10 minute read
CELEBRATING TEACHERS
SPIRIT
From the Lower School to the Upper School, Gilmour has adapted to THE pandemic, immersing itself in a comprehensive plan that ensures the safety of its faculty, students and staff. It’s hardly been easy, but it has been worthwhile. Here’s an in-depth look at the incredible effort that’s gone into protecting Gilmour students during COVID-19 And the amazing efforts alumni educators across the country have made on behalf of their students. Together, they have shown that the real unsung heroes of this pandemic are those who have kept the ship afloat through it all -
TEACHERS
Celebrating TEACHERS
For the first three quarters of the school year, about 80 percent of Gilmour students attended class in person on any given day, while the rest attended virtually. Gilmour teachers were instructing students in person and at home at the same time. (Students returned to all in-person instruction for the fourth quarter, unless they opted for 100% virtual instruction at the start of the semester.)
“Juggling that can be tricky,” says Director of Curriculum Development and Dean of Faculty Elizabeth Edmondson. Some set up the Zoom and taught as they normally would. Others assigned asynchronous work for students to complete. A science class with a lab looks different than a discussion-based English class, Edmondson says. “That’s why we allowed teachers the flexibility they needed to design a curriculum that fits their discipline.”
Gilmour teachers were tasked not just with teaching virtually and in-person at the same time; they’re also responsible for sanitizing after class. The cleaning is part of a greater overarching effort to reduce the passing of germs on campus, Edmondson says. While that includes sanitizing classrooms, it also means teachers are reducing the number of materials they use and turning to digital resources in place of paper handouts.
Gilmour has been innovative and collaborative in making the school environment as safe as possible during COVID-19, and they’ve spared no expense. The school worked with the architecture firm TDA to develop a one-way flow pattern through hallways, ensuring that everyone on campus is walking in the same direction and socially distanced. For students attending class virtually, Gilmour created virtual, socially distanced learning zones on campus for those who found it a better solution than learning from home.
The pandemic has required teachers at every level to rethink how they do their jobs. They’re concerned about their own personal safety, and yet they still show up.
To show gratitude and boost morale, Gilmour launched a wellness drawing for teachers. Prizes include Starbucks coffee or a fill-in for one of their duties. With the pandemic in full swing, Gilmour had to get rid of its morning coffee for teachers. As a special thank you to faculty and staff, the Men’s Club, Women’s Club and Lower School Parent Organization brought in a coffee truck one day. Any expression of gratitude for teachers during this time is well deserved, says Edmondson.
“They have found ways to make it work multiple times over, and they’ve done it with a positive attitude,” she says.
And that dedication isn’t just limited to our campus. Gilmour alumni are out there working across the country to ensure that their students remain engaged and connected as well.
Every day, Kelly Borally ’90 interacts with more than 500 students and 40 teachers. In person. During a pandemic.
Kelly Borally ’90
SPIRIT
As the math and science specialist at Nottingham Elementary in Houston, Borally oversees math and science teachers in Pre-K through fifth grades. Students can choose to attend class virtually or in person. At press time, about 84 students attend virtually and 511 in person.
While the teaching approach is much the same for both types of classes, virtual lessons expose inequities in students’ home lives that hadn’t come to light before.
“When you come to school, there is no judgment,” Borally says. “But all of a sudden we’re in everybody’s homes — and I have a diverse population. I see one student attending class from under a bed while family members are walking by; another student is poolside in the backyard. It’s not a safe environment anymore, because your classmates can see your home through the screen. I had to tell my teachers, ‘It’s OK if they don’t have their screen on right now.’”
At a time when the world is eschewing in-person communication, Borally has no choice but to immerse herself in it. She meets with teachers weekly to review their curricula and educational strategies, and in her day-to-day, she sets foot in every classroom. “I be-bop everywhere,” she says. “That’s how I keep my connections with students and teachers. I oversee the teachers, but I really want to see how kids are being impacted by them.”
In making the rounds, Borally wears a mask eight to 10 hours a day. During the pandemic, it’s been difficult to find substitutes, so when teachers are out for any reason, Borally, a former elementary teacher, fills in.
She encourages students to attend class in person if they can, because she believes in the power of human connection. Even from a distance, socialization is crucial to kids’ well-being, she says. And, it so happens, to her own. “I love it,” she says. “Because as scary as it is walking in that door every day during a pandemic, those kids feel so happy to see you.”
As superintendent of Mentor Schools, Bill Porter '84 oversees 7,500 students and 1,000 employees in 11 schools. It’s a big slate under normal circumstances, and even more so during a pandemic.
