On The Mark: School made things work

Cromwell-Wright Superintendent/Principal Nathan Libbon reflected recently on his team’s response to the order to close schools and educate from afar this past spring. To me, it sounded incredibly creative, a plunging into the unknown and doing the best you can. Libbon and his team put in many extra hours and tons of creativity in delivering instruction, food, and graduation to a community of at-home students and their parents.

“At first it seemed surreal,” Libbon said. “But it became real during the state girls basketball tournament. Our girls won the first game and were headed to a semifinal game. That day, we were told to put a list together of a limited number of fans for the next day’s game — an extremely difficult task. But before the game could happen, the whole tournament was called off, and we were back on the bus, headed home.”

Then came having to close the school to students. “It happened really quickly,” Libbon said. “There was a ton of emotion, sadness, anger and shock. But this community and our teachers, parents and students accepted it. We focused on how to make this work for us.”

The “we” included teachers, office personnel, custodians, paraprofessionals and kitchen staff.

It was shocking how suddenly the school was expected to change its delivery of instruction and food.

“It was like building an airplane in the air,” Libbon said. “We had just a couple of days to figure out how to prepare meals and get them safely to any family that wanted them.”

The food team figured out how to prepare and bus out two meals a day, breakfast and lunch, delivering to 240 people daily.

Libbon and his staff had only eight days to plan the instructional shift. They committed to providing the best education that they could under the circumstances. Though distance learning is not ideal, it was the only option.

“Our teachers and staff worked incredibly hard. They created online classrooms, instructional videos and chat rooms,” he said. “One daunting problem was that not every student had access to good Wi-Fi.”

Teachers worked both online and with paper. Students turned in their work either online or in delivery boxes provided by the families. Some subjects like art and band were challenging to do online.

“We tried to put the kids in the best situation possible, staying in contact with them beyond just educating,” Libbon said. “We did our best to support their emotional well-being, as well. They used every channel available other than face-to-face communication: computer assignments, virtual meetings, texting, phone calls. Some teachers and staff even made fun, encouraging videos to share.”

For Libbon, both as principal and as father of a Cromwell-Wright student, the experience underscored how invaluable social interaction is for students — to be in the building with their teachers and coaches.

Libbon reflected especially on the school’s seniors. “They missed all the ‘lasts,’ but we did what we could for them.”

Professionally printed signs saying “We support the Cromwell-Wright Class of 2020” sprouted up all over the district. The teachers and staff, led by art teacher Sara Niemi, made gift baskets and delivered them to seniors, along with the signs. Graduation was a special event, even though graduates had to stay in cars with their families. They participated in a parade with firetrucks and ambulances. “It was the best night we possibly could have,” Libbon said.

“We focused on what we could control. I’m very proud of how we all stayed positive, keeping the needs of our students and families first. Not that it wasn’t difficult, or we didn’t have bad days, but we learned that we could do things we didn’t know we could do.”

The Department of Education and the Minnesota School Boards Association helped, he said, though sometimes it seemed like information overload.

“The number of emails and correspondence was overwhelming at times,” he said. The communication from the state overall has been good, he said. “It was all brand-new to them as well. There were no models to follow. They made the best decisions they could in unprecedented times.”

Schools now have to prepare for three plans this fall: one for distance learning that they’ll tweak and improve; one for kids coming back full time; and a hybrid model, with some onsite and some distance learning.

“This building is meant to have kids in it and since June 15, sports practice has begun,” Libbon said. “They’re sanitizing equipment, washing hands before and after, and implementing social distancing measures. This has done a lot for our staff. There’s music playing ... during drills.”

Hopefully, it’s a sign of what’s beyond COVID-19.

Ann Markusen is an economist and professor emerita at University of Minnesota. A Pine Knot board member, she lives in Red Clover Township north of Cromwell with her husband, Rod Walli.