Principal Points, July 18th

Dear St. Theresa's Catholic School Families
My apologies for the one day delay in my newsletter. Yesterday was just one of those days where the hours I had available were not sufficient to meet all the to-do's on my list.
 
Are We There Yet?
Have you ever taken cross-country road trip as family? On such a trip, the road can often feel like it is going on endlessly and the positive zeal with which the trip so joyfully began has slipped into the silence of the many miles traveled. Though the destination is still highly anticipated, the road becomes a weary place. Then from the backseat, a tired and somewhat frustrated little voice pierces the silence with "Are we there yet?" I recall my own response to this from a few summers ago, “Isn’t there another video you can watch?” However, on that 19-hour road trip from Florida to Vermont, we had exhausted our video library (or other distractions), and the only real solution for the kids was to arrive at our destination. While the final aspects of the journey were certainly fatiguing, the perseverance and patience needed in those last miles paid off when we arrived safely to my hometown, our family and friends, and the beautiful cottage on Lake Champlain waiting for us. At times, our current circumstances with COVID-19 and planning for a safe return to school reminds me of a very long family road trip. We have been on this road for four long months now and we just want to know, when will we have regular classes again?

Our Superintendent of Catholic Schools, Misty Poe spoke about our plans to reopen school this Fall. An important point she included is the current Health Authority Order from July 14, 2020 closing Travis County schools until September 8, 2020 and how Catholic schools in Travis County are responding to this order. I know that for many of our families this news is very frustrating. Like the little passenger in the backseat, it may feel like we may never get to our destination... Are we there yet?  Believe me, our Diocese and St. Theresa's share your frustration with this order and the current implications for our Catholic school. However, just like the "family road trip" that seems endless, we will arrive at our destination. We will not remain exiled in this strange land indefinitely. We teach and live our virtues with our students at school, which we are also called to live out in our homes. Let us live out the virtues of Faith, Hope, Charity, and Fortitude to overcome the length of this trip and the sting of any frustrations we feel now. 

As the "driver" on our STCS "family road trip," please know that I understand your concerns and frustrations. I will not respond with annoyance when you ask me your "Are we there yet?" questions. On the contrary, I wish to remind you that we are almost there. Moreover, the circumstances of an order issued this week may not be the same circumstances we find ourselves in a few more days. Let’s remain calm and avoid overreaction. Our God is still in charge, let's give Him a little more prayer and time to work.

Fear, Politics, and Science
Last week’s Principal Points addressed how fear has become a motivator in the way many are addressing this topic. It is important to note that how and when to return to school has become a very politicized issue. This is most certainly true on the national level, and though I have only been in Texas a month now, it feels like that is somewhat true on the state/local level too. Fear and politicization are not the best combination of factors when trying to arrive at sound decisions. I have also noticed that it seems like there a lot of experts out there on the news and social media utilizing “the science” to argue on both sides of this issue. If we all remember our school science fair projects, the scientific method is simply the best guess at how something in the natural world works. It often takes many years, sometimes decades or centuries, to get to a scientific law.
 
Thus, it is not uncommon that scientists and medical professionals may disagree, or the science available may have contradicting studies. In our situation, we are required to consider the limited medical science of this new illness, the social and medical science regarding the welfare of children, and the real burdens (emotional, psychological, medical, and economic) the pandemic has placed upon our families and school staff. It is real and it is not the same from person to person, or family to family. This is why I must strongly urge everyone to recognize there is a spiritual aspect to what we are experiencing. In fact, I feel compelled to suggest that the spiritual response to this pandemic is the most important part of all. In this pandemic, we see the rising waves and feel the driving winds, our boat is rocking to and fro, are we like the disciples looking around to finding Jesus in this storm?

He is already present! Be aware that Jesus is walking with you daily, moment by moment. Have confidence in this reality, so that it will direct all you say and do, not just now in this crisis, but always – because Jesus is always with us! We need to breath, we need pray, we need to trust the Lord, we need to love one another. That’s the best way for us all to get through this pandemic safely and sanely.

More Survey Data
Last week I shared results from our Family Return to School survey. This week it is important to share the data from the Staff RTS survey. There are some parallels, but there are also some differences that deserve pointing out. 
 
As of today, there are 38 staff respondents. On being ready to return to school, the percentages are similar to the family survey with 27 (71%) STCS staff members ready to return to school with health and safety measures in place. I believe this is reflection of the commitment and desire our staff has to educating your children. However, 2 (5%) of our staff members are not ready, with 9 (24%) more still unsure. With respect to their personal health, 11 (29%) of STCS staff are very concerned, with an additional 14 (37%) are somewhat concerned. This something we need to address through additional discussion with the staff to be sure we are resolving their concerns in our RTS plan. Similarly, 60% (23 of 38) of our STCS staff members are either very or somewhat concerned about supporting the people in their life during this pandemic. With respect to student lunches, 74% of the STCS staff plan support having students bring their lunch from home. 
 
The following health and safety standards received strong support from staff respondents: Availability of hand sanitizer (92%); Masks worn by students in grades 1-8 (79%); Masks worn by teachers and staff (87%); Limit non-faculty/staff presence on school campus (76%); Limit student movement on campus (63%); No community sharing of educational items (e.g. pencils, books, computers, etc.) (76%); Create a physical/social distancing classroom/campus environment (per American Association of Pediatrics recommendation) (82%); Daily student health screens (66%); Daily cleaning of school classrooms, common areas, restrooms, etc. (92%); eLearning accessibility for immune compromised students, their family members, or other health concerns (84%). We also received 11 “other” safety standards written in by the staff which we will be a part of our discussions in forming the RTS plan.
 
Most staff members shared at least one comment on the RTS survey. Like the family survey there were a wide range of questions and concerns. However, the one clear theme from our STCS staff was about ensuring the health and safety of all members of our community and extended communities. Several expressed an eagerness to return to teaching on campus with safety protocols, but the many others voiced their concern regarding the risks of a return to in-person teaching amidst the rise of COVID cases in our area. Here are a few examples:
“I am so ready to teach and meet a new group of students, on campus and in my classroom!”
“I know coming back to school is what is best for the students, but I am worried about getting sick and bringing it home to my loved ones.”
“I do want to get back to a ‘new’ normal like most of us but it’s hard to think about re-opening when at this specific time the city/state is worse with number of cases and positivity rate than it was back in March/April.” 
“I feel that there needs to be a limit of people on campus/buildings and limit class sizes.”
“Ready to return for sure. I trust the committee planning what is the best way to do that and thank you!
“Very concerned that our families will not follow all guidelines carefully.”
What follows is from last week’s Principal Points, but it is worthy of repetition: Beyond what model we should use this fall, there are many recommendations of how each model should be implemented. Again, there were a wide range of opinions, often with opposing recommendations. I share this, not simply to highlight the division among stakeholders, but rather to emphasize that being “divided” is just a step in the process to effectively navigating a crisis and the next steps we choose are much more important.
 
Next Steps
As shared last week, we have purchased proven technology currently in use schools across the nation to be able to deliver a dual platform of synchronous learning for on campus, in-person learning and remote eLearning simultaneously when we are allowed to offer that model. Once we publish the Return to School plan on July 31, 2020, you will also receive a survey regarding the educational delivery models to indicate your preference.  We have found and invited medical experts to serve as consultants to our RTS plan. We have also decided to create a parent committee to provide feedback to the RTS plan as well. We are still targeting July 24 to provide you with a basic framework of the RTS plan.

I hope you have a blessed and beautiful weekend.

St. Theresa, pray for us.

In Christ, 
Brian R. Wheeler
Principal
bwheeler@st-theresa.org