When we set out on this crazy journey, we really had no idea the twists and turns the 2020-21 school year would take. While it seems like just yesterday, at the same time, it was eons ago that Mr. DiMeglio and I were touring the building with representatives from the cleaning company - none of whom work here anymore, by the way - and the UTA, showing and showcasing our cleaning procedures. We actually had an actual lesson in Mr. Balunas' classroom on how to sanitize a desk. I looked over my shoulder and said to him, “can you actually believe this is happening? This is like a Twilight Zone episode.”
It’s been a long road since then. We’ve changed schedules, 3 or 4 times. We changed our entire athletic program around, switched just about every class routine we had, put on masks, took masks off, put them back on again. We taught in person, from home, from quarantine. Some of us got sick. Some of us got shots. Most of us cried at some point. All of us got frustrated, angry, heated, disappointed, confused, agitated, nervous, and tense - usually before second period. We learned about Zoom ghosts and phantoms, we taught students we never met in person, we listened for clues about who was traveling illicitly, who just wanted a day off, who was really home sick, and who just didn’t show up to the latest lesson. We made sure that words like “nimble,” “flexible,” “pivot,” “asynchronous,” and “Hybrid” became part of our every day vernacular, and we dealt with untold criticism and pressure, local and otherwise, from people who could not possibly fathom what we do on a daily basis but who have expertise on the basis of sitting behind a keyboard and maybe once having attended school. We walked around with our trusted tape measures, wiped down desks, ate lunch in isolation, feared a sneeze, cough, or fever, and we struggled to keep track of attendance, assignments, accountability, and all the things that we described as normal - as people told us to “embrace the new normal.”
But we triumphed. We have 10-12 pages of bullet points of things we accomplished, which I will be sharing out this afternoon. Ms. Larkin would occasionally tweet something out with “covid won’t stop us,” and it did not. We piloted standards-based grading - and did it well - in foreign language. We had students sell prototypes now being used internationally. We secured grant funding for clinical supports for students, and we kept social groups and academic advisories intact for some of our neediest kiddos. We designed a new business pathway, provided art packs for students to work on their projects while remote, had students earn statewide recognition for their artistic, community service, extracurricular, athletic, and social prowess. We kept alive our work in the state social-emotional academy, developed virtual and interactive notebooks, finished curricula on time and on schedule, implemented individual conferences, learned to deal with Chromebooks over iPads, and increased access to supports for English Language Learners. We had staff members cracking the vaccine code and helping each other get appointments - not once or twice, but just about everyone. We hosted prom, senior week, graduation - things that some schools wouldn’t touch. Not one department stayed complacent and sat as the days passed by, and, yes, we inspired our students. In fact, to quote one of our teachers in some of the interviews we have held, we now have students who actually have more resourcefulness, more independence, and, especially, more appreciation for what we do, and who have a whole lot of gratitude for what school actually means for them.
Some people may think that school culture took a hit. I started the year by requiring lesson plans - a page out of the Herb Brooks mentality of coaching, that if you couldn’t rally against the coronavirus, I would help people by rallying them around tasks, and work, and even against me. In the end, some of that worked - we had our entire staff rowing in the same direction in the service of students, and we did so with our core values - the Share responsibility, Persevere, Accept Ideas and Thoughts, Respect each other, Teach, Articulate, and Nurture - at the forefront of every decision.
We rolled with more challenges this year, some of which may be leveraged into successes. Our students genuinely appreciated the use of dedicated time for office hours, and we have developed a program for next year to support some of our students in need of additional emotional support, because of the havoc this year has wreaked on many students. We have reimagined the purpose of what we teach and why, and we once again have reflected on the essential skills that all students need to be successful, not just at UHS, but in life. We have identified some new staff and allowed our culture to shift, and, just as the year seemed to hit its end, we were once again back in stride with all we hope to be, for each other and this community.
To our students and parents, we thank you for your cooperation and commitment. This was not easy. This was not what anyone expected. Unique and challenging only begins to capture the essence of what this year was like for all of us, but we are grateful for the commitment, support, flexibility, and grace most shared, and, when people pushed back, we know it came from a place of passion, caring, and even frustration or fear. We tried not to take things personally, even when civil discourse would turn into unfortunate or personal attacks. We hope that we were stewards of your trust and the awesome responsibility of educating our students.
In the coming weeks, the work of UHS will be highlighted in a couple of published works, and our school will be leading workshops for other schools across the Commonwealth. We will be working over the summer to ensure a seamless transition to 2021-22. We will be finalizing quite a few new hires. Most importantly, we will be using the summer months to recharge, individually and collectively, following what has been a brutal stretch with countless changes and challenges, so that we can repair, restore, and renew for the coming year.
A few updates:
- We know that people have been accustomed to almost instant responses when it comes to email and phone messages. Please know that much of our staff will be off and not checking messages, and those who do may not be able to do respond as quickly, including the administration. We appreciate your patience.
- Sports teams that are still competing or just concluded (tennis, track, baseball, softball, cheer): please make sure that uniforms are turned into coaches or Mr. Carbone.
- Students not returning to UHS next year: please return all technology to Mr. Egan in the technology office or leave with the main office.
- The high school office will have summer hours starting next week. The office is open 8-3 most days. If the office is closed the message will be reflected to identify that.
- Report cards for the final quarter of 2020-21 will be mailed home.
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