(Reflection of Christopher Russo, Assistant Superintendent in Portland and Reynolds and currently the Director of the American School of Asuncion, Paraguay.)
We are heading into our first full week of school closure now and what I can say is, "the best-laid plans of mice and men." Things didn't unfold as cleanly as we had planned. We were ahead of the curve-- we had our tiered plan for safety; we had our outline of virtual learning; we even had some inservice to help our teachers transition. We were to go gradual and scale-up without overtaxing. Alas, it all went down so quickly...
For the most part, what we have been doing is/has been working. And now its really about keeping the calm, taking the temperature, and sorting through an endless supply of misinformation. Teachers are doing everything I could have asked to them to do--the learning curve was/is still steep. They are true heroes with grit and substance--oh they should be proud of their endeavors! I think for some, evolving their practice serves as a distraction, a way to keep oneself busy. Virtual learning can be difficult but by diving deeply in can distract from the anxiety of the unknown...
Most importantly is that we all know, down to the person, we are here for one another. That's abundantly clear and can be felt. The Board gave their support last night (unanimously) understanding that being a stranger in a strange land is stress in and of itself! They said they are here for us, regardless of need or want.
The phone calls, the texts, the emails--every contact we have made with one another, me with staff, those with me, has made impact. We are social beings at heart (even the most introverted) and contact can mean the world when the weight of isolation presses in.
Here is a ray of light in the gloom of it all-- a parent just shared a positive shout out. As I always say, it's the little things that count.
"I have wanted to send this message for a few days now, but finally have had my computer to myself for a few hours, after the hectic days of getting homeschooling schedules settled.
I wanted to commend you and your senior team on the excellent job and extremely well planned response to the government’s decision to close schools. We have now settled into a very doable home study schedule, and the online resources and support from the teachers have been excellent. We arrived from an international school in the South of France XXXXXXX in February, which was wholly unprepared to deal with the potential and eventual school closures, and where the headmaster resigned in the wake of the transitions to online schooling, and so it has been very chaotic for the parents. I am so grateful to have my children at ASA now, where the transition to homeschooling was so well planned ahead of time and so clearly communicated. I have heard that some other international schools in Paraguay were caught off guard and have struggled to get themselves online.
So thank you again and congratulations."
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