By: Courtney Suber
Last year the North Springs Oracle spoke to our principal, Mr. Hanson, about his thoughts on tele school and outlook towards the future. A year later we’ve followed up to get the insight on what a post-COVID school year would look like, what were the challenges for this year, and more! The previous article is linked at the bottom below.
What were your first thoughts when you found we were going to start the 2020-2021 school year online?
My initial thoughts were, “Oh, here we go again”. I was looking forward to seeing our students in the building. We had been planning all summer for how to manage hallways, staircases, classrooms, entry and dismissal, which all of a sudden appeared to be a huge waste of time. As a Principal, students in the building are what makes my job interesting and fun, which quickly looked like it would be more of the same as the Spring.
What did you do to prepare for the eventual return of students?
Like I said above, we spend all summer planning for the return of students. We met with groups of teachers who volunteered to be a part of groups that looked at each part of our school operations, and dissected it to what we needed to account for, what if something didn’t work as planned, and what changes needed to be made. The fact that we have so many staircases,, and the need to avoid students running into each other was a huge undertaking, trying to figure out foot traffic flow. We also had to come up with a plan for what happened when a teacher had to quarantine, or be out sick, etc. We were told that we could not rely on substitute teachers, and we did not want to burden other teachers by combining classes. So the idea of using the theater to hold kids in those situations worked well for us 90% of the time. We were able to control us needing to shut down in that way, unlike other schools.
What would you say is the North Springs philosophy about remote and hybrid learning? What changes and adjudgments did you make for the new school year online?
My philosophy is probably different than most other people. With two kids of my own in FCS, I saw first-hand what other schools were doing, and quickly realized that it was not the best option for kids, and thought about what we could do differently. The state school superintendent talked about compassion over compliance last Spring, and that is the mantra I took as well. As a principal, I knew I needed to be flexible and solution oriented in this challenging time. I also needed to let our staff know that this was all new to everyone, including me. I felt like I needed to share my fears, worries, concerns, and plan so the staff knew I was in the same boat as them….that nobody had all the answers. I asked myself quite often about rules…..is this in the best interest of students and staff. If it didn’t solve a problem, but exacerbated it, was that the best decision to make. I also kept in the back of my head, what would I want my own kids to experience at their own schools during this time. If they would find it bad policy, I wouldn’t dare put this in front of my students.
For the 2nd part of the question about adjustments, I kept in mind that our teachers needed lots of support. Now was not the time to be so focused on policies that didn’t make sense, that I needed to lead by example and support everyone. This is difficult for me personally, because as a father, husband, and HS teacher/principal, I tend to operate in “fix it” mode, where problems have solutions and then you move on. I could not operate this way during the pandemic. I became a better listener and learned to be more empathetic when interacting with staff that were afraid, worried, just like me.
Did it differ from what other schools were doing? In what way?
At the beginning of the pandemic, we were given broad rules, and then allowed to adapt it to our own individual schools. The district playbook we operated from gave us that flexibility, and I think that was a great move, because all schools are different. As a school, we have adopted my mantra that our thought should be to look at things from the lens of, “are we doing things for kids, or are we doing things to kids”. One view is a proactive view that says we craft policies that fit within our organization, but we can find solutions that fit, deepening on the situation. This is a student centered view. The other view is rigid, and all rule based, and doesn’t allow for flexibility. It is organization based, and reflects a very rigid mindset, that can be bad for kids. Decisions that I made all year long have been in the “are we doing things for kids” mindset, and we have been flexible with grading, assignments and with attendance. Other schools have not been flexible, and students have to deal with that rigidity.
What were the pros and cons of teleschools for students, teachers and staff?
Pros- students could stay safe at home and not be exposed to COVID. It allowed teachers to be able to reach all students the same way. It allowed us to utilize technology to do some amazing things. It allowed students flexibility as to when they could attend class, in case they had to work to help support their families. You can literally work and attend class from anywhere in the world….and some have. That’s not many pros….
Cons- students lost the actual face to face interactions with their peers, teachers and other staff members. Suicide rates among HS students has gone up because of this lack of interaction. Technology is not a 100% solution for teaching. Students that have to work do not get the benefit of being with a teacher to ask questions. Not all students participate. Students have technology issues. Students do not have access to high-speed internet. Lunches, and students going hungry. Kids not wanting to turn their cameras on because of being afraid of showing where/how they live. It is easier to avoid going to class in a virtual world. Our HS students having to watch younger siblings because of a lack of childcare. The list could go on and on.
What were the pros and cons of students coming back into the building?
#1, I get to see our students. I became a principal because I love being around students. Being the principal of a virtual school isn’t for me. All of the pros and cons above could be flipped to make the case one way or another for kids coming into the building.
What was your reaction at having to close the building at multiple points in time?
I think everyone on campus struggled with the decisions to close the building. The reason to shut down to keep people safe is incredibly important, and I support it for that reason. The flipside though is that every time you close, it has unintended consequences. Now all of a sudden kids lose free lunch and breakfast. The schedule gets disrupted, and has a ripple effect for many days as teachers and students switch gear up to switch learning modes. Going back and forth ruins the continuity of learning. It is also disruptive to families that might have to find arrangements for childcare as a result of a closure.
What would you do differently?
I think our staff has done a great job in a particularly challenging time, trying to teacher both in person and virtually. I don’t know of anyone that has done it better than us. I do regret my decision to move to the 7 period day when we found out that we would be coming back into the building. My thought was that it would create more strain on teachers to go to block in the environment where we might have to shut down multiple time. My thought was that trying to implement something new was not a good idea in the middle of a pandemic. What I didn’t take into account was how good our teachers would be teaching from the block, and that they were planning and prepping for it all summer. If I did it over again, we would have stayed with block scheduling from the very beginning.
What was particularly challenging for you personally?
Staying motivated while watching 2-3 video screens daily was difficult. One of the great things about being a principal is that every day is always something new when students are in the building. It is literally never the same day twice. Well, with no students in the building, it became the same things, day in and day out. I missed the interaction with the students, with the teachers, with the parents and the community. I never realized I took that for granted until it wasn’t there. Saying good morning 450 times each morning has never felt so nice.
What do you look forwards to for next year?
I am looking forward to some sense of normalcy. We may have masks, which will be fine one way or the other. Our teachers will not have to teach to two different groups, which will help in so many ways. I am looking forward to having our students in the building, and being able to connect with the again. I want to be able to cheer our athletes, artists and performers on in their passion. I cannot wait!
