundamentally what education is all about. The teachers would also like an end to the stigma surrounding the covid learning adjustments, primarily the notion that education is now "entirely computer based". This notion is quite the contrary, according to educators, rather the new methods not only encourage flexibility and invite individualized learning but also promotes computer skills which will be vital for adulthood. I think this article is interesting because it highlights the fundamental change covid has made and continues to make on society. In order to promote public health and safety, teachers were forced to adjust and were forced to rework how they educated. This compelling of behavior has rendered some positivity. I think it is critical that children are able to have the safest and most effective education, and while covid seems terribly negative, there is a small glimmer of improvement from the pre-pandemic world. This article was published in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
• 
  2020-04-08

  Neighborhood Sidewalk Art

  A few weeks into quarantine our neighborhood decided to decorate all the sidewalks and driveways with sidewalk chalk. This was a great way for the kids of the neighborhood to express themselves and feel a sense of togetherness, even though they were all apart. With the use of the neighborhood Facebook group, we were able to coordinate times for the kids to go around and check out all the cool sidewalk art and leave messages for their friends to read. This really made my son feel like part of something, as a kindergartener he was just getting used to being in school, and then after Spring Break he was not able to return to class and we had to get creative. This neighborhood art project was a bright spot in a very difficult and uncertain time.
• 
  2022-03-30

  The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on Students

  At the beginning of the pandemic there was mass confusion and scares about what was to come of this new, unknown virus called SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19. Once widespread outbreaks were prevalent, everyone was sent home from work and schools. A lot of smaller businesses could no longer make rent and went out of business, and many people did not know how they were going to make ends meet. However, one of the most vital impacts, was on our students in upper elementary and above. Many public and private schools, from elementary to high school, did not make any school work necessary to be completed in Oklahoma, and as a result, created a gap in the knowledge needed for the continuation of schooling in the years to come. For freshmen college students, as I was at the time, if you were living on campus, in the dorm rooms and apartments, many of us were given notice that we had two weeks to move out unless we had extenuating circumstances. Additionally, all of our classes after spring break were moved online (in the best way possible) but often times were unsuitable to the in person experience. As a Microbiology Major enrolled in several different science classes with labs, it was nearly impossible to get the necessary experience to properly understand the laboratory material. As a result, this made it more difficult in the semesters to come to understand what was required of me, due to the lack of knowledge of materials I would have learned had I been able to attend my labs. Because of the severity of this virus and the rapid spread which sent everyone quarantining in their homes, we may see a lasting impact, not due to the viruses long-term side-effects, but due to our educational generations having a detrimental gap in proper school education.
• 
  2020-08-11

  Fresh Look at the Outdated Classroom

  Online was the new way of providing lessons, assigning classroom activities, and laying out information for students across all ages. Sites like google classroom, canvas, blackboard, and seesaw suddenly became teachers and professors only way of providing students with a "classroom". In the first picture we see an example of an elementary school platform, in the next image is a middle school layout, and the final image is of the new college format. All three platforms provided students with a visual way to remain in contact with their educators in a time where we couldn't meet. They were our way of adjusting to the new situation we were all stuck in. However, despite providing us with the benefits of being connected without having to meet in person, there were still a few shortcomings. Because of the lack of in person class we couldn’t form connection with each other. That was a struggle for kids and teachers/professors alike. There remained a barrier between each other.
• 
  2021-10-08

  Lone Star WIN Journal Assignment

  What is similar, different, and changed since 4th grade.
• 
  2021-03-16

  Student enrollment is declining...where have Arizona Students gone?

  This article highlights the declining enrollments of students in Arizona and their absence, so too does the funding disappear. According to the featured article, the combination of an approximate loss of 10% percent of the student population coupled with a drastic cut in the funding levels has significantly impacted the financial operations and organization of public school districts. The enrollment loss is mostly concentrated on the elementary levels, yet a notable loss of enrollment in high schools is of some concern. Declining enrollment not only affects the students' ability to develop important critical thinking and life skills, but in-person instruction should aid the student in recognizing the workload that comes with advanced degrees and education. Another option offers students the ability to learn through the hybrid instructional model.
• 
  2021-03-08

  Trust me, I'm aware that in-person learning starts March 15

  Tempe Public schools sent a reminder email about in-person classes starting next Monday. Right now, the kids are on spring break, while having more time at home to argue about media use isn't ideal, at least we can say the days of online learning are behind us.
• 
  2021-02-03

