Nip this in the bud: Mayberry’s No. 1
Editor’s Note: Community Comment is a periodic column in The Mount Airy News featuring commentary from community leaders in Mount Airy and Surry County.
We are grateful to a supportive community who has allowed our students to be face-to-face this year as the nation struggles with how to bring their students back. We know the COVID gap will lessen for us this year with our students receiving support in the areas of mental health, physical health, and academics. We have been able to continue our emphasis on the arts and athletics amidst a difficult time. Together we can accomplish so much and continually learn how to improve.
We know that public schools are vital for our economy. We have seen communities where schools were unable to meet in person and families were unable to return to work. We know that schools can function remotely, face-to-face, or in a hybrid fashion. We are educating the future workforce in Mount Airy City Schools and know that growing innovative students is vital but now it seems even more important to create change makers ready for global challenges.
Other lessons we are learning is how great a small school setting is for students. Smaller class sizes allow us to make sure we are meeting the needs of all students and helping them grow at their own pace. The increased number of devices has kept our students connected and allowed them to continue to learn at night and over weekends. Our students are hungry for knowledge and our well-trained staff helps them reach their aspirations. Staff have also learned to be flexible with online and face-to-face meetings. Time has been saved by not traveling to statewide or regional meetings allowing us more time in our districts. School is happening year-round with continuous academic support available. A flexible school calendar would be student-centered and allow us to be more flexible in our approach to teaching and learning.
Mount Airy City Schools has learned how crucial parent communication is, especially this year. We have made more t han 15,000 wellness calls to connect with families. The virtual parent meetings have allowed parents to stay at work and provide input. Virtual open houses, ongoing positive academic communications, home visits, networks of support for basic needs, and academic support for students have worked together to strengthen the home-to-school connection. We believe that active parent support helps us close the COVID gap.
Last year, suspended assessments gave us a chance to rethink our accountability system. Assessments often benefit students who are good test takers while failing to display the knowledge of a majority of students. Students need to show work products, explain ongoing projects, discuss how they have given back to their community through service, and apply what they have learned academically. We are hopeful that everyone will realize an accountability system that is more comprehensive will show a better understanding of what the child knows, understands, and can do.
The staggered start for the school day is important as well as having multiple entrances at each school. We did this for health and wellness reasons but we have found that it is a more effective way to get students to school. It allows for less behavioral disruptions, cuts down the time students and families have to wait on drop off or pick up, and makes the day more successful. SmartBus technology has allowed us to install inside and outside cameras, check temperatures, monitor student attendance on the bus, communicate with parents about location of students, and create more efficient ways to bring students to school.
We have not had any COVID-19 clusters and we’ve seen less flu and other illnesses. We believe the health and wellness measures have allowed our students and staff to stay healthy. We need to continue the cleanliness procedures moving forward. We have provided options for working and learning from home when sick or quarantined and these have created more productivity without being a health hazard in our school buildings. The ability to have more nurses, social workers, and counselors available is a game changer. This allows us to address the social-emotional needs on our campuses and provide wrap around services for families. This ensures that students have the supports needed to overcome any obstacle.
Mount Airy City Schools has written a great playbook on how to come back safely five days a week in a pandemic. It’s a lot of hard work, effort, and determination to do what is right for every child regardless of the obstacles. This “can do” attitude is what sets our community apart. We have had community and industry partners step up and provide resources, ideas, and man power which resulted in lots of needs being met during this time. We know that our students have learned resilience from our community. Recently, we hosted a round table for graduates. One graduate noted that the district is a full staff of “go getters” with a “go getter” mentality. He said he felt like he could do anything because our staff pushed him to his full potential. Another graduate said that teachers never kept them at an arm’s length. They went above and beyond every day for every child. We believe this year is a testament to that exact description of our staff.
Locally learned lessons can also be applied across our state and nation. We have financial resources to pay for every child to eat a free breakfast and lunch. We should continue to do this after the crisis and make sure students can concentrate while they are learning. Broadband connectivity will be vital to make the US educational system competitive; we should prioritize this access for all families even in rural areas. Devices in the hands of students close a critical gap to accessing information. The funding coming now should continue for sustainability of technology devices and training. This will put us ahead in the global marketplace.
The financial support we have been asking for to provide a quality education for every child is being provided in many ways now. This priority should continue especially to make sure every school has a social worker, a nurse, a school resource officer, and enough teachers to keep the class size 20 or below. The accountability system should give a better picture of what the child has accomplished and how they are growing throughout their school experiences. This will help us better match the child to their future goals and align their resources and courses going forward.
This year has taught us to prioritize what matters most. We need to help students find their passions, their purpose, and connect them to resources on that pathway. We know that this year the Mount Airy community had a shared vision to come back to school face-to-face every day. We will need continued support to make sure that the lessons we are learning will transform into a better and brighter future for our children. We will need everyone’s continued contributions of time, ideas, resources, and positive attitudes to make next year a successful school year for Mount Airy City Schools. We want you to know that we appreciate you.