7 minute read
Rising to the Challenge
There is no replacement for in-person learning.
This truth was the driving force behind St. Sebastian’s plans to bring students back in the fall for a full on-campus experience, despite the pandemic. It took thoughtful planning, added expense, and community-wide collaboration to achieve this ambitious goal. The St. Sebastian’s family came together in a way like never before, proving the order of the day, “Love God, work hard and take good care of one another.” Many tools played a role: technology; creative use of space; health and safety measures; and the greatest one of all—our faculty and their dedication to making this work.
Branded signage around campus reminds students to socially distance.
Under challenging circumstances last spring, the faculty devoted themselves to making distance learning a success. Yet, the experience of being fully remote made it clear that learning happens best when it happens in community. The connections made between faculty and students are the hallmark of St. Sebastian’s, and although those connections did not go away during distance learning, there was a cost to our students and to our faculty by not being together in person. “Technology is a wonderful way to support learning, but it can’t replace the human touch,” noted Headmaster Bill Burke.
When the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released its extensive guidelines for how schools could open safely in the fall, St. Sebastian’s rose to the challenge, with every member of the administration and every department contributing. “We knew what we had to do,” shared Brendan Sullivan, Dean of Students. “It was going to be a significant effort to change the campus, to change some behaviors and to get people ready, but we knew we had the opportunity to get back into the classrooms in the fall and that was very exciting.”
The summer months were dedicated to formulating a comprehensive strategy for the safe reopening of campus. Recognizing that some students and faculty would need to stay home because of their circumstances, the administration, in collaboration with faculty, set to work to develop an intentional hybrid program that would serve everyone in the school community. “We know how to run a school when everybody shows up and we found out last spring we could run a school when everybody doesn’t show up,” noted Assistant Headmaster Mike Nerbonne. “Then we had to figure out how to run a school when some people are in school and some are at home.”
English teacher Adam White teaches class in Martin Hall.
For the few faculty who would need to work remotely, the school hired young alumni, currently at home due to COVID-19 restrictions on their college campuses, to be in the classroom with the students—an initiative that has turned out to be an enormous success. During a series of virtual faculty meetings in August, several faculty members shared insights gained during distance learning, summer academic workshops and the summer conditioning program. These firsthand experiences helped to inform best practices for the fall, including: the use of technology in distance learning and the hybrid model; ways to help students at home feel as if they’re part of the classroom community; and how to approach athletics while wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing.
Science teacher Ben Brown gives direction to a student during a lab.
Countless other decisions were made and then implemented over the course of the summer—all revolving around how to make a full schedule of in-person learning work, while keeping our students and faculty safe. Thanks to the generosity of so many people in our community, we had the resources to make it happen, a reality that was simply not the case at a great many under-resourced schools across the nation. Technology would continue to play a significant role, keeping classes, departments, and even the entire school together in situations where being in-person wasn’t feasible. Several upgrades, such as new smart boards, webcams and monitors, were made to enhance the classroom experience for those learning and teaching from home, class meetings, and virtual assemblies.
Members of the dining hall staff prepare individually packaged lunches to be distributed to locations across campus.
Every space on campus was assessed and transformed to allow for optimal physical distancing. Tables were replaced with tablet desks; tents were put up to provide outdoor space for classes and lunches; large areas such as the competition gym, wrestling room, Martin Hall and Ward Hall were repurposed as class gathering spaces; the faculty lounge was designated as an isolation room for students feeling unwell. “We knew we had to take advantage of the entire campus and having the additional space in the West Campus Center was a big part of being able to bring the students back safely,” shared Sullivan. Many other safety measures were put in place, from dramatically changing the delivery of food services to purchasing ample health supplies, adding extra cleanings of high traffic areas throughout the day, and placing extensive signage around campus to serve as helpful reminders.
Class takes place outside under a tent.
When the first day of school arrived in mid-September, St. Sebastian’s was ready to welcome its students back to Greendale Avenue for the first time in six months. In order for the plan to work, everyone in the school community was called upon to adopt new behaviors: proper masking; physical distancing; frequent handwashing; staying home when showing symptoms or having been exposed to COVID-19. Our students understood the huge benefit of being back on campus and being together and they did their part, making the necessary sacrifices to help protect the most vulnerable members of our community. Their collective efforts and the support of their families in abiding by the safety guidelines have played a key role in helping St. Sebastian’s to maintain a mostly healthy campus.
The added work required by our faculty and staff to keep this program going each school day has been significant, but it has been carried out with a unified approach that once again reflects their dedication. “Here’s the philosophy. Our school exists for the glory of God and for our students and their families; the rest of us are here to serve,” shared Headmaster Burke. “The culture of the place is you show up, you make it work. If you can be here, you will be here. I’m just in awe of my colleagues who love our students and know what they need, and, from the depths of their hearts and souls, they give it all they’ve got.” Their willingness to adapt and pivot has given the administration the flexibility to call a distance learning day or move to the cohort model when needed. “If you’re a teacher, the most important thing to you is that kids learn and that’s been true for our faculty,” noted Nerbonne. “Their cooperation, collaboration and creativity have made learning relatively seamless.”
Director of Health Services Jen Joyce checks in a student for COVID-19 testing
From day one of the pandemic, it has been a true team effort, with many faculty and staff taking on extra duties, including our Director of Health Services Jen Joyce. Informed by the statistics in the state of Massachusetts, as well as data of what’s happening on campus, the administration has been careful and intentional at every turn. The school has been fortunate to receive additional guidance from members of the St. Sebastian’s community, including Dr. Edward Ryan P’23, Director of Global Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital. “I couldn’t ask for better guidance, leadership, consultation and friendship from Ed as he’s helped us navigate these times,” shared Sullivan. With colder weather and surging numbers, the school continues to adjust its plans, adding new measures like air purifiers in every classroom and a strategic campus-wide testing regimen.
The necessary protocols to keep our community safe have inevitably impacted the typical St. Sebastian’s experience: Mike Nerbonne misses the interactions with students in the library, a place that is normally humming with activity; Brendan Sullivan misses the conversations around the lunch tables in Ward Hall; and Bill Burke misses seeing the parents at Chapel speeches, events and on the sidelines. These are just a few examples, but they all share one common theme—the value of connections. Yet, despite the many challenges, the love of learning and passion for teaching are still very much present, and those connections are still being made every day.
When the masks come off and the six-foot gap is removed, there will be a new appreciation for Headmaster Burke’s signature phrase, “The essence of life is in relationships.” “Among the lessons we’ve learned from this experience is how blessed we are to be part of a community like St. Sebastian’s and how all of that leads to our responsibility to be watching out for others and to do what we can to help,” observed Sullivan. If there is a silver lining to this pandemic, let it be that we maintain these lessons and continue to take good care of one another—and especially those who need us most— long after this chapter is behind us.
