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. 

Historical Perspectives

In my message to employees last week, I reminded them to be mindful of the fact that February was Black history month. The week prior to that message, I had watched a documentary on the History Channel about the Tuskegee Airmen that was quite good. I used that opportunity to pass along a few resources I thought might be useful in the classroom. I also opined that a lot of network television programming lately had focused more on diversity and race relations in our country. I wrapped up my message with a brief mention of a piece of legislation that is working its way through the state legislature right now that seeks to ban the use of the 1619 Project in Iowa schools. I mentioned the legislation not as an endorsement of the material, but as an observation of the ongoing racial tension we are experiencing in our country. 

For those of you who don't know, the 1619 Project is a curricular resource published by the New York Times that contextualizes the story of slavery and juxtaposes it with the founding of America. If you have been following the discourse, the use of the material in schools around the country has been met with some very strong feelings. My mention of it in the weekly staff newsletter spurned a discussion with a faculty member who asked a very sincere question. What were my thoughts and opinions on the Project? 

Admittedly, my knowledge is somewhat limited since the material is not used here in Hudson. I haven't investigated or studied the collection of essays other than through a cursory examination to gain a 'working knowledge' of the resources. It was within that paradigm where I explained that I was not at all equipped to offer an accurate assessment as to the veracity of the material. 

The broader question however, is what role should legislators play in dictating what should or should not be used as curriculum in the classroom? I would argue very little. While it is wholly appropriate for our elected representatives to provide a basic framework that includes such things as the Iowa Core Academic Standards (what it is that children should know and be able to do when they graduate), mandating the textbooks that are or are not used is bridge too far. They are out of their lane and don't fully understand what it is they are tinkering with. In this particular case, I have questions about whether or not legislators have undertaken the type of serious study that is needed to make good decisions about the usefulness of this or any other material used as curriculum in our classrooms. 

In most school districts, a process already exists for the adoption of curriculum that includes multiple steps over many months from inception to adoption. Right here in Hudson, we have a whole series of policies dedicated to the development, implementation, and evaluation of our curriculum. You can read all about them here. We even have a process for parents to object to instructional material. Simplistically, curriculum promulgation is implemented on a rotation as determined by administration. Once up for adoption, the research, alignment, and review is delegated to the content experts and building administrator. This study and research takes multiple months before the committee makes a presentation to me with a recommendation. Often times I'll ask for additional clarification or have other questions that need to be answered before I am ready to move the adoption forward. After all those questions are answered to my satisfaction, I'll craft a recommendation for the board. 

Ultimately, oversight is placed squarely where it belongs: with the local school board. They can either accept that recommendation, ask for further clarification, or reject the material. Granted, I haven't recommended anything controversial, but if parents or members of the local community disagree with material that is being used in the classrooms, they can do so following our policies. It is much more appropriate to bring those concerns to bear with the school board as opposed to running to the legislature for relief. Truth be told, if you don't like the answer the board gives, the local community can keep that in mind the next time they visit the ballot box. Frankly, we are seeing way too much of this (running to the legislature) right now, and as I mentioned a few weeks back it appears the entire state is being held accountable for the perceived 'sins' of a few. 

But alas in this instance, we should consider the point of teaching history. Is it the rote recitation of facts, figures, and events? Well, even if that were the goal in the industrialized model of education under which many of us grew up in, one would be hard pressed to suggest so today. With a focus on critical thinking skills and problem solving; context, debate, and perspective would seem to have role to play. Like many of you, I was taught in school to believe the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria caused World War One. While it may have been the immediate cause of the war, it was not the sole cause. 

Facts and dates are obviously undebatable and of critical importance in the study of history. There is no dispute the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the second continental congress on July 4, 1776. Nor will anyone argue the US Constitution was adopted on September 21, 1787 to create a stronger national government with checks and balances among three co-equal branches of government. But to suggest facts are the only thing(s) that should be taught is a gross oversimplification of the discipline. I rhetorically asked the question about how the American Revolution is taught in Great Britain and received a surprising answer: it's not. That in and of itself tells us something.