Pandemic

WORDS BY ZACH JONES PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK KOCINA OR PROVIDED BY SUBJECTS

HARKER RESPONDS

“We need 100% compliance on this one,” Debra Nott wrote to lower school teachers in late January, imploring them to place hand sanitizer in their classrooms. Harker’s health services director had been receiving emails from concerned families regarding the new coronavirus that had just begun spreading in U.S. cities. “The coronavirus is like a big wave,” she cautioned. “We either ride ahead of it, choosing our path, or it will tumble us around out of control.”

Harker administration had started tracking the spread of the coronavirus earlier that month, and with news that COVID-19 was spreading, talks of what to do in the event of a closure were becoming more common. “When the talk of possible school closure came up, I had no idea of how we were going to continue with our classes,” said middle school math chair Vandana Kadam. “I also did not think it would happen so soon after the initial [faculty] discussions on the closures.”

In February a protocol was put in place for the school to close if a member of the community tested positive for COVID-19. It was enacted on March 12, when it was learned that a parent of a non-teaching staff member had tested positive. Days later, with COVID-19 cases rapidly increasing in California, Santa Clara County issued a shelter-in-place order to begin March 17. Students, faculty and staff began readying themselves for a shift to remote learning. “As we had been preparing for the transition both emotionally and logistically, I found that my feelings were a mix of disappointment that we could not continue in our in-person mode, but confidence in our ability to optimize the experience for ourselves and our students,” said Brian Yager, head of school. School was originally scheduled to reopen

in April, but as the situation surrounding the pandemic developed, the question became how to effectively continue classes for the remainder of the year. Cases were increasing exponentially across the world, and shelter-in-place orders were being extended as the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus in the U.S. – and concerns – grew. “When I realized I would not be able to go to school for a while, I was devastated that I would not be able to see my friends, the campus and Harker staff,” said Elie Ahluwalia, grade 6. Reports that schools may shut down for much longer than originally anticipated worried fourth grader Aarya Vaidya, but she was heartened by how the community adapted. “What surprised me the most was

how everyone dealt with it, how everyone was ready and how the Harker community helped everyone,” she said.

Going Remote With a long history of delivering assignments and homework online, the transition to fully remote learning was relatively smooth. As closure loomed, teachers were briefed on how to conduct classes online via Zoom, a video conferencing platform that saw a massive surge in popularity. “The basic instruction about online teaching that was given just before school closed helped us get started,” Kadam said. After that, we were able to contact the [Learning, Innovation and Design] team and the administration for any clarifications.”

Preparation for the transition also became a community effort. “A friend and I started a document to compile Zoom links and other advice before the school closure in case we needed to transition to remote learning,” said eighth grader Kabir Ramzan. “The Harker community responded with overwhelming support, and when the school declared that we would be transitioning to remote learning, hundreds of students added links, answered questions and suggested what people could do when they were bored.”

Teachers quickly became savvy with Zoom sessions as the new default classroom, and though these online meetings were no replacement for in-person instruction, the limitations didn’t prevent teachers from turning their virtual classrooms into dynamic spaces. Working from home allowed lower school science teacher Shital Ashar to give a lesson on seed anatomy by making a salad from her kitchen, an activity her students happily also performed. Upper school dance teacher Rachelle Haun’s students enthusiastically recorded themselves dancing at home with stuffed animals or while doing chores. Preschool teacher Amanda Crook snail-mailed her students a likeness of herself she made using the website Bitmoji. She later received photos and videos of the parachutes and amusement park rides students had made for the miniature version of their teacher. “I am so touched and impressed how quickly teachers and the entire school regrouped and ensured that our kids continue to receive top quality education,” said Alina Gicqueau, mother

of Benjamin, grade 11, and Paulina, grade 9. “I am so grateful for our teachers’ and administration’s dedication and exemplary professionalism and helping us with maintaining normalcy and regular cadence of our children’s lives.” For their part, students also adapted well to the remote learning environment, organizing all manner of community events, which often leveraged the Zoom platform in clever ways. “With the help of so many dedicated leaders, my friends, and the administration, we’ve been able to pull off virtual elections, talent shows, movie nights, a mask drive, a check-in newspaper, Zoom background contests, a virtual road trip and so much more,” said senior Avi Gulati, who served as

