The Challenge and the Relief

Brothers Yunis and Owais Omeira of the Northern Virginia based Al-Fatih Academy attend virtual classes (Photo (c) Hazim Omeira)

The Challenge and the Relief How Islamic schools and the Islamic Schools League of America rode out the pandemic

BY FAWZIA MAI TUNG

For everyone, but especially for Islamic schools, the year 2020 was like no other. In the Quranic spirit of “So surely with hardship comes ease; surely with hardship comes ease” (96:5-6), I spoke with Dr. Seema Imam, chairwoman of the Islamic Schools League of America (ISLA; https:// theisla.org/) and professor of elementary middle level teacher preparation at

National Louis University, Chicago, about the challenges Muslim educators and administrators faced during the pandemic and how they rode out the storm.

IH: How did these challenges affect ISLA’s work? SI: ISLA’s foundation has revolved around service to Islamic schools at all levels. We have been able to tackle the needs of their teachers, administrators, board members and even parents. The pandemic reached the U.S. as we ISLA board members were coming back from our annual leadership retreat. We had a strategic plan ready to go for the year, part of which included professional development.

Then the pandemic hit, and, as expected, everyone panicked. There was a lot of uncertainty and confusion, for part of the issue was that many Islamic schools have not embraced technology and digital tools. Thus, many of them were not prepared for remote learning. Some schools had to go remote immediately while others did not, as they discovered that teachers needed support just like others across the country and around the world. Classroom management on Zoom is very different from a classroom’s face-toface management, when you can just walk over to a child.

IH: How was ISLA able to help and support these technological needs?

SI: ISLA is blessed with Dr. Shaza Khan, a strong, educated and dedicated executive director who is full of synergy. She spearheaded many projects that we had only dreamed about in 2019. We launched webinars for various constituents: parents, teachers and administrators. We also found experts and uploaded important topics in one-hour webinars.

Shortly thereafter, realizing that a course would be beneficial, we sought a learning management system. Board member Rasha El-Haggan, a private school teacher and administrator, together with Khan, began creating a “Hybrid Design for Islamic School Leaders” course for administrators. She then diligently taught two cohorts for eight weeks: one for about 80 school leaders and another for about 150 teachers. The content included how other experts are advising schools and admins to guide and prepare schools to be remote and online, or blended — face-toface and online.

Summer 2020 had come by then, so schools were closed. Khan started holding a weekly administrators’ meeting, which resulted in many questions, thoughts, ideas,

AS AN EDUCATIONAL LEADER IN TEACHER EDUCATION, I FEEL THAT THE PANDEMIC HAS BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EDUCATORS TO CATCH UP WITH THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE DIGITAL WORLD IN WHICH WE NOW LIVE. MANY OPPORTUNITIES ARE OPENING FOR ISLAMIC SCHOOLS AND ISLA — ESPECIALLY NOW THAT WE’RE CLOSER TO ONE ANOTHER.

suggestions and sharing.

IH: So there were subsequent positive outcomes from these meetings?

SI: Alhamdulillah, the pandemic brought more collaboration, more support for one another. The Islamic Educators Communication Network (IECN), the support network started by ISLA founder Karen Keyworth (d. 2017) and our email platform for nearly 20 years, also brought people together.

When the pandemic hit, out of the 300 Islamic schools in the U.S., our course served around 30-40% of their leaders. Involvement hit about 50% at some points. This is, of course, a guesstimate. However, the survey we sent out for a research project does give us a good idea of the pandemic’s impact on Islamic schools. There has been significant impact in terms of finances, education and enrollment. Parents who lost their jobs couldn’t pay for their children’s tuition as they once did. Also, some students appear not to benefit from the internet learning experience, particularly if their parents cannot guide them. As a result, there have been many challenges.

After the course and the meetings, we realized that we needed to serve the faculties of Islamic schools directly. So, we started offering a weekly series called “Teach with

Tech.” Sophia Jetpuri, a very experienced and Google-certified Islamic school teacher, developed the content with very dynamic topics, for instance, “Building Your Emoji Classroom.” She also focused a lot on Google tools, Google suite and Google classroom. Another great topic was “Classroom Management in the Zoom Classroom,” what I call the “Hollywood Squares” when I teach teachers at the university.

