When Pren Woods left the school building to go home for the weekend a few Fridays ago, he didn鈥檛 know that it would be the last time he would see his students in person for weeks.
Woods, a 7th grade teacher at Alston Middle School in Summerville, S.C., learned that Sunday that school wouldn鈥檛 be in session the following Monday, closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. His first thought: He had to get in touch with his students as soon as possible.
鈥淚 needed to call, or email and do a Zoom, and let them know that my heart was really breaking over the fact that I didn鈥檛 get to say bye to them,鈥� Woods said.
For Woods, his students鈥� wellbeing was his first concern, before he even started thinking about crafting online lessons. As school districts across the country rush to get remote learning up and running, Woods and many other teachers are still trying to figure out how to maintain the relationships with students that they鈥檝e worked all year to build. How can they maintain the classroom community without the physical classroom?
鈥淭his is a serious loss for both students and teachers,鈥� said Kathleen Minke, the executive director of the National Association of School Psychologists.
Teachers and students miss seeing each other every day. The rituals of school鈥攆rom mundane daily routines to milestone celebrations like prom and graduation鈥攈ave suddenly been struck from the calendar. Teachers worry about the challenges and inequities that their students will face when the supports that schools provide are that much harder to access.
鈥淲hen you experience those kinds of loss, it is perfectly reasonable, acceptable, and human to feel grief around that,鈥� Minke said.
In this new environment, schools and districts have tried to create some unique shared experiences, teachers driving their cars parade-style through students鈥� neighborhoods, creating 鈥渨e miss you鈥� montage videos, and organizing virtual spirit weeks. They鈥檙e also turning to smaller, ongoing ways to rebuild that community.
鈥淚 just felt like they needed to hear that we were going to be OK,鈥� Woods said, talking about why he emailed and called students in the days after closures were announced. 鈥淗ow you鈥檙e doing is my first consideration. We can figure out everything else later.鈥�
鈥楾hey Miss Each Other鈥�
For Emily Richley, a 5th grade teacher at Dennis Elementary School in Springboro, Ohio, closures also happened suddenly.
Teachers in her district found out on a Thursday afternoon a few weeks ago that school would be closed the following Monday. But the district had a teacher workday that Friday, so Richley knew that afternoon was the last time she鈥檇 see her students for a while.
鈥淲e said goodbye to them with them thinking it was going to be a normal goodbye, and us knowing we weren鈥檛 going to see them again,鈥� she said. Richley wanted her first message to her students and their families to reassure them.
鈥淚 recorded a video of myself just saying goodbye to the kids鈥攁nd hello to the parents鈥攁nd explained that it all had happened suddenly, and we were going to figure it out together,鈥� she said.
Video-chatting with students, being able to see their faces, has been important for building community, she said. She hosts chats on Google Meet throughout the week. It helps her connect with the kids, but also gives them a chance to see each other.
鈥淭hey miss each other,鈥� she said. Her 5th graders show each other their dogs or introduce the class to their siblings. 鈥淚n a way, it has made the community a little more personal, because we鈥檙e almost meeting in each other鈥檚 homes,鈥� she said.
Other teachers are using video chat to keep school traditions going virtually.
Kendra Klausing, another teacher in the same district as Richley, still had her 鈥渓ast Friday of the month鈥� lunch with some of her math students in March, after schools closed.
The tradition started earlier this year, when a few of her students in the period before lunch wanted to stay and chat. After the district switched to online learning, Klausing reached out to them. 鈥淚f you want to still do this, for normalcy in our lives, let鈥檚 do it,鈥� she remembers telling them.
On the last Friday of every month, Mrs. Klausing, Math teacher, eats lunch with students. She continued this tradition today!
鈥� Jon Franks (@Springboro_SJHS)
In some ways, the conversation was the same as it had been in the classroom. The students still talked about the work they were doing, and how their online classes were going. 鈥淏ut it was also nice to see how they鈥檝e been spending their time,鈥� Klausing said, now that they鈥檙e not in school.
Richley鈥檚 lucky, she says, that in the district, most students have devices and access to the internet.
鈥榃e Don鈥檛 Want Them to Feel Alone鈥�
For many teachers, finding low-tech ways to stay in touch is essential, in areas where students don鈥檛 have the same levels of internet connectivity.
