We are in our final weeks of this crazy pandemic impacted school year. I was the first to raise both hands, get my vaccine and jump into the classroom as soon as possible. I am not returning to anything that remotely looks or feels like pre-pandemic schooling. We have slowly come back to campus, with small groups of teachers and students creating small working cohorts, trying on what it will look like in the fall. In my experience, we are still primarily in digital mode. Students in my cohort participate in the online course simultaneously with the students still working from home. My role is to support them as they navigate their courses, answer questions and observe what is working in digital format and what we need to change. It is the ultimate in teacher researching, getting to be part of the evaluation of what’s working so we can build forward. I am getting to view instruction from the student lens, and I am learning a lot. I am working primarily with two sets of students, freshmen who have never set foot on our campus until now, and our seniors who are either online or coming on-site for extra support to complete their final high school and college courses. As this school year comes to a close in the next few weeks, it is still what it always is, building and supporting relationships. It is about building relationships with those students who will be returning to campus in the fall, and supporting and celebrating the senior class that has made the most of their last year in high school. Rather than counting down to the end of the year, we are using this time to leap forward.
One thing that remains constant in the spring with seniors is the discussion of future plans. Our site has been wonderful in supporting students with the college application process, FAFSA, and community college bridge programs and internships. I work with students with a variety of goals and aspirations. I have a group who will join the workforce right after high school, I have several who will be heading to community college. But there are many who took the leap this past fall and applied for four-year universities. I had the honor and privilege of working with Karla this past fall in writing her application essays and helping her navigate the college entrance applications. She wrote essays for college and for scholarships. We learned together how to apply for fee waivers, and I spent many evenings just listening as she shared her fears, her hopes, and the realities of being the first in your family to apply for college. Although we were distance learning during college application season, there were still many opportunities for individual tutoring, Zoom calls, and shared documents. There was an ongoing communication and support process through the power of technology, and I was able to coach her in a more personal way than perhaps I would have if we were on-site together. Again silver linings in the storm of COVID life.
So I received an amazing text a few weeks ago from Karla, that she had committed to Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo. This was amazing for a variety of reasons, mostly because that university was never on her original radar. But in working with our college knowledge team, and our coaching time, she was able to explore more options and take the risks to apply more broadly. She received financial aid and scholarships directly from the university that allows her to go away for the first time in her life, the first in her family to attend a four-year university. So in thinking of what our students need from us right now, they need to know they are strong, they are supported, and they can still fly if they are brave enough to try. Congratulations Karla! And when you graduate this June whether in person or not, I will be right there with you to celebrate loud and proud!
