We Do What Needs To Be Done

The past ten days have been pretty crazy. The state of Utah decided (which I agree with) to put the entire education system in a soft dismissal. This means tens of thousands of students are working through school at home. Our district has 55,000 students, the school I help lead has 1156, and the house that I help run has 6.

We have asked teachers to do hard things; we have asked them to go well beyond their comfort level. We have asked them to do in two days, which usually may have taken a couple of weeks. We have asked many things from our teachers, and in my case, they are rising to the occasion.

We have asked parents and students to be patient as we embark on this new journey with us. Our parents have been grateful and kind as they figure out how to provide for their kids through this historic time.  One of our roles as a public school is at times and when needed to taken care of our student’s basic needs. This means hygiene kits, meals on wheels, principal’s pantries, daycare, laundry, and other essential services.

When schools close, schools don’t really close. Today was a perfect example of that. We had 45 teachers working on lesson plans; we had custodians deep cleaning classrooms and common areas. We had bus drivers wiping down desks, classroom aides organizing book closets, and thinning the library. IT personnel were updating computers for checkout, substitute teachers helped check out laptops to students, and secretaries answering phone calls and questions. Classroom aides were running copies and scanning documents, sweepers running their regular routes, and three administrators trying to make sense of it all for everyone.

Ultimately, as educators, we do two things. First, we do what needs to be done. Second, we do what is best for kids.

Today we wore many hats, but at one moment the principal and I were wiping down laptops to make sure they were clean and ready for checkout. It was unspoken and never discussed later, but at that moment, we both knew this was well below our education level, and we could have let someone else do it. But, it had to be done, and at that moment was what was best for kids.

There are thousands of school districts across the country doing similar things. As I reflect on today, I am proud to call myself an educator because of the type of people I get to work with daily. People that care. People that do what needs to be done and people that do what is best for kids.