As of now (November 2020), we remain committed to regular administrator meetings and technology tips for teachers. Following the admin course on the learning management system, we also offered a “Hybrid Learning Design for Teachers” course for teachers.

We had to be concerned about “Early Childhood” because this particular classroom is even more challenging, given that, interestingly enough, little children sitting in front of a screen isn’t as simple as it sounds. Their attention spans are so short!

These were the main things we accomplished due to the pandemic.

I think they were essential, healthy things that schools needed to do anyway. We hadn’t been doing a lot of webinars previously, so it was a good experience for everyone. School administrators and their teachers became much closer, and a lot of collaboration resulted from the pandemic. Many people met new people, shared expertise we didn’t know they had, jumped in head first and learned as much as they could.

IH: So was ISLA involved mainly in Covid19 response during 2020?

SI: No. We were involved in other work as well. Three of our board members were invited to write a chapter about the history of Islamic schools in America. Too often we forget that the Sister Clara Mohammed schools were the first ones. Each of us studied Clara Mohammed and spent some time considering their history before the [Muslim] immigrants came to the U.S. and began what we’re calling “community Islamic schools.”

We coined this new phrase, which we think is important, for many of those Americans who are Muslim by choice are heads of Islamic schools and not immigrants. We want to steer away from “immigrant schools” and use the phrase “community Islamic schools” instead, which includes the Clara Mohammed schools.

This is a great project, because if we don’t tell our own story, someone else will. Khan is our lead author on the chapter.

Dr. Seema Imam

During the course of the pandemic, we also experienced nationwide the tragedy of Black lives being lost in police confrontations. We solicited statements of solidarity and support from Islamic schools, with action plans for confronting racial injustice in their schools and society. We offered training through Muslim ARC [Muslim AntiRacism Collaborative, www.muslimarc.org] for racial injustice and equity. We wanted our communities to look within themselves and see how race and race matters are handled within each school and community.

Additionally, for a couple of years now ISLA has been looking to expand its board. Last October we invited Dr. Nadeem Memon to return to our board. Memon, a scholar in education, is involved in research and teacher education and has authored many articles and research projects, among them his doctoral research project: the excellent “A History of Islamic Schooling in North America” (Routledge, 2020).

IH: How did the pandemic affect Islamic schools?

SI: We actually carried out a research project with Khan and Isra Brifkani, ISLA’s research associate, and are now finalizing a report on it. I’ll discuss some of its findings. Islamic schools in general were terribly affected in terms of enrollment, and thus lost a great deal of financial support. Many, but not all, of them were able to take advantage of government assistance though the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). We provided updates to schools to help them better understand the federal support. Besides the financial impact, the pandemic led to both struggles and at the same time some interesting benefits. Faculties also became more prepared for internet learning, for example.

IH: What other benefits do you see growing out of all this activity?

SI: ISLA and CISNA have increased collaboration during this pandemic. The admins have been discussing the possibility of pooling resources, for instance sharing substitutes, Islamic studies courses and so on. I don’t know the outcome, and neither I nor ISLA can take the credit for that.

IH: Do you see what happened in 2020 affecting the future direction of ISLA’s work?

SI: As an educational leader in teacher education, I feel that the pandemic has been an opportunity for educators to catch up with the technology of the digital world in which we now live. Many opportunities are opening for Islamic schools and ISLA — especially now that we’re closer to one another. We have shared resources and benefited indirectly from what has been a tragedy. But as there is no time for despair in Islam, we must confront bravely what God puts in front of us. This is one of the greatest worldwide challenges that I have seen during my five decades in education. ih

Fawzia Mai Tung, who holds a degree in medicine (University of Jordan) and an advanced diploma of education (University of London), has served on the ISLA Board since 2012 as secretary and co-editor of The ISLA News.

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