Teachers and administrators at a Black Diamond high school are going above and beyond to ensure students are well supported as the school year nears an end.
Lori Isberg, Oilfields High School CALM teacher, counsellor and off-campus education co-ordinator, spends more time supporting students than teaching them.
While this is typical, she’s far from alone. Several staff members are now dedicating the majority of their time to the well-being of students and their families as they navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re crisis teaching,” said Isberg. “We’re on a huge learning curve with this.”
After the school closed its classrooms in mid March and moved to online instruction, it established chat channels that list students staff hasn’t heard from or are unable to reach.
“We look at who’s worked with those kids and we divide them up,” Isberg said. “That includes our administration, myself, family school liaison counsellors, two learning coaches and our youth development coach.”
At the end of each week, Isberg said staff also checks on students with social and emotional issues via phone and email to ensure they’re doing well and that their needs – from food to emotional support - are provided for.
“We talk with kids, try to help parents navigate behaviours, help kids set up scheduling and timing and let them know it’s okay if they’re not online from 8:30 to 3:30,” she said. “We’re in a pandemic and everybody is stressed. Parents are worried about their finances, health and family situation and kids are looking after siblings because daycares have been closed.”
Isberg said when schools closed almost three months ago, staff and students entered unchartered territory.
“Very few of our students and only a few of our staff have online learning experience,” she said. “It’s a unique student that can excel in an online learning format. We often assume kids know how to handle technology but the reality is many don’t.”
The transition resulted in much-needed one-on-one time with students struggling to navigate through online learning.
“A lot of them are asking for help and those that aren’t asking for help we’re asking them if they need help,” she said. “It’s amazing when you phone and you can hear it in their voice how happy they are that you called them and that you’re there to talk to them and support them. I get messages like, ‘Thank you so much for your support, I won’t let you down’ and ‘I appreciate your patience and willingness to talk to me about this and work.’”
Isberg said the school’s ability to move directly from the classroom environment to online learning and teaching was remarkable.
“I believe we are all doing an amazing job - students in their learning, parents supporting their children and staff in teaching students all while dealing with a deadly pandemic,” she said. “When you have a great team focused on learning and support, amazing things can be accomplished.”
In addition to adapting to online learning, students were also faced with being separated from their peers.
“People assume that they’re fine being isolated because they communicate through their phones all the time, but it’s just a tool to communicate when they’re with each other - they’re sharing jokes in the form of a meme and it’s a tool to access things and share it out,” Isberg said. “They miss being together in the halls, they miss sitting together at lunch, they miss learning together, supporting each other and asking each other questions.”
Despite the struggles, Isberg said the students are in good hands.
“The majority of messages I get from parents is amazement at how much the staff has gone above and beyond in helping the kids and making them feel okay,” she said. “Yes, there are some kids that, depending on what’s going on, may have to repeat some units or courses because they don’t feel confident to go to the next level. We’re having discussions about what do we need to do to bridge those gasp when the fall hits. We’re looking at timetables, study blocks and various scenarios.”
Principal Chet Musgrove said staff is committed to supporting the school’s approximately 400 students at the Grade 7 to 12 school through the unusual circumstances surrounding the pandemic.
“It’s no different than any other situation we face,” he said. “We have to be intentional and purposeful in our actions to communicate with families. The students are missing their peers and the one-on-one support, they’re missing the interaction with others and that connection, but they’re still doing work, still learning, still moving forward.”
The hard work of staff is not going unnoticed.
“I’ve heard a lot of feedback about the support and the level of care that’s demonstrated by our school community,” said Musgrove. “I can’t say enough about our staff. They’re working really hard to make sure the kids are cared for and supported. With the feedback I’ve gotten that has been appreciate and recognized.”
The last day of school for students is June 26. The Foothills School Division will work over the summer to determine what the next school year will look like for staff and students.
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