Professional Title: Assistant Principal
Class Year: 2000
Major: Business Education
Location: Charlotte, NC
Education Experience: 18 years
Please share your experience working with students during the pandemic?
People often forget that educators are people with families and loved ones. The reason why is because teachers make everything look so easy. However, there is fear, uncertainty, and anxiety that comes with teaching even under normal circumstances. Then when you add the pandemic into the mix teaching seems to become an unmanageable situation. But guess what? The teachers still maintain. Better yet, they excel! I’ve had teachers stay strong for their students and their families. At the end of the day, they call me to talk about the frustrations of the day. They are trying to balance taking care of their kids at home and their kids on-line. They are pulled in both directions on a daily basis. If they focus on one more than the other then someone suffers. Educators are often forced to choose either staying late to grade papers after work or to go home early to spend time with their kids. Now, the situation has amplified because many teachers are in the house with their kids, but the focus is still on other people’s kids. Teachers aren’t allowed to make mistakes in the eyes of parents. They are rarely given any grace.
My role as an assistant principal is to be that support system, that listening ear, and that advocate for teachers. They do so much with very little thanks. I want to thank the teachers for the sacrifices they make daily while teaching remotely. It doesn’t go unnoticed. While the teachers are struggling so our students. I’m the 8th-grade Assistant Principal at South Charlotte School. 8th grade is such a crucial year for students because they are preparing for high school. And right now students are missing out on social activities such as clubs and sports that give them the confidence to move throughout this world with their heads held high. We are doing our best to cultivate relationships and check-in with students to make sure that they are doing ok. Many of them are home alone while their parents work. The only adults they see throughout the day are their teachers online. I see my role as an administrator right now as one who figures out what teachers, students, and parents need and work towards finding that solution. Honestly, right now I am stuck. I know what they need, but there is no “good” solution. The good news is that we are in this together. I have so many sweet stories I could share of teachers and parents and how they are leaning on each other right now. We will get through this together!
What advice would you give to people during this pandemic?
The best thing that we can do for each other is to give each other grace. Give the teachers grace for not being perfect. Give the students grace for not being perfect. And give parents grace for not being perfect. The one thing that my 8th-grade teachers and I do every week before we officially start our meeting starts with the good stuff. Teachers have an opportunity to shout out students who aced a test or coworkers who shared a technology tip that helped. Last week a teacher said that a student asked if she could stay behind and talk to her after class. The teacher thought it was about an upcoming test. The student just wanted to ask the teacher how she was doing. She said the teacher always asks how the students are, but students never ask how the teacher is doing. This made the teacher’s day. The student is right. People rarely ask. Because of this I’ve made it my goal to do regular check-ins with teachers. They all have my number and can call anytime. I’m currently handwriting thank you notes to each of them. The best thing we can do for each other right now is to show grace and to say thank you a little more. We all deserve a little more grace and thank yours’ in our lives right now.