鈥淲e talk about using technology, Zoom meetings, which are important and can be really helpful,鈥� said Minke. 鈥淏ut we have to keep in mind that not every child can experience that.鈥�
Some schools are turning to a reliable standby鈥攖he U.S. mail. Tanya Dawson, a STEM teacher in the Paulding County school district in Dallas, Ga., wrote 60 postcards to her students in three classes at Panter Elementary, along with other teachers at the school. She tried to write something different for each student, letting them know that she was thinking about them, and that they鈥檙e missed.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at ways we can connect with those kids,鈥� Dawson said. 鈥淎 lot of them, their parents are still going to work, and they鈥檙e home alone. We don鈥檛 want them to feel alone.鈥�
Another low-tech option: the telephone. When school is in session, Woods, the South Carolina teacher, sings to students in class for their birthdays. Over the past couple of weeks, he鈥檚 called a few to sing over the line.
鈥淲e need levity,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need humor.鈥�
Keeping these kinds of routines in place can also help students cope with the parts of their lives that are changing, Minke said.
鈥楾he Students I Worry About the Most鈥�
In the current environment, teachers said many students are feeling higher levels of worry and fear. Richley鈥檚 elementary schoolers have told her that they鈥檙e scared they鈥檙e going to get sick, or that their family members will.
She鈥檚 asked students to keep a journal of their time out of school, so they can write about what they鈥檙e doing and how they鈥檙e feeling. She reads the entries and sometimes writes back.
When kids are in this new situation, it鈥檚 important for them to reflect on what鈥檚 going on and 鈥渁ttach emotions to it,鈥� said Vicki Nishioka, a senior research adviser with the nonprofit group Education Northwest who studies teacher-student relationships.
Woods, in South Carolina, has also asked his students to write daily. The journals have helped him know when he has needed to contact parents, or the school psychologist, Woods said.
鈥淲hen a kid says, 鈥楳y mom doesn鈥檛 have a job and there are four of us, and she鈥檚 alone and I鈥檓 worried.鈥� That鈥檚 somebody I want to pick up the phone and call, and somebody鈥檚 mom I want to email,鈥� he said.
A school psychologist can be helpful when students start sharing difficult or painful feelings, Minke said. Some teachers may be trained in what鈥檚 known as psychological first aid鈥攁 way to assess if students are experiencing immediate and serious problems, she said. But if they鈥檙e not, they can reach out to school psychologists if they鈥檙e concerned for a student鈥檚 wellbeing.
The abrupt end of in-person classes might affect students in unexpected ways, said Nishioka. 鈥淪tudents who have thrived in a brick-and-mortar school might struggle in an online environment, or vice versa,鈥� she said.
鈥淭he students I worry about the most are those who don鈥檛 have a great deal of support at home, or don鈥檛 have a lot of options to think through when they鈥檙e problem solving,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ow will they access that help? How will they ask for it and get it?鈥�
鈥楾here鈥檚 No One Right Way to Do This鈥�
Woods has kept reaching out to students, telling them that he鈥檚 available if they need him, even if they鈥檝e said that they鈥檙e doing fine for now. But he also acknowledged that showing that availability and care will look different for different teachers.
鈥淭eachers can be so hard on themselves, like, 鈥極h, ... I鈥檓 not doing enough,鈥� he said. At his school, Woods says he鈥檚 known for his 鈥渢heatrics.鈥� But he knows that it鈥檚 not everyone鈥檚 style to call up students to sing happy birthday. Teachers should support students in the ways that feel natural for them, he said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no one right way to do this,鈥� said Minke, about building a school community virtually. 鈥淭eachers are figuring it out one step at a time, kids are figuring it out one step at a time, parents are figuring it out one step at a time.鈥�
The best thing that teachers can do is keep lines of communication open, she said. One option is a solutions-oriented approach: Teachers can ask students and parents what makes remote learning more manageable for them, and then keep doing what鈥檚 working while finding alternatives for what isn鈥檛, Minke said.
At this point, she said, no one has all the right answers. So instead, teachers can focus on asking the questions, she said: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 working, even a little bit? What made you feel a little bit better today?鈥�
