PUTTING ON NEW SHOES In the aftermath of COVID-19 school closures and uncharted territory for educators and students, education support professionals (ESPs) are taking on brand-new challenges this fall. BY MILANA GRANT • PHOTOS BY THOMAS PATTERSON
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ne year ago, a typical workday in the life of Title I Reading Specialist Laura Warren looked like this: Six students at a time would file into her classroom, stop at the taped line in front of her workstation, and wait for their turn to be seated at the crescent-shaped table, where they would spend 30 minutes working on phonics lessons with their beloved Mrs. Warren. They would use magnetic letter tablets to build words together, sand boxes for letter recognition, and animal puppets to learn letter sounds. These tools are all part of Warren’s multi-sensory approach to remedial literacy at Lebanon’s Riverview Elementary School. On March 13, Oregon schools were abruptly shuttered to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Warren’s students went home that Friday afternoon, and that’s the last time she saw them in person.
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TODAY’S OEA | FALL/WINTER 2020
