We are living through unprecedented times – times of fear, loss, and uncertainty. We are also experiencing moments of beauty and triumph as neighbors help neighbors and communities help communities. Here are user-submitted stories about Texans showing how they are handling the COVID-19 outbreak in their schools and communities.
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Poem by Jay L. Barrett: Into the Room (A COVID-19 Spring)
Jay L. Barrett
Principal, Amarillo Area Center for Advanced Learning (AACAL)
Raising School Leaders Alumnus
You walk into the room with measured steps of trepidation and longing.
This is your first time back.
Lights flicker and catch to reveal a bodiless void that is
your theater, your stadium, your arena.
When you left, you didn’t know what leaving meant;
Now you do.
You have never felt more alone.
The tear catches you by surprise,
rims the eye and courses down the cheek.
One meaningful drop.
Then others, impatient, like students lining up for recess.
You were made for more than an empty room.
Your entire essence has become a source of inspiration,
An electric stream of nuclear energy,
a power beyond explanation, beyond reason,
….A force from which others draw life.
Regret storms your soul for the inability to say goodbye,
To experience with them, at once
a communal closure and a bidding of good luck
for their next bold but tremulous step
on their journey into the world.
A goodbye that beckons a return
and a remembrance
and a look back at
where you’ve been
and at the ones who’ve shaped your life.
A goodbye that says “I’ve taught you, but you have taught me more.”
You want to tell them with,
….a look
….a gesture
….a handshake
….a hug–
….something:
“I’ve learned from you
….about life, about joy,
….about pain, about hope,
….about the inexplicable wonder that comes from engaging another human soul
….in a common experience that moves us both
….beyond ourselves and into the stream
….….of all humanity,
Together–
….Unique and quite the same.
Yes, we have taught each other, but you have taught me more.
I have laughed with you.
I have cried with you.
I have nurtured you, and
I have loved you more than my heart can hold.
And I have learned why I exist.”
Tears ungracefully hit the tiled floor with a splat
in the quiet emptiness of the lifeless room.
Like a soldier on reconnaissance, you search this battlefield for clues,
remembering life in it’s prior form.
Echoes of voices, active and full of life, delightfully haunt you
as you stare into the room.
Is this truly memento mori or could it be memento vitae, memento vivere!
Resolve gathers in you,
and the faces you see in the miasma of before
now bolster you, not to say goodbye but to say
“I am a part of you. Don’t forget.
I will always remember you.”
You take your place on the stage in this theater that is your home.
Into the room, you stride with purposeful steps
as you realize, not for the first time, but now with the maturity of knowing
That you are not merely a player strutting and fretting,
That what you do matters, what you do is important,
That this signifies
Everything.
Nothing is more important than this very moment you walk into the room.
A teacher creates “Flat Mr. Reséndiz” at Ridgetop Elementary in Austin ISD, Austin, TX
Luis Reséndiz, a first-grade teacher at Ridgetop Elementary in Austin ISD, who had been missing his students terribly found a sweet way to do what he missed most: making memories with his students.
Inspired by the story of Flat Stanley and the way it connects kids to the world around them, Mr. Reséndiz sent each of his students a flat version of himself that they could take pictures with while doing their favorite things.
Flat Mr. Reséndiz showed up on students’ doorsteps on April 30 to celebrate Día de los Niños. He had a few requests. Watch the video to hear about how Flat Mr. Reséndiz plans to be a part of his students’ daily lives!
Principal leads storytime at Red Bluff Elementary in Pasadena ISD, Pasadena, TX
Mrs. Hinton, principal of Red Bluff Elementary, was a guest reader recently during a Zoom call that was hosted by the pre-k teacher, Mr. Nance, for his students. The students come dressed for bed in their pajamas every night at 8:00 p.m. to hear a bedtime story. Mrs. Hinton dressed the part wearing her blue robe and pink rollers in her hair to read “I Know An Old Teacher.”
One book was just not enough for this group of eager listeners. “One more … One more …” they begged. Mrs. Hinton was prepared and had more books at her fingertips. It was a three-book night.
District meets remote learning challenges in Weslaco ISD, Weslaco, TX
Weslaco ISD, a South Texas border community, met the remote learning challenge in inspiring ways! The technology department coordinated software systems that make great things happen, sent out two rounds of Google Forms surveys to parents to determine needs, coordinated with librarians and technicians throughout the district to distribute 6,000+ Chromebooks and hotspots, and created and managed a Google Form for a helpdesk — all to make remote learning possible.
The real magic was the evidence of how teachers began to use technology to work more meaningfully with students, and how teachers were using the technology to build capacity with their colleagues. Through our “Lil Sis” management system campus administrators are able to observe remote learning classroom behaviors. This is where one of our principals shared a dynamic, student-centered Google Classroom experience back to the Technology Department. Technology can help administrators work more meaningfully with their teachers.
Blended learning campus shares COVID-19 experiences at East Pointe Elementary School in Ysleta ISD, El Paso, TX
We are a blended learning campus and have found that we have been able to use personalized learning with our students during COVID19. Teachers have made personalized lessons based on student data and social and emotional needs. Why would we give a one-size-fits-all curriculum to students when that’s what we haven’t been doing? Personalized menus have been created online through Google classroom. We are fortunate to have personalized devices for first through sixth-grade students. Students are now showing their parents about personalized menus. Teachers balance academics and our PE coaches were able to post differentiated PE lessons, too. We are excited and our parents have been very impressed and at ease with the process.
Administration team creates a virtual community at Warren High School in Northside ISD, San Antonio, TX
Valerie Sisk, principal of Warren High School and Raise Your Hand Texas alumni, has posted the best tweets ever during this time; they bring a smile to students, staff, and community members.
Thank you for the opportunity to shine the light on an administration team that carries students in their hearts and can put a smile on students’ faces, even while social distancing!
Seventh Grade Teacher: Relationships Are the Reason I Teach
I love reading and writing and sharing my passion with students, but that is not the main reason why I teach. I teach because of the relationships. I know what it’s like to be a kid who struggles to succeed in the classroom and feels like the world is crashing down around her at times. I always made honor roll, but it was HARD. Even in college it always took me at least twice as long to do my work as other students, so I sympathize with students when they struggle, regardless of their grades. I especially empathize with them when it comes to their personal struggles outside of school. I can’t even express how much I miss my 7th graders during this unprecedented time right now.
Teachers make a difference every day, and oftentimes we have no idea that we even made a difference in a kid’s life unless we hear from them years later. We make a difference by loving them, accepting them, and being more than willing to help them with anything. We notice even the most subtle signs that something is wrong, which we can’t do as easily right now. We celebrate their successes with them, and no achievement is small. I work in a school that recruits students who need extra support because those are the kids that need me the most, and I understand them better based on my own experiences at their age.
I have been able to uphold my relationships with students during this time through email, Google Voice, and Zoom. I get daily emails, texts, and phone calls from students who have questions about their work. I also reach out to them when I have concerns or want to tell them how well they are doing and to keep up the good work. I also express my concerns and praises to parents. My relationships with many parents have soared during this time when regular communication is crucial; students really appreciate it when I not only praise them when they do well but inform their parents as well. When communicating with students, I always ask them how they’re doing in addition to discussing questions or concerns about their online coursework.
I have weekly Zoom meetings during which students can join to boost their grades by participating in online discussions about academic content. They know that they can always count on me to be on Zoom every Wednesday at noon, and they can schedule additional or different times if they want. Zoom is a fun way to maintain relationships because we can actually see each other and I make it entertaining by doing such things as showing our pets to one another, using funny voices, and making silly faces. We all miss the classroom so much, but we try to fill the void as best we can with a variety of virtual tools. I will always have a special bond with this group of students because we have gone through this unusual hardship together.
We'd love to hear from you!
We’re looking for stories from students, teachers, and school leaders about your experiences, challenges, and strategies you think might benefit others. Please share your perspectives and let us know how you’re approaching and responding to the current situation. And know that you are not alone in these struggles. We thank you, we honor you, and we want you to know we are cheering you on.