  Victoria teachers applaud new B.C. school mask mandate

  Victoria, B.C teachers appreciate the new mask mandate for middle and high students to wear masks in the classroom. Some teachers note that they wish they had also included elementary school students as well. Students will be allowed to remove their masks at their desks when there is a barrier present. British Columbia provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says that they are continually reviewing the guidelines.
• 
  2021-01-19

  The Happy Little Chef

  The media focuses a lot on the losses children are facing during the pandemic. And while I certainly would prefer that the virus was contained and my son would be able to attend school in person, take piano lessons with his piano teacher beside him instead of on a Facetime call, and play with a friend outside of his older sister, my six year old son is genuinely enjoying quarantine. I realize this is a privilege - we have a backyard, space, two working adults who can afford food and technology, and a live-in grandma who can help with any distance learning issues. But my son seems to be thriving in this much simpler and quieter life. We always did a lot together as a family, but we did not spend a lot of time actually at home. Now that we’ve been home together for over ten months, we have settled into this new life that involves my son helping my husband make dinner every night. And he LOVES it. It’s not as though he had never cooked before, but to be able to do it every night, side by side with his dad is an experience he did not have in our pre-quarantine life that was much faster paced and on the go. Many nights, the little chef will bring me a menu that outlines the dinner and asks for my order. He takes such pride in telling all of us what parts of the meal he was in charge of. He assures us he is both the owner and the “cooker” of the restaurant and that his daddy is his employee. When dinner is over, he asks to take my plate, and has recently become very interested in washing all the dinner dishes himself (no complaints here). I certainly long for the day that we can go back out in the world, but I feel very blessed that my son will be able to look back at this year with happiness, even in the midst of such a dire situation.
• 2020-04

  The Pain of Teaching at Home

  This is story like many others during this time. The work of a parent with kids sent home for e-learning. Though I had a background in education, having an M.A. in Education, this was a task that was a difficult one that my education and years of teaching could not help me. The first task is explaining to younger children why they have to stay home. Especially when we as adults are unable to truly grasp what is going on. The second part is trying to motivate students to learn when the school was not ready for this type of teaching. Though the teachers tried, the manner of teaching was a difficult one that led great stress during this time. To add to it, the consistency and norm for the children was shattered which required me to try to recreate that same standard, yet another difficult task. Added onto that, is a child that struggles with reading, which most of the assignments were backed by, instead of the lecture they were used to. The first step was trying to set the norm for them. Breakfast, work, break, work, lunch, work, done. Though it sounds simple, with two separate students with different educational abilities, and drive for success, keeping one on task while the other was done or finishing faster was a task. Aiding them was truly difficult. Some of the difficulties came from my teaching experience being middle and high school not elementary. The next being understanding some of the finer points of the material being taught, I found myself having to learn the material to then teach the material to my children. To compound it further, there is the social aspect of being stuck at home with out the interaction they needed for their peers. Though I fancy myself a “cool” dad, I will never measure up to my kids’ friends. Attempting to fill this void was significantly more difficult than being their teacher. Though my kids did not have near the growth they would have received academically while being in school, they did not lose intelligence and picked up some knowledge along the way. Though it took tears, patience, drive and resilience, it was a time that we can all reflect on and hope it never happens again, which it did, 5 months later, but everyone was better prepared and the lessons learned from the springs allowed for greater success on the second go. Here is to hoping it doesn’t happen again!!!
• 
  2020-11-26

  Nieces Yearbook

  During the COVID-19 pandemic school year, things have changed. A staple in school has always been the yearbook. This year the yearbook for my niece's school is running into problems. The school is required to pay a certain amount for a contract with the company apparently. Considering most kids are attending via virtual school their not much as far as in school pictures. I wonder how badly yearbook companies as a whole are getting hit this year.
• 
  2020-11-18

  As COVID-19 soars in many communities, schools attempt to find ways through the crisis

  As schools reopened around the world, countries saw surges in new COVID-19 cases. In response, some countries have re-closed schools while others have remained upon and employed strict guidelines.
• 
  2020-10-09

  How Kids are Coping

  This is an example of how our local school district is helping children navigate and make sense of this pandemic.
• 
  2020-09-15

  Jewish Melbourne: Year One students at Bialik College wish Emmy Monash residents Shana Tova

  "The children of Year One at Bialik College share with us their messages of love, hope and resilience" through Rosh Hashanah messages sent to residents of Emmy Monash Aged Care
• 
  2020-10-26

