coronavirus

Flexibility is Key

I am guessing that most of you have been struggling a bit lately with your work day.  The coronavirus has changed my typical work day in many ways.  I’ve been in education for 30 years, and I have never experienced anything like what is happening now.

Most school districts have been closed.  We have just finished week 6, and North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, has said that public schools will be closed for the remainder of the year.

My second week of school closure looked very different from my first week.  Lots of staff – teachers and others – were around on campuses during the first week of closure.  The second and third week saw only critical staff on the grounds.  By week four some of the critical staff, myself included, were placed on a critical on-call list.  Most of my work since then has been completed remotely.

Teachers’ New Work Day

In many cases, teachers are working remotely.  But what does that mean really?

Some teachers are:

• teaching virtually
• completing online professional development
• developing hard copy packets of activities
• making calls home for welfare checks

District Administrators’ Work Day

Though our buildings are quieter now, the experience is not like summer break.  Not all.

But for central office administrators, our tasks have been different.  It’s true that some of us have been able to work remotely.  But many of us are still in our buildings, but tasks have changed.

Some of the tasks that I (and I suspect other district administrators) have been completing lately include

• updating crisis management plans to include a pandemic section
• determining the best way to ensure continuity of learning (is virtual learning an option?)
• developing a food distribution program so that students continue to receive nutritious lunches and breakfasts.
• drafting memos to staff
• participating in too many conference calls and virtual meetings

I have published two articles on Medium about what I have been experiencing these past two or three weeks.  Check out Surviving the First Week of School Closure to see how the first week played out for me.

In Work You Can Be Proud of, I explored some of the positive things that I experienced during this tough time.  As uncertain as this time is, I have found some things that I am grateful for.

What are some of the positive things you have experienced during this unsettling time?