Strategic Vision, Community, and Leadership: How Oakland Catholic High School Thrives in a COVID-19 World At Oakland Catholic High School, planning and commitment to the school’s mission allowed for a quick and smooth transition to remote learning, where education continues to be an experience, and not just an academic checklist to complete for a diploma.
D
uring end-of-day announcements on Thursday, March 12, Oakland Catholic students were instructed to bring home anything they might need for a possible extended school closure. They were quickly reassured that classes and studies would continue, but in a different fashion, and for as long as necessary. Despite disappointment that the annual Spirit Week was cut short by a day, there was no panic or major outcry because letters from administration about the developing coronavirus situation had been arriving at this point on a fairly regular basis. Leadership had been following research and the virus since it first impacted the school in January, when it forced six international seniors who had traveled home to be with family during the Lunar New Year, to remain in China and complete their final semester of high school remotely. Thanks to a forward-thinking Board of Directors, an ambitious strategic plan that focused on technology, and a holistic mission built on an integration of academics, community, and spirituality, shifting instruction remotely was not only possible, but already in place and tested. With only one day of in-service to review protocols and the newly devised A/B schedule of alternating classes, Oakland Catholic High School was up and running in full remote capacity. They even had a new logo: We Are OC! Now remote! The quick and effective transition served both students and parents well. By providing structure and routine at a time when disruption and anxiety reigned, Oakland Catholic provided an anchor of familiarity when few reassurances of normalcy seemed to exist. All was well and the school year would finish on time! Advance planning and decision-making certainly didn’t predict COVID-19,
12
JUNE 2020 | www.northernconnectionmag.com
but it did prepare the school and its students well for whatever the future presented. The school’s mission? Educate young women to become competent, confident, compassionate, and ethical global leaders. COVID-19 presented yet another opportunity to live this mission. Not a new responsibility, just different circumstances. Oakland Catholic has always been in the business of preparing for the unpredictable. The goal remained intact; faculty and leadership simply needed to adapt the means of achieving that goal. Of course, there were the inevitable cancelations. And, the Seniors naturally despaired at the loss of ceremonies and events planned out years in advance. But long before this year’s Commencement Speaker, Kelley Cooper Miller, OCHS’91, advised the Class of 2020 to not wallow in questions of “why” when things go awry, but instead urged them to pursue the “what” of a situation, this class, along with all OC students, faculty, staff, and parents asked a lot of “what” questions. What can we do to transform traditions so that they still occur? What are the ways we can adapt pedagogy so that lessons are equally effective despite a remote environment? What do we need to create in order to not just maintain community, but build connection and engagement with each other, with our studies, and with the larger world? This is when the mission of the school, the spirit of the community, and the expertise of so many converged. This is how Oakland Catholic is not only surviving this pandemic, but continues to thrive. Gifts were delivered to the Class of 2020 on two occasions, along with their caps, gowns, honor cords, and eventually diplomas. A virtual Commencement, aired on the same date as graduation was scheduled to take place, was personalized with video clips