Throughout the last year, Porter has stayed in close contact with Mentor teachers. Even the most seasoned of them have described feeling like they’re in their first year of teaching again.
Bill Porter ’84
“The amount of work they’re doing is both exhausting and invigorating,” Porter says. “Their lesson planning is intense, and they’ve had to work really hard to understand how technology works with the instructional cycle. They’ve had to collaborate a lot and figure out how to teach students in person and over Zoom at the same time. It’s been a tall order.”
Mentor schools offer options for students in Grades 6 through 12. They can attend class in person — socially distanced — or join the same class over Zoom. At the elementary level, students can learn online or attend brick-and-mortar classes. Online students are assigned a teacher who only teaches online, and in-person classes have a teacher who only teaches in person. Brick-and-mortar classes have been downsized to create distance between students. A typical class size used to be 23, now it’s 15.
“All the norms have changed,” Porter says. “We’re all learning a lot about adapting and new technologies. Some of these lessons will stick. Normal will look different in the future.”
Everybody’s ability to learn online, share a screen, use breakout rooms, and raise a hand over Zoom has made online learning a long-term solution, Porter says. But remote learning has led to skill deficits for many students in reading and math, and those gaps, he says, will have to be identified.
One silver lining Porter observes: The pandemic has given parents rare visibility into their children’s classrooms. With it, they have seen teachers’ efforts to educate and engage students. Teachers, meanwhile, have developed a greater appreciation for students’ home life.
“When we returned to school in September, students really appreciated being with their teachers,” Porter says. “The reunion between them was an emotional one, you could see it. I’ve never seen teachers and students so thrilled to be in school. It’s a great starting point.”
Amanda Fiorelli ’06
Amanda Fiorelli ’06 teaches ninth - grade math at Cleveland School of the Arts, where students focus on artistic disciplines such as theater, dance, photography and the visual arts. Fiorelli has taught algebra remotely since last March. The setup has had its challenges.
At Cleveland School of the Arts, most of the students live in the City of Cleveland. When the shutdown went into effect last spring, “school became optional, because there was a lack of technology for many of the students in their own homes,” Fiorelli says. “Any education we were able to accomplish became enrichment.”
Over the summer, the school district worked to form partnerships with PNC Bank and the Cleveland Cavaliers. They were able to acquire one laptop for every student in the district.
“That was huge,” Fiorelli says. “Previously, we only had laptops for maybe a fourth of the school, so this was a great opportunity.”
Even with the increased access to computers, Fiorelli recognized a shift in her focus as a teacher. Whereas before she was able to teach algebra freely in the classroom, her attention today is also geared toward ensuring that her students are doing well emotionally.
One good thing that’s arisen from the pandemic is increased communication with families, Fiorelli says.
“A lot more has been put on the student in terms of accountability,” she adds. “They’re responsible not only for tuning into class on time, but also navigating a new learning environment where more independent learning is required of them.”
Fiorelli is quick to make herself available to students when they text with questions.
“I care,” she says. “If a student expresses any discomfort, I’m 100 percent going to be there for them, no matter what time of day. Because I know it’s a difficult time for them.”
As Managing Director of Schools at Breakthrough Public Schools in Cleveland, Hope Evans ’05 oversees six of the 12 middle and grade schools located in predominantly under- resourced communities across Cleveland. Evans joined Breakthrough, a public charter network that serves more than 3,700 students in K-Grade 8, last May.
Like other schools across the country, Breakthrough was forced to make abrupt changes during the pandemic. “Essentially, we redesigned our entire academic model last spring based on the assumption that we might not go back in school in the near future,” Evans says.
Last spring, Breakthrough quickly transitioned to an asynchronous model where teachers would send home packets, students would turn in the work, and teachers would call home and give feedback. But before the new school year began last fall, it became clear they would have to offer a more robust synchronous program over Zoom to ensure students could still make progress academically.
Each Breakthrough scholar has been provided a laptop and a hotspot, if needed, and they’re required to follow a remote learning schedule similar to the class schedule they would typically have in the building. While they've made some minor tech modifications, teachers run class in the same ways they would in person.
“We had to design and implement the program over the summer,” Evans says. “We had to train teachers, make sure we knew which platforms to use, and ensure that scholars had the technology they needed. We put in time with families so they knew what to expect and how to support their scholars at home.”
For some working parents, it wasn’t going to work to have students unattended. So Breakthrough opened remote learning centers where students go to learn. Partnering with Open Doors Academy allows Breakthrough’s teachers to facilitate remote learning, while Open Doors Academy ensures kids arrive safely and log on.
Breakthrough implemented its process in phases, and it’s made a difference.
