School Matters Week of 01/10/2022

Three days a week, I run on a treadmill which is located in our basement. Some have characterized my running as more of a jog, or mall walk, but at least I am trying. I work out early in the morning, so it is still dark when I finish. The treadmill is located at the very back of the basement. However, the light switch for the first part of the basement is at the very front. I never turn on this light because the outside motion-sensor light comes on, and I can easily find my way to the back of the basement. The problem arises when I am finished with the workout and am walking back to the door. It is completely dark so it is difficult to find the door. There are a number of simple solutions for this problem, but it has now become a personal challenge finding my way through the dark.

Last week, I was confident my direction was on target, but I ran into the wall. I realized that it is extremely difficult to move forward without having some type of light for guidance. It is challenging, dangerous, and non-productive to walk in the complete dark most of the time. This is also very true in life. I am concerned that many of us attempt to travel without a guiding light or sense of direction. At times, we are hesitant in our journey, but we keep on walking and there are few problems. At other times, we are confident in our steps but eventually run into a wall because we are headed in the wrong direction.

The last two weeks have been one of those times for reflection and thought. Our COVID numbers were extremely low for several weeks, and we averaged 25 positive cases a week. This was not great, but it was manageable. However, we are currently seeing over 150 positive cases per week. Our substitute fill rate is less than 60%, and several staff/students are testing positive. Our administration and staff are doing all they can to keep school going and to ensure the safety of students. However, it is an extremely challenging endeavor.

This is the time when we have to decide whether we should continue to keep school open or close them. At some point, we may no longer have the staff to safely keep school open, and we may be forced to close. However, it is important that we keep school open if possible for many reasons. This is when it is critical we have that guiding light to help provide direction. For me, that guiding light is the importance and necessity of keeping schools open if we can.

Public schools have always been the great safety net for children. Often, we are the ones identifying physical abuse, neglect, depression, and a host of other issues. Not only do we provide a robust instructional program, we also help children who are struggling with mental, physical, and social disorders. Without public schools, many of our children will not be fed, basic needs will not be met, mental/social disorders will progress, and they will not have a champion in their life.

Since the start of the pandemic, the nation has seen a 19% increase in depression among children. Over 50% of the parents surveyed have stated that the closing of schools has had a detrimental impact on their children. Over 46% of parents have stated their child’s mental health has worsened since schools were closed. Over 14% of parents have stated their child is withdrawing from friends and families and that the closure of schools is making it worse. Nearly 24% of parents say their children are struggling with sleep, and 8% are seeing more aggression in their children. There has been a 24% increase in emergency room visits for people experiencing a mental health crisis. There has been a 50% increase in suspected suicide attempts. Suicide is the third leading cause of deaths among the teenage population. It is also determined that over 50% of all mental disorders will start before the age of 14. Over 140,000 children have lost a primary caregiver this year to COVID.

Without question, the pandemic may have caused some of these issues regardless of whether or not schools were open. The key to this struggle is finding the appropriate balance. This nation desperately needs schools to remain open to help students. Conversely, we need to protect our staff to ensure their mental and physical health. That is difficult to do, and I would be the first to admit this balance has been difficult to maintain. However, my guiding light is that we provide so many essential services to children that closing schools will eliminate the safety net for them. We have many supportive family structures within our district, but for a significant portion of our students, schools are the best support system they have. We need to keep open if possible.

Please review the following information and contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Also, please remember to email Mrs. Webb (webbk@hcboe.net) if you have other questions you would like us to address in future articles.

1. Our COVID numbers have continued to rise since winter break. This week we have approximately 170 active cases. Of these active cases, 123 are students and 47 are staff. We anticipate these numbers will continue to grow for the new few weeks. Many experts