upper school Associated Student Body president during the 2019-20 school year. Seizing on the internet trend of people posting the backgrounds they used in Zoom meetings, the upper school held its own Zoom background contest. Students even devised a way to move the twice-a-year Quadchella music festival to Zoom, playing recorded student performances for attendees. The remote format also had unexpected benefits, allowing for a greater diversity of talents to be showcased, including cooking and clothing design. “While being in quarantine has its limitations, it also forces us to think outside of the box with regards to having fun,” said Rani Sheth, grade 12. “I’ve had Netflix parties, danced to a Zumba video, and FaceTimed while doing workouts with my friends. It’s nowhere close to the norm, but looking back on it 10 years from now, those are memories that I will cherish.“ Ahluwalia and her friends even devised a way of meeting in-person, organizing what she called “trunk playdates,” during which they meet at a friend’s house and converse with one another from their parents’ cars. And in the lower school, beloved events such as the talent show and art show shifted online.

To Yager, the community’s response was impressive but far from shocking. “Nothing surprised me,” he said. “I knew

that the adults and students were ready and prepared to optimize the transition, and that we would approach the change with a determined attitude and professional approach befitting the Harker community.”

Leaning In, Reaching Out The community was spurred to action outside of school as well, as service efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up dramatically. There was a massive outpouring of support for medical workers, as families sent large caches of medical supplies to local hospitals and also produced homemade masks and 3D-printed face shields. Harker parent Virag Saksena (Riva, grade 12, and Anya, grade 8) even went so far as to convert his single-malt whisky distillery into a producer of hand sanitizer, which required getting approval from the Food and Drug Administration, itself a difficult task. Initiatives also were kicked off to help those affected by the pandemic. Recognizing the risk of displacement faced by many South Bay families, the upper school’s Associated Student

Body and Student Council organized a schoolwide donation drive that won praise from San Jose Mayor

Sam Liccardo and raised more than $11,000. Larissa Tyagi, grade 12, organized a blood drive to offset the American Red Cross’ massive blood shortage. The Student Council also joined the Medical Club and Key Club to deliver 640 homemade masks to the local homeless population through LifeMoves, a Bay Area-based organization that offers shelter, food and other services to people facing homelessness.

(For more stories on those contributing to the relief effort, visit Harker News and search “outreach.”)

Bittersweet Endings There remained, however, a sense of loss due to the cancellation of many yearly activities, including the particularly busy spring performing arts lineup and the end-of-year activities the senior class had been anticipating for years. “When school closed, my initial reaction was disappointment that I wouldn’t be able to partake in so many activities - trips, get-togethers, ceremonies,” said Sheth. “As a second-semester senior, I was looking forward to spending time with my friends and relishing my last bit of time at the upper school campus.” The Class of 2020 sadly did not get to experience its graduation exercises, but staples such as baccalaureate and the Senior Showcase went on, with videos created from submissions participants created at home, and launched for viewing at the time the events would

“COVID-19 tried to stop so many students from celebrating and commemorating aspects of the high school experience, but in the end, it couldn’t.”

– Avi Gulati, ASB president

have taken place. A heartfelt video, “Lights On for 2020,” was produced to help provide a fitting send-off to a class that thrived under the most extraordinary of circumstances. Other divisions also moved their traditions online, such as the middle school’s Student LID Vision Day, during which students gave talks on homemade inventions, performed music and showed off a virtual rendition of the middle school campus made in Minecraft. Lower school traditions such as the grade 5 promotion ceremony were compiled from individual recordings and released online, as was the grades 4 and 5 talent show. “COVID-19 tried to stop so many students from celebrating and commemorating aspects of the high school experience, but in the end, it couldn’t,” said Gulati. “We have a community of individuals whose primary goals are to make sure our students’ need and desire for shortand long-term intellectual growth and general well-being do not go unmet,” said Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs. “I knew we would rise to the occasion to achieve these goals.” As the coronavirus situation evolves, Yager has remained similarly confident about the community’s ability to adapt. “While the uncertainty of what we will be required and allowed to do as a school in the coming year makes it difficult to predict just how school will be modified next year, one thing is certain,” he said. “The Harker community of staff, students and parents will meet the challenge and exceed expectations.”

