Executive Order 2020-4: The first executive order was the Declaration of a State of Emergency which was issued by Governor Whitmer on March 10, 2020 after two cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Michigan. On March 12, Carter Middle School (CMS) received notice from the Warren Consolidated Schools (WCS) superintendent that school would be closed indefinitely. It was on this day our lives changed; students cleaned out their lockers, said goodbye to friends and began an unfamiliar journey of what would officially be our first National pandemic since the Spanish flu in 1918. COVID-19 had arrived in Michigan and was ominously here to stay.
The district’s immediate priority was to establish a system/protocol to meet the needs of our 13,500 families which included servicing a 52 percent free and reduced lunch population. The weekend of March 13, 2020 the middle school principals focused on providing basic needs to our community. We collaborated, planned, and implemented a food distribution system that would deliver over 36,000 meals a week; since March, delivery has reached 63,000 meals a week. As the need for food increased during the pandemic, WCS partnered with Gleaners Community Food Bank and began hosting multiple emergency mobile units in our middle school parking lots, increasing meal delivery by the thousands.
In the instructional realm, in March of 2020, staff engaged in “triage” remote learning. Our main focus was to communicate effectively with the community by posting information on Facebook, Twitter, and Remind, while using PowerSchool messaging, as well as calling and emailing. Staff committed to post lesson plans using Weebly and/or Planbook on the Carter website. Our families were comfortable reviewing these online plans to monitor student performance, so it was logical to stay consistent. Moreover, families were surveyed immediately regarding access to technology. Students who had access to technology were encouraged to engage electronically with their teachers using Schoology, Weebly, Planbook, and/or via email. Students without technology were identified and were provided paper packets weekly that coincided with posted lesson plans.
As the new school year began on September 8, 2020, WCS announced that remote learning would take place for all students. The district purchased over 9,000 laptops to assist our families without technology and staff participated in Schoology and Webex training to enhance their remote learning instruction. The district Instructional Schedule three academic hours in the morning, coupled with an advisory class called CONNECT at 12:00 p.m. Teacher office hours take place in the afternoon which allow teachers time to meet with small groups and offer one-on-one support. On Friday staff virtually pull students based on need for support or extended learning in the morning, meet in CONNECT at 12:00 p.m. and then participate in Professional Learning Community meetings from 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. In order to best place students in their CONNECT cohorts, NWEA data was used to determine students in need of extra support in math and ELA so that they could be given the additional opportunity to receive direct instruction with fidelity. Additionally, ESL, Special Education and Title 1 students were intentionally placed with their primary providers and/or support staff so that a key adult in the child’s life could focus on his/her individual needs.
As the third week of school began, WCS opened athletics and extra-curricular activities to middle school students. The following week, the Special Education Department welcomed self-contained students back to Face to Face instruction, and on October 5, Carter teachers will return to the building to perform their remote teaching and learning responsibilities three days a week. This reporting requirement will increase to four days the following week. Resource Room and teacher consultant students are tentatively scheduled to return to face-to-face instruction the week of October 12, 2020.
Inarguably, Carter Middle School is not the same school as it was this past March. Classrooms are being adjusted to comply with six feet social distancing guidelines, and. cafeteria planning will involve uniquely assigning students to eat in areas outside of the café to comply with 50 percent capacity requirements. Furthermore, staff and visitors are required to complete a QR COVID-19 employee screening questionnaire prior to entering the building. Personal Protective Equipment, including facial coverings, gloves, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes are available for all staff in each classroom and work area. Everything that we know about education has flipped 180 degrees since the pandemic settled in for the long haul. Staff have been asked to adjust their teaching and learning styles overnight, to increase communication with parents to assess social emotional health and physical needs, and to adjust to one educational teaching platform. In all of these lofty endeavors, we have succeeded. At Carter we are striving to establish a sense of normalcy for our students, “Choosing Kind” and remaining #Carterstrong.
Written by Amy Hendry, Ed.S., Carter Middle School, and MASSP Board of Directors Middle Level - East Representative