Editor’s Note: The following is a reflection by Sycamore superintendent of schools Steve Wilder on the district’s experience throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Daily Chronicle issued prompts to local leaders inviting them reflect on the one-year mark of the pandemic locally.
From the K-12 perspective, the last year has been one challenge after another.
Schools have long been a foundation in every community. Students can normally count on attending school daily, and parents’ daily schedule usually revolves around getting students to school, picking them up, concerts, games, homework and other events. Of course, the last year has been anything but normal and for a long time the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” eluded us. That light now appears to be getting closer each day which gives us a chance to reflect on our experiences living through the pandemic.
The first lesson COVID-19 taught me was to expect the unexpected. Educators have always excelled at being flexible – adjusting lesson plans based on how students grasped the material, responding to unexpected interruptions such as emergency drills or disruptive behavior. But we’ve never had to completely rethink how schools operated.
In addition, the landscape seemed to change almost daily. Revised safety guidance, closures that were extended, and peaks in COVID-19 health metrics forced us to constantly be on our toes beyond what we’d ever done before. I think we are all ready for the “normal” interruptions and not the constant upheaval that has been challenging in so many ways.
During the constant upheaval, schools faced more intense scrutiny than ever before – and for good reason. After all, everyone wants the best for our students.
Through it all I have been reminded of the importance of listening – to ideas, suggestions, support and even criticism. It all helped to either reinforce what we were doing, help us see a different perspective, or change direction. Listening and being open to different perspectives has been especially critical over the last year; we wouldn’t be where we are without it. And this is really a lesson for all of us. Our schools, our community, and our democratic society functions so much more effectively when we take time to listen. And it’s ok to disagree!
But in the end, sometimes we have to agree to disagree in order to move forward together.
The final lesson COVID-19 has taught us is compassion. We often don’t know what our friends, neighbors, and even our family members are going through every day. We deal with illness, financial hardship, mental and emotional trauma, loss of a job, and even death. COVID-19 seemed to amplify all of those difficulties, perhaps because we were more isolated from each other. And schools were not immune. Both our staff and our students experienced them. But, time and time again, I witnessed people reacting with compassion, generosity, understanding and sometimes just a shoulder to lean on.
I wouldn’t say my faith in humanity was restored during the pandemic because I’ve always had that. But, the pandemic has sure given us a stage to witness compassion firsthand and to be extra thankful for those around us.
I would be remiss if I didn’t take time to publicly thank the staff in our school district, and in schools around the world. The decisions that had to be made may not have been popular, but I couldn’t be more proud of how our entire staff was “all in” throughout the last year. Remote learning wasn’t easy, and our “parallel” hybrid model has been challenging, but our staff was flexible and made the best of it.
As an educator, I view every experience as an opportunity to learn. I hope we don’t forget these, or the many other lessons that COVID-19 has taught us. I’m grateful for having the opportunity to reflect on my experiences and I encourage you to do the same. We all know that life will continue to be full of challenges in the future, and the pandemic isn’t behind us yet. But by remaining vigilant in following the recommended safety protocols, we get closer to that light at the end of the tunnel every day. And when the pandemic is over, we’ll continue facing any other challenges that come our way together.
Steve Wilder is the superintendent for the Sycamore School District 427.