  Mom's Homemade Masks

  This is an image of the workspace my mom and sister have been working at while creating masks for our family to wear. My sister has also sold a few to coworkers in our school district. This image shows how important masks are in order to stop spreading germs. Wearing a mask is extremely important when going out in public in order to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. My family has made several different kinds of masks. They have made different themed ones, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, as well as generic ones. They have made different styles, like the pleated surgical-style ones in this photo in addition to the Olson style masks. They have also created different sizes, for the adults in our family and smaller ones for my four nieces. This photo is important to me because it has been very difficult for my siblings to find masks at stores that will fit on kids ages 1-4. They are also more inclined to want to wear a mask because it is something special that my mom has made for them in patterns that they love, like animal, Disney, and holiday prints. I don’t think there is a lot of information out there about parents with young children who are growing up in the time of a pandemic. It can be difficult to leave the house some days to do something as simple as grocery shopping, because kids like to touch everything and don’t always cooperate when wearing a mask. One of the biggest struggles I’ve heard my sister talk about as an elementary school teacher is trying to get her students to keep their masks on. It's really important for people to understand these struggles and help each other out while in the midst of a pandemic.
• 
  2020-10-22

  Education and the Coronavirus: Updates for opening in California.

  Text story. I found it while surfing the internet and reading about how they were going to determine to let schools open back up in the state of California.
• 
  2020-08-25

  Teaching in a Pandemic

  My mom has always been an elementary teacher and is finally nearing retirement. The pandemic has been a great challenge for her to adapt to. Her school year started with online instruction before moving to in-person learning later on. As a lifelong teacher, the adjustment to online teaching has been incredibly different and difficult for her. Especially considering the lack of support from the school and the district. The setup in the picture was jury-rigged together using materials that were already owned in order to try and provide the best learning experience for the students. Arizona State University HST485
• 2020-10-16

  Pre-Pandemic, what did we know? Teachers knew nothing.

  March 12th, 2020 seemed to be a perfect spring day in Southeast Georgia, it was a beautiful morning. I am a teachers assistant in a self-contained classroom in Liberty Co., GA. We had a long weekend ahead of us, March 12th was a Thursday and we had Friday off, 5 day weekend, and all of the kids knew it! So as any teacher would do we had a relaxed day. We taught normal morning lessons, talked to the kids about why they will not see us on Friday, Monday, Tuesday, or St. Patricks day that was coming up. So, we painted pictures of rainbows - nothing out of the ordinary, at least not in our little self-contained bubble. The teachers for some time had been hearing about this virus, and that it was far worse than the severe flu we saw in 2018, or anything else we have seen from overseas. This illness was something that we all were closely monitoring in the news because schools are the perfect breeding grounds for germs of any illnesses; however, we knew one thing - that there were some measures being put in place for travel. Then we get an all-call on the intercom in our classroom, "Hey 201, we just want to inform yall the main water line is broken up the road. We suggest you call your parents to get ready to receive their children, its a half-day." STUNNED we all took a moment, took a breath. Our 7 kids had no idea what was happening so we all took to our phones and called the parents of the most vulnerable first, then the ones we knew may take some time to get a hold of. Next we informed our parents of the children who ride buses that they will be on their way home within the next hour as the school had no water. We rallied up our kids, went through our daily clean up (4 hours earlier than usual) and gave them all tight hugs. Some of them didn't want to leave, some really didn't understand why they were going home so early, and some just wanted to get out of the crowd. In the end, I hugged every last one of my kids I took up to the front office because I had a sick feeling about this weekend. I told them to be good and listen to their adults and I waved goodbye. For most, that was the last time I saw that set of kids again because last year's class was older. Those children went onto middle school. Friday, March 13th, 2020 came and rumors started that we may not be going back to school on Wednesday because of some virus called Coronavirus. What was this? Why? No one understood. My teacher friends were all communicating online what was happening, a lot of uncertainty. The weekend came and went, nothing. Monday, the 16th of March, we got the news we weren't to enter ANY school building, this virus is highly contagious. I'd seen the news and by then China, Japan, Korea, and Italy were on total lockdown, Spain was following suit; along with the rest of the world, the US was the only nation in the world not really doing anything. However, in Liberty co. we were on lockdown, schools shutdown. At some point we were told only lead teachers and 2 assistants per grade level may go into the school to help get the children's personal belongings, this did not happen. Everything was shutdown, it was too dangerous. Personally, I didn't hear from the majority of my students after March 12th. Many factors are at play here: little to no technology in low-income homes, parents decided that since school was out they weren't obligated to stay in the area so they went to visit family in different Counties/States (so no communication was made) or parents didn't pick up the phones when we would call, those that we did see online wasn't for long because our teaching method is very hands on for Special Education our parents had no idea how to help at home and some gave in a put YouTube videos on all day. This wasnt easy for ANYONE I know. Pandemics, changes in general, and a sudden life change is ALWAYS hard. School as we know it will never be the same. As of today, this new school year we are doing hybrid teaching, which is giving parents the option to send their child to school face-to-face learning (with a mask on at all times) or they can have virtual learning. Our county provided everyone child and staff with ipads, so there's really no excuse at this point. I'm optimistic for the future, I feel a change in teaching. It's hard to change a system that is so engrained in our systems but we can figure it out.
• 
  2020-06-10

