I am ten years into administration and suddenly experiencing a great big first. Just like the rest of you. I cannot imagine if I were a first year Principal this year. They didn't cover the "Pandemic Principalship" in grad school.
I think the hardest thing for me is that every 2-3 days, life changes. First, school was cancelled for students. Then the cancellation was extended. Then we had to figure out food delivery and online learning. You get the gist. I gulp every time I see there's a press conference at 4:00. It's like, what now?
I'd say every 3-4 days I have a complete emotional breakdown. My heart cannot take the constant changes and fear of the unknown. And as a parent, I have to be strong for my children. I don't want them to feel fear. I want them to know the truth and be cautious but not afraid. As a Principal, I have to be strong for my staff and community. I'm having a hard time being strong for myself. April 1 was my complete breaking point. I haven't figured out why. I mean, there are things that happened that day but nothing more than normal. It started with a ZOOM meeting with my leadership team. As soon as I started talking about end of year awards and graduation I lost it.
Like all of you, I am so sad thinking of all the things our students are missing. I'm not sad about EOGs and IStation ending, so there's that. However, I am sad about the cancellation of kindergarten screening, a bunch of fun field trips, recognizing our students for their achievements in an end of year award ceremony, conducting Kindergarten and then 5th grade graduation. I have been looking forward to this particular graduation for a long time. These 5th graders started at my school when I started. I wanted to see them off to middle school. Sometimes I feel selfish for feeling sad. I can't imagine how the kids feel. Especially high school Seniors.
Emotions come and go for us all. Mine have run the gammot from anger to fear to sadness to anxiety to relief to excitement to happiness - and sometimes I experience all emotions in one day. I'm extremely thankful to have social media in times like this because schools across the country are sharing what they're doing to stay positive and support their communities during this time. Our school has opted to copy a lot of these ideas and I'm so thankful we could.
I wanted to compile a list of sorts to share ideas with all of you. Some of these ideas may have been ours but most probably were a combination of other people's ideas molded to best fit our community. God forbid 10 years from now we are in this exact position again, but if we are, it's my hope that this is a place to come back to for inspiration.
- Teacher parade - 85% of our staff cruised through a total of 10 large neighborhoods to support, wave, squeal and honk. Our cars were decorated and all. At the last neighborhood we pulled up to, a police escort was there to surprise us. It was one of the most emotional and memorable days in my career.
- Student parade - We have this planned for teacher appreciation week. Our staff will gather around our car line loop (of course, standing 6' apart) while the students and their families parade around our loop much like we did for them!
- Teacher packets - I created a packet for each teacher and delivered these to their homes one weekend. I wore gloves while putting the packets together, and sanitizer was used before and after each packet drop-off. Packets contained: A cover note, a $10 gift card to Marco's pizza from our PTO, a quarantine virtual scavenger hunt, a crossword puzzle about our staff, and a Hershey's hug and kiss.
- A fun staff ZOOM - One of my teachers did a humorous read aloud for our staff. Teachers were warned that if they joined, they had to have a sense of humor. There was absolutely no work talk on this call, and it was led by their colleague and not boss.
- Live daily morning broadcast - Three to four of my staff come to school each morning and do a live morning broadcast. We do weather, birthdays, school news, the pledge and a moment of silence, and end with a big dance party. Families tune in at 8:15 and love that it starts their day with a bit of routine.
- Principal ZOOM lunch dates - So far, I've done this with three of my six grade levels. I give the ZOOM code to the parents of students who ask for it only. And I only let those students from that grade level into the meeting. I talk to them for a few minutes, then send them on a 30 minute hunt for something (K: something special to share, 5th: something red, 3rd: something you've created) to share. I unmute student by student for them to share, then I ask them a question like 1) How are you showing kindness at home? 2) What do you appreciate about your parents right now? or 3) Share a joke or funny story.
- GetSway App - Download it, trust me! I posted a video of me and am working on some of my staff. The dancing videos are a hit and brings smiles to many faces.
- Virtual Spirit Week - Post the schedule for the week and encourage families to participate at home. For example, if Monday is pajama day, we wore pajamas on our morning broadcast and asked families to post a pic of their pajama day in the comments.
- Drive Thru Luncheon - This is, again, for teacher appreciation week. We usually have this big deal teacher luncheon and obviously that can't happen. So instead, PTO is putting together boxed lunches from a local restaurant. Teachers can drive through the car line to pick up their lunch.
- A Yard Sign Surprise - This is "in process" for me. I've designed yard signs and ordered them. I'm waiting on their arrival. They say something like: A {my school} Hero Works Here. The PTO board is going to help me deliver them, placing them at the end of each staff member's driveway one evening.
- Monday Messages - On Sunday nights, I use Screencastify to record a "Monday Message" to send to my staff. I do it from my house and usually have no makeup on and my hair is a hot mess. But it's reality. I don't script anything, just talk. I want them to know I'm still here, I'm experiencing similar emotions, but that I'm not inundating them with ZOOM meetings or required PD.
- "Cardboard Testimony" pictures/video - This is something our district is putting together, but each staff member created a cardboard testimony that provides words of wisdom to support students and encourage parents. They're going to turn it into a video to post on the district's website.
- Your turn! I know there are so many more ideas! Can you comment below and share a few more?
One thing I've been telling my children is that this is their first "moment in history" they'll remember and share. My first that I remember is 9-11. I know where I was, and will never forget it. My oldest will one day be able to say that during the Pandemic of 2020 he was in second grade. It will probably end up being an amazing memory for him, because he is home with his entire family all day. We play games, read books, watch movies. That's what I have to remind myself of. This too shall pass. One day soon, the staff will come back and so will the students. Things will never be "the same" but we will adjust to a new normal.
