01/23/2021
Greetings Northwest Community,
I hope this Facebook message finds you and your families healthy. Below is a message that the Northwest Association read and provided to the schoolboard. In the letter, it details what was our hopes for the next mode of education. We know that these are difficult times filled with an abnormal form of education or even many forms/phases of education. We also know that these are concerning times with the virus spreading, children learning from home, parents concerned with their children in a classroom setting, and parents wanting their kids in school instead of home. There are many issues, woes, struggles, and sadness.
MESSAGE:
Mr. Long, The Board of Directors, and Members of the Northwest Community,
Good evening, I hope this greets you with good health and spirits. The following is a statement from the Northwest Area Education Association on the reopening of schools in the District. We hope that you take the time to read, discuss, and allow us to be a part of the reopening plans:
We have been here since the beginning of the pandemic on March 13, 2020, and have followed the directives of different state agencies, federal agencies, and medical professionals diligently in the hopes that we could weather the storm that the Coronavirus pandemic brought to our homes. We made every effort, over the past year, to create the most opportune learning environment for every student and adapted each learning concern and need we encountered. We worked alongside the Board of Directors in changing start times for teachers to accommodate bussing for students. We modified and adjusted lessons to meet the needs of all students. We gathered and printed out material to be mailed to student’s homes, and with minimal training we became content creators and recorded lessons to teach students. We packed food for those in need, and gave the senior class of 2020 the most normal send-off we could in these difficult times. We tried to be the best we could be in the worst of situations all while trying to bring a smile to kids who did not have one.
Yes, we want students in front of us. We have watched virtual education unfold, we have learned that cyber schools do not work, and real teachers and kids interacting is the key to a fair and free education. Just last week, teachers and administrators came together to plan the return of students in a phased-in mode as a way to buy us time until teachers and staff could get vaccinated. That is what we are asking for from the community and the Board. Time. Is the hybrid mode of education the best way to go? No. We know the faults of this model, but it is better than where we were nine months ago. If we can get more time to get vaccinated we can develop a plan for a full return to the school that involves all of the Northwest family. We can work together to overcome, and to create a positive learning impact on each child. It would be our want to meet with parents along with administrators to develop a true community plan of education and safe return.
Believe us, we want your kids here, but we also have families and loved ones we care for that are going through the same mental anguishes you are: our kids are at home, our fear of bringing home this virus is real, and living in the virtual world has created more stressors than common core math. But there are many unanswered questions that parents and educators alike have that need to be addressed by all involved. Please, let us plan and address the tribulations of reopening what we know to exist in the classroom now and prepare as best we can for the unforeseeable hiccups that are to come when we open.
It is our faith in education that has brought us here. We believe we are going to turn a corner soon. Our school nurse has worked day and night to get a clinic to come to the schools to administer the vaccine so we can reopen safely. The unknowns of the virus morphing into new strains and the host of post-sickness symptoms is concerning for all. We hope a vaccine clinic in the district can be done soon, though we know, as medical experts warn us: it will get worse before it gets better.
In closing, we ask that you allow us time to prepare for the reopening of schools so that it is done right. That we look at every aspect of reopening, from making up lost ground in the classroom to HVAC systems in each school. Do not rush this decision, we understand your frustration and hold them with us. Please know that we are trying every day and night to create a positive learning environment for each of our students.
Thank you,
The Northwest Area Education Association Executive Council