  Drone Book Drop

  Montgomery County Public Schools in Virginia is one of the most diverse school districts in VA. They are often looking for new ways to reach their diverse student population. They were one of the first districts on the east coast to close when COVID-19 hit. They were able to do this because all of their students already have devices in their hands every day. They repurposed bus drivers to deliver lunches, pick up student devices for tech work, and to redistribute student devices when they were fixed and ready to go. Now, as they look into an uncertain fall semester they have teamed up with a tech organization to drop books to students via drones. While educators understand the important role that technology can play in the learning process it's important to remember that reading books is priceless.
• 
  2020-05-20

  Funny Covid-19 rules for schools

  The screenshot describes the new rules for when students return to school. This mirrors the confusion and frustration of parents and educators who have no idea what to expect as schools open.
• 
  2020-03-31

  Helping Kids Cope During the Pandemic

  Psychology Professor David Langer also notes that self-care is one of the first steps in being prepared to care for one's children. "Caring for yourself not only makes it easier to care for your children and care for others, it also models for children that self-care is important. He also advises: "Two key things that have enormous benefits for mental and physical health and well-being are physical activity and spending time outside. As of right now, guidelines still allow for families to take walks, hikes, bike rides, and do other outdoor activities together while maintaining appropriate distance from others. These are behaviors parents can model and encourage that will benefit everyone. In addition to physical activity and outside time, take time to do enjoyable things like playing games and pursuing hobbies."
• 
  04/05/2020

  Goodbye, Spring 2020

  By order of the governor, all Kansas K-12 schools closed for the remainder of the academic year to curb COVID-19's spread, making online classes a necessity and rendering normal spring-time activities, such as sports and commencements, an impossibility. This makeshift message on Wichita Northwest's campus expresses an all-too familiar sentiment that can be felt all across the country, from the East and West Coasts and in the nation's Heartland.
• 
  2020-05-11

  The last Courey to attend St. Mary Elementary shares a very different graduate experience.

  My younger sister, Josette Courey--who is a 2020 8th grade graduate at St. Mary Elementary--stands in front of a sign constructed by her fellow classmates and teachers. The sign displays support for public health officials and other frontline workers responding to the COVID-19 crisis. On our way home from shipping a package, we decided to drive by the school one last time to reminisce on her eight years as a mustang. This date marks a significant number of events for Josette. She not only missed her Confirmation and her graduation but she will also be sharing a very interesting birthday celebration as well. Personally, visiting the school again reminded me of my times as a student there and how fast eight years passes by. In a way, it reminded me to always make the most of any situation and to spend time with those most close to you. The pandemic may have tore us apart but it also brought us back together. #CSUS #HIST15H
• 
  2020-04-30

  Combs School District; provides Lunches for kids

  This image tells us the that even though the world is going through a tough time, the community can still come together to take care of each other.
• 
  2020-04-28

  Students’ Belongings

  This is a photo taken in the multipurpose room of an elementary school. Following the closure of the schools, teachers were asked to return to school to pack up the students’ belongings. Teachers were allowed in to the building on a very tight schedule, only a few at a time. They labeled each student’s bag and placed in line, according to the student’s last name. At some future date the parents will be able to pick up the bag at a curbside location.
• 
  2020-04-24

  When Grandma Becomes the Teacher

  Having two parents working full time as a high school teacher and a university director, my kids now rely on their grandma, a retired teacher, for classroom instruction. She does most of the day to day communication with their teachers, keeps them on a daily schedule, plans activities, and fixes lunch. Without an intergenerational household, my kids' daily schooling would be near impossible.
• 
  2020-04-28

  Waiting to Return #1

  When the school closed, it was unlike any other closing. Teachers left up the bulletin boards and projects were still hanging from the ceilings. Do we take down the maps and put away our figurines on our desk to keep from dust? When will we return? It's only March. The school year isn't over yet. A month later, the classrooms are still wondering. The teachers are still hoping. The students are still asking.The wishers are still wishing. The prayers are still praying.