Teachers practice flexibility as they prepare for classes
With uncertainty looming over normal back-to-school planning, teachers are preparing themselves for a potential return to the classroom in ways like never before. Most school districts haven’t finalized their plans and are offering multiple scenarios for the year, causing teachers to tread uncharted territory.
Janet Zak, a Minadeo Elementary School teacher in Squirrel Hill, slowly is stockpiling supplies for her classroom. In a normal year, Ms. Zak said school resources run short, so teachers often ask parents for help. But she doesn’t want to rely on the parents this year because some are likely to have their children learn remotely.
“When I see [supplies], I grab one to two. I [figure] by the beginning of the year, I’ll have a little saved up,” Ms. Zak said. “I would rather be prepared than short on supplies.”
She’s added new items to her shopping list, including face masks and any cleaning supplies she can find. Scrubs may be another addition to her backto-school shopping, a decision Ms. Zak said many teachers are contemplating to protect their families.
Mostly, though, Ms. Zak is trying not to think of all the possibilities for the first day of school to avoid overwhelming herself. In the meantime, she’s been preparing her classes like normal with a dash of online learning as she becomes familiar with the program her school may utilize for remote teaching.
“My plans are to follow what we were doing in the past. Regardless of how we are doing it, we still need to prepare [the students],” Ms. Zak said.
Nicole Darroch is a STEAM teacher in Ambridge Area School District in Beaver County and has used her summer to attend virtual workshops and conferences for tools and advice on how to plan for the school year. Ms. Darroch said teachers have been working on preparation more than usual this summer. STEAM refers to science, technology, engineering, arts and math.
In STEAM, Ms. Darroch handles objects that pass through every student in the school during hands-on activities. She can’t use her normal Legos and robots for teaching, so she’s looking into virtual programs recommended by teachers across the country.
Through her research, she’s hoping to find something that works better than the tools she had before.
“I think out of any challenge arises some level of innovation and I think that’s what we’re
seeing in education right now,” Ms. Darroch said.
Melissa Brant, an elementary school teacher in Central Greene School District, Greene County, also has been researching how to best prepare for the year. Ms. Brant said she’s searched Pinterest for new classroom ideas and has exchanged plans with teachers on Facebook.
“We really didn’t know how to plan, because normally through the summer your head is in the game in August,” Ms. Brant said. “But for this school year, there are so many unknowns and there are still so many unknowns.”
Ultimately, Ms. Brant has decided not to make any plans concrete until the days leading up to the beginning of the year. She works frequently with other first grade teachers, though Ms. Brant said county or state regulations could change at any time and could alter any final decisions she makes.
Nonetheless, Ms. Brant said she is confident the buffer of planning days will offer more stability for the year than this past spring. She said “the unknown is more known” this time around.
“That was an emergency we were not prepared for.
We are prepared for this time,” she said. “I just hope that parents give us the chance to prove it.”
But the scope for planning still may be a little too broad for teachers to provide a quality education. Nina Esposito-Visgiti, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, said a smaller lens would allow teachers to better prepare for their students. Ms. Zak agreed the various scenarios can be hard to keep up with, and hopes for the state to make a final decision for every district in the commonwealth to avoid further anxiety.
“We have a month to go; tell them what they’re going to do and do it. Give them the chance to prepare,” Ms. Esposito-Visgiti said. “They’re focused, but they need to have a focus.”
Ms. Esposito-Visgiti said teachers are under a lot of stress to “be prepared for anything.” She worries the pandemic and the stress that comes with it could drive more teachers out of the profession, citing a nationwide teacher shortage in recent years.
Chris Lilienthal, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said teacher shortages have slowly increased in the state, but can’t be attributed to the pandemic because they were happening well before March. Mr. Lilienthal said schools should be concerned about substitute teacher shortages with many likely worried about putting themselves at risk.
Despite the uncertainty, many teachers throughout the region seem to be up to the test no matter what they might face.
Kevin Chitester, the Advanced Placement government teacher at Norwin High School, keeps in regular contact with the district’s superintendent, who advised him to “prepare for everything.” The warning has caused some teachers to feel unsteady, knowing plans could change multiple times, but Mr. Chitester is staying optimistic for the sake of his students.
“Teachers are used to having to adapt and deal with fire drills at school or students being absent or weather problems in the winter. We’re used to all kinds of things,” Mr. Chitester said.
“Everybody worked hard [in the spring], and they figured out a way, under the circumstances, to deliver the same education we always do.”