Back to School - Covid Style

Back to School COVID Style By Jim & Amy Schroeder

2020 began like any other year. But as we approached the ides of March, it was clear that this year would actually be like none other these generations had known. As the shut downs and cancellations gave way to dramatic alterations in everyday life, each morning brought a promise that the pandemic, and the changes that came with it, were taking the long course.

As we all settled into our new, ever evolving “normal”, and summer beckoned a second wave of the pandemic, Amy and I began to wonder what the school landscape would look like in the fall. Would our six school school-aged kids, including our oldest two who were set to begin their freshman year at Mater Dei, find themselves seated at desks with peers or once again scattered on the main floor of our house completing virtual assignments? What would become of the fall sports’ scene, or other extra-curricular activities that had become part of the mainstay of a school year? Just how quickly would COVID-19 spread through the hallways and classrooms, and what would the response be at our schools, and across the community as a whole? Like the rest of our fellow parents, the days leading up to the school year were filled with questions and unease. Braced for all sorts of possibilities, though, we woke up on a bright, clear August morning with the first day of school a little over an hour and a half away. Midst all of the uncertainty and anxiety, something beautiful happened. Our kids got up, dressed, ate breakfast, and excitedly readied themselves to walk through the front doors of a place they hadn’t seen for almost five whole months.

In spite of all the reasons that this day might not have happened, I found myself driving Zach and Emma to their first day of school. As we made our way to Mater Dei, I suddenly realized that any concern that I had felt had given way to sheer happiness and gratitude.

Although not privy to all the details, I realized that in some ways, through thousands of hours of effort, it had been no minor miracle that the three of us were sharing in this memorable moment in the midst of what was undoubtedly an unforgettable year. Suddenly, in the midst of reflecting on all of this, I realized that our kids were minutes away from being the fourth generation of Schroeders to attend Mater Dei. Their great grandmother, Janie (Scheller) Schroeder had graduated in 1950 as part of the inaugural class. Twenty-one years later, their grandfather would say his last goodbyes as a departing senior. Then I, in 1995 and Amy, in 1996 (with her parents graduating in 1960 and 1962) would celebrate a final Baccalaureate Mass as part of the tradition by which all graduates move onto the next phase of their

lives. As the oldest of the 4th generation, years, the Mater Dei community had stood Zach and Emma would soon find themselves for a multitude of core values, not the least entering the hallowed hallways of Mater of which was determination, gratefulness, Dei, part of the class of 2024. and a resilient, “can do” spirit no matter As we walked together to the bottom of the what obstacles might lie in the way. teardrop, and I said goodbye to them and The 2020-2021 academic year had officially watched them walk inside, I couldn’t help begun. Although none of us had any idea but reflect on the conversations that Amy of what to expect (despite what would and I had leading up to this day. Like all later be a remarkably successful first quarparents seeing their oldest kids go to high ter), standing there beneath the American school, there was a sense of sentimentality, flag billowing in the breeze, tombstones nervousness, and excitement for what had of generations passed on, and across from been, and what would come. But given the the timeless statue of our patroness of Macontext of 2020, I was particularly struck by ter Dei herself, I was reminded that even in the gifts that I and so many others had been the most challenging times, life does carry given through our Catholic education, and on. A new generation of students, this year all the people that had dedicated themselves with masks in tow, had begun to fill the MD to our education and our lives through chal- hallways, waiting for the bells to ring. No lenging circumstances, including wars, reces- matter what would come, as other parents sions, political upheaval, and pestilence. For across the country wondered when their a few minutes, standing there watching the kids would see the inside of school again, first day unfold, it struck me that for over 70 we were part of the lucky ones. School had begun. The Schroeder Family