The St. Joseph CCSD #169 school board paused to recognize efforts by staff throughout the end of the 2019-20 school year Monday night.
Board President Lois Hewerdine read a Resolution of Recognition to Commemorate the Educators, Staff, and Administration of District #169 During the COVID-19 Pandemic of the 2019-2020 School Year.
The document recognizes the difficulty of abruptly ending classroom instruction in mid-May 2020.
“This challenge was unprecedented: there was no manual to follow, no in-service training, and no educational model given,” Hewerdine read.
Knowing that the district, alongside other districts throughout the nation, were working to make sure students maintained what they had learned in class through computers and activity packets at home, the board feels that educators and administration did their best to support families through consistent, necessary, and effective communication.
“Educators and Administrators collaborated like never before, coming together to students and families, designing lessons and enrichment activities using every resource known to schools,” the resolution reads.
“Students experienced the joy of learning in a new way and witnessed educators and administrators acting in unfamiliar ways: dressing up, holding morning meetings, facilitating and conducting virtual meetings, and parading around town to celebrate the end of the year.”
Secretaries, cooks, custodians, and the school nurse were also recognized for providing meals to children in the community and for fully supporting staff students and families.
The resolution expressed the boards, “sincerest gratitude and appreciation of a job well done to all school personnel who enthusiastically dedicated themselves to the students and families of St. Joseph Grade & Middle School.”