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sports

Photo by Nick Gassmann

The winter and spring seasons were the epitome of highs and lows, as winter saw historic finishes while spring was cut short before it could really get started. The boys varsity soccer team led the way in winter as it won the first CCS title in program history, advancing all the way to the NorCal finals. Girls soccer won its first league title since 2014. The middle school’s VB boys and girls basketball teams, as well as the lower school’s JVC girls basketball team, won league titles with their undefeated seasons. The spring season was only two weeks old when all extracurricular activities were shut down because of COVID-19. Several video tributes to our outstanding senior athletes have been posted on our social media pages. View them by using the #harkerathletics2020 hashtag on Instagram and Facebook!

impact

WORDS BY VIKKI BOWES-MOK PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CHADWICK MANNING ’04 UNLESS NOTED

Alumnus making an impact on the planet and on people through two different startups

Chadwick Manning ’04 is an entrepreneur working to solve big problems, from tackling global energy challenges to helping people quit vaping. He’s making an impact on the planet and on people – and he’s just getting started. Manning’s Harker journey began in elementary school, where he remembers learning about the stock market in Bill Boss’ fourth grade math class. Boss would give students paper money and teach them how to invest and then throw parties when the stock market hit 10,000. These joyful celebrations are one of Manning’s favorite Harker memories. He also fondly remembers his grade 5 teacher, Pat Walsh. “Chad was high energy, very positive and had what I love in a student: drive, enthusiasm and appreciation,” said Walsh, who is now retired. “He was respectful and often very humorous; he was hard not to like – a lot.”

Manning attended Harker from grades 3-8 before heading to Bellarmine College Preparatory. “One of things I appreciated most about Harker is that [teachers] really empowered us to be independent and curious,” said Manning. “They

Photo by Mark Kocina

encouraged us to ask questions, seek answers and take education into our own “When I realized hands.” that I’m really It’s an approach that Manning, good at taking a serial entrepreneur, has risks and getting taken throughout his life. people to believe While attending the University in crazy ideas, of San Diego, where he earned I never looked back.” his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting, Manning founded his first —Chadwick Manning ’04 startup – Torero Laundry Services, an on-campus pickup/drop-off laundry service. Although he got a taste of entrepreneurship, he decided to take a job at PricewaterhouseCoopers after college. “[Working at PwC] was an invaluable experience, because I learned about how companies were formed, how to read a term sheet and how to structure deals,” remembered Manning. “But to be honest, I hated it and after three years of too many 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. days, I realized I needed to make a change.” Manning left PwC to work for a couple of startups before starting ElectrIQ. As he saw the world become ever more reliant on technology, he realized that home batteries would become more essential and didn’t see anyone integrating batteries and a power source with intelligent software. He saw a business opportunity to create a smart home battery backup system to help consumers save on electricity costs and protect against blackouts. That’s when he created a two-page business plan

and asked a friend to introduce him to Jim Lovewell, an electrical engineer and mad scientist. The two raised $10 million in seed financing and ElectricIQ was launched.

“I was always interested in renewable energy,” said Manning. “So I decided to follow my dreams because I figured that you might as well fail at something you love than hate.” Manning was recognized for his work by Forbes “30 Under 30” list and also was named a Grist 50 honoree. Grist, which describes itself as an independent, irreverent news outlet, “scour[s] the sustainability space to find up-and-coming people doing potentially game-changing work,” according to its website. And life-changing work is happening all over the globe. In Haiti, ElectrIQ donated two systems to a school in Cité Solée in Port-au-Prince that allows more than 400 students to receive an education; in Puerto Rico, right after the hurricanes, the company donated another two systems that helped many families keep their power on. ElectrIQ is still going strong, but Manning left to pursue a new cause.

He had started vaping and wanted to quit, so this past March he launched Fluux, a digital health company, to help people moderate their usage and ultimately quit. “I love what I’m doing now because I always felt like a cog in a machine at larger companies,” said Manning. “It takes a lot of Photos (clockwise from upper left): Puerto Rico; Harker persistence and many failures Research Symposium; Haiti; before you find success, but when I realized that I’m really good at discussing solar power in Saudi Arabia; Free Electrons accelerator program, Lisbon; taking risks and getting people cover of Forbes, Oct. 2018; to believe in crazy ideas, I never looked back.” front page, San Francisco Business Times