One Year Ago Today

One year ago today I posted my first blog article about COVID-19. We were still five days from the first cases even being reported in Iowa. The point of that article was benign. It included the usual talking points that would normally be mentioned during a typical cold/flu season. You know, the ones that are relatively common in Iowa during late winter/early spring: wash your hands and cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. A week later, the regent universities announced they would be extending spring break and moving their coursework online. Following that announcement, superintendents in Black Hawk County released our own statement underscoring our plan to remain in person and assuring the community that our intent was to continue normalized operations for the foreseeable future. Of course that didn't happen. Nevertheless, we finished out parent teacher conferences that week, our music department headed for New York City, and we all prepared to enjoy a relaxing spring break. If you recall, we had experienced a relatively mild winter with few snow days (which meant no breaks), so everyone was very much looking forward to the time away. But by Sunday evening, we had recalled the music department (as they skyline of New York City was coming into view) and the governor had requested schools across the state close for the next four weeks.

That first article was really an after thought. I mean, the cases currently being reported were in Seattle, Washington: more than 1,500 miles away! I was also thinking that our timing was going to be pretty good for-what to this point I didn't think was going to be all that big of a deal. I figured, lets get everyone out of here and away from one another for a week of spring break. We'll have an opportunity to complete a deep clean of the campus and then everyone will return for the traditional 'mad dash' to the finish line. Well, you all know the rest of the story and none of that ever happened. By about the second week of our closure I was beginning to have serious doubts about whether or not we would reopen for the school year; but never let those dark thoughts creep into the conversation with anyone outside the cabinet.  

A year ago. This last year has been challenging for all of us. We have been through an awful lot together. A shutdown that separated us for months. A slow and agonizing march toward the end of a school year that no one could have imagined. Activities cancelled and a commencement ceremony that we made the best we could for our graduates. A reopening this fall that gave us all a sense of relief, feeling oddly familiar and foreign at the same time. 

As leader of this school district, it has been stressful at times, frightening at others, and inspiring throughout. Stressful because of the enormous pressure we were under to not just reopen this fall, but to do so safely while creating an environment where our students and staff could feel comfortable. Where parents and employees could trust that we had covered all the contingencies (and then wondering if we truly had). Stressful because, as your superintendent I am supposed to know the answer to the questions that eluded us but at times having no idea if our plans would work. 

Frightening because, well going into this knowing that it was not a matter of if, but when. Would our safety and mitigation plan prove to be effective? Would the quarantine firewall hold? Lying awake at night worrying that someone would get sick: too sick. Our low point came at about the middle of November. The countywide positivity rate was in excess of 26% and we had more than 11% of our student body absent due to a COVID related reason. While evidence suggested our plan was working and the firewall was holding, we were in a very tough spot. The odds were not good that we were going to be able to remain open (a lot of credit goes to the school board for making a very tough call).

And inspiring. You know, as we were preparing to reopen I was hearing stories from all around the state and nation that teachers and other school employees were refusing to return to the classroom (believe it or not, some schools in the country remain closed today). I have firsthand knowledge of multiple teacher from around the state who just up and quit. At Hudson? Not one. I didn't hear one complaint from any employee. Instead, I heard thanks. Thanks because I think they know we did everything that we could to prepare them for the challenges of this year. But most of all I think it was thanks for letting them return to the classrooms to engage in the work they love with the children they adore. 

Inspiring because of this community and the way you rallied around your school. Early on in the closure we had a teacher parade through town and I was deeply touched and inspired when we drove by one home in town and an elderly gentlemen stood at the end of a driveway waving an American flag as the caravan went by. Inspired by the notes you sent, the phone calls we received, and the grace you extended. Inspiring to watch our school board wrestle with issues that were the furthest things from their minds when they volunteered for this most noble of service.

Someone once told me that as humans, we can handle almost anything for a year: particularly if we can see an end in sight. Well today we are a year into it, a day that I have had circled on the calendar for awhile now. Over the holidays when we first started hearing good news about vaccines I began to believe that by spring break we would really start to turn the corner. I believe that now more than ever. While I don't think we will magically return to normal by spring break, there has never been a time to be more optimistic. 

Our theme, or hashtag for the year has been #PirateRising. I chose this because I thought it would be a year that would test our resolve. It would put challenges in front of us that we had never seen before, and it most certainly has. But, I knew that our school, our community would rise to the challenge. I can see it happening all around me. These Pirates. They most certainly are rising.