Teachers adjust as COVID policies change classroom

MT. PLEASANT – As Mt. Pleasant schools headed into their second week of face-to-face learning on Monday, teachers continued to adjust to new rules, policies and learning models in response to COVID-19.

The district's return-to-learn plan has outlined a host of mitigation tactics including a mask requirement in all school buildings as well as increased hand sanitization and social distancing.

Following the recommended health and safety guidelines is especially important for teachers who are considered high-risk.

'It's intimidating. Having underlying health conditions that put you at high risk of complications if you contract COVID-19 makes the situation extremely real,” high school art teacher Rebecca Bos said.

For Bos, who suffers from respiratory issues, teaching in-person during a pandemic can be a real danger.

'Having been hospitalized repeatedly for respiratory conditions and laying in a bed for weeks, unable to breathe, gives me this prior knowledge of experience that maybe others haven't acquired,” she added.

Even for teachers in good health, remaining diligent and careful is a priority. Van Allen Elementary School kindergarten teacher Chris Snyder said she wears her mask 'all the time.”

'I am practicing everything I can to keep myself healthy and safe and keep my family healthy and safe. I think that I've learned to put my faith over my fears and just to trust that I'll be safe,” Snyder said.

In addition to facing potential health risks, teachers have had to adapt their classroom and curriculum to these new regulations.

As part of the mitigation tactics, students are not allowed to share supplies unless they are sanitized in between uses. Bos has faced issues with sanitizing between classes so she made 'kits” for each student to use in class.

'My biggest challenge is meeting the needs of materials for my kids. So juggling how to modify and schedule my six classes so that materials weren't going to be used in one class while needed in another has been an interesting situation,” she said.

Educators are challenged with supporting students who have chosen to attend school remotely. High school math teacher Kim Anderson has had to adjust from teaching math all with pen and paper to moving everything online in the case of a school shutdown.

'It was definitely a lot to think about. I consider myself somewhat tech-savvy but there's definitely some things that I'm learning for the first time. I'm learning even more features of Canvas,” she said.

With new coronavirus information coming daily, teachers are living in constant limbo. Many realize a switch to a different model can happen within several days notice with students quickly transitioning to schooling from their bedroom. This has led to more stress than usual for teachers.

'You have to get creative. You have to stay positive. There are so many aspects changing on a daily basis that it feels like the rug is always being pulled out from underneath you,” Bos added.

'There's no way you can be fully prepared for your day, and that's unnerving for a profession that's based on planning and being prepared.”

Although students have had to cope with big changes in their plans for the school year, many have been cooperative with all of the new guidance released in the district's return-to-learn plan.

'The students have been doing great, they've helped this be an easy transition. It could have easily gone the other way but everyone's been pretty open-minded about the new norms that we're going through,” Anderson said of her high school students.

Snyder, who works with some of the youngest students in the district, said her kindergartners follow the mitigation tactics better than expected.

'They are wonderful, I cannot believe how resilient [they] have been,” she said.

'You saw those videos on Facebook with them shooting their masks across the room or wearing them on their heads. We have to give little reminders to not pull them below their nose or to chew on them. Otherwise, they are doing a great job of keeping their mask on,” she added.