The World Turned Upside Down

Yes, I am a huge fan of the Broadway musical, Hamilton. Even so, I think the title of my column today is appropriate. I wanted to take some time and consider all that has changed in the last week, and to share some reflections on what has been going on behind the scenes. Hopefully this will provide some solace that we have great people in our school district who are working very hard to keep us safe and moving forward. These folks are doing everything in their power to meet your needs.

So where to start? I suppose March 3rd is as good a place as any. That is when I first posted about the Coronavirus. My comments were centered around the theme that at the time, our most pressing concern was prevention of influenza. In that post, I provided copies of our communicable disease policy and gave tips on preventative measures such as covering your cough and washing your hands. The very next day, I attended a meeting at Central Rivers AEA with hundreds of other administrators and educators from around the Cedar Valley where we heard from Hamish Brewer, a motivational speaker and principal from an urban school district who is well known for his ability to turn around failing schools. In spite of that post, a global pandemic was the furthest thing from my mind. 

A week later, things began to change. Across the nation, cases were beginning to pop up on each coast. At that time, Washington state was being impacted pretty heavily and foreign travel was being discouraged by the state department. We were planning a trip for our music department to New York City, but were being advised to still go (and that cancelling would result in all our participants losing their money). The first signal that things might be changing for us was when the Iowa Board of Regents announced they would be moving to online classes for a period of two weeks following spring break. County superintendents then collaborated to share that we were following the advice of the health department; and that we had no plans to close. We even issued a press release that was jointly authored by the group. All schools in the area who also planned trips for their students over spring break would go on as scheduled. I met with the faculty and staff the afternoon of March 11th to reassure everyone and to reiterate the fact that we would proceed as normal and follow the recommendations of the health department. Our trip would go on; in fact they were leaving that very afternoon. I wished everyone a fun and relaxing spring break and moved on with my afternoon. 

Late the next afternoon the ground shifted again when I was informed Broadway would go dark at 5:00 EST. I immediately called Mrs. Davis who was on the bus with the kids on their way to New York. She heard this news for the first time when I told her, and they were a mere 30 minutes from Manhattan. I asked her to get to the hotel, circle the chaperones and let them know what was going on. We were going to have to make plans to return earlier than anticipated. When that was was yet to be determined and we needed to work closely with the tour company so our families would be able to get refunds. Ultimately we decided they would leave late the next afternoon after rescheduling some of their attractions. At least they would get something out of the trip. Then the ground shifted again. At 11:00 that evening I got a text that the museums they were scheduled to visit would now close. The next day the group would visit the Statue of Liberty and then head for home. We would keep in close contact until the students ultimately arrived home mid-morning Saturday, March 14.

Meanwhile, Friday, March 13 marked the unofficial beginning of spring break for Hudson. Since we had parent teacher conferences that week, Friday was a day off for teachers. I was in the office that day preparing for all the projects that we had planned to get taken care of over spring break. Whenever we have the students out of the buildings, we are able to 'make a lot of hay' and this was going to be no different. Then the wheels started to come off.   The weekend proved to be incredibly busy and difficult to keep up with an ever changing landscape. On the phone, via text, and answering emails; what would the next week bring? Then Sunday night came. We started hearing rumors the governor was going to recommend school closures, but we didn't have any details. The fact is, we found out about the recommendation to close for four weeks the same time everyone else did. Even though we were on spring break this last week, we immediately decided to comply. 

One quick sidebar here: There has been some criticism from people who were angry the governor didn't mandate all schools close. The reason she didn't is because she can't. Iowa law does not grant the Governor of Iowa the authority to mandate a statewide school closure. Those decisions are under the complete jurisdiction of local authorities. Nevertheless, you can be assured when the Governor of Iowa makes a recommendation we are going to comply. 

The week we are now ending; spring break, was as busy or busier than any week of regular instruction. I was forced to recall all essential personnel from their vacations. No questions asked, they showed up and were willing to do whatever was necessary. We have been meeting remotely and in person only when absolutely necessary. On Monday (March 23) the Board of Directors will meet and enact emergency resolutions that will enable us to keep our operation running and then we will begin the process of moving to remote operations.

Our educators are eager to connect with your children. They have been contacting us all week to offer suggestions, volunteer to come in to help out, and preparing to move out of their comfort zones into an online environment. Some of what we try will work great. Other things may not pan out. But, our educators are willing to give this a try and are going to work very hard to meet the needs of our students. Meal service will even resume on Monday and you can sign up here. 

The world may be turned upside down (right now at least); but we'll get through this. Essential operations continue, our custodians are working hard cleaning our buildings and our construction project is moving forward. Hang in there Pirate Nation! Everything will work out. Let us know if you need anything at all. We are here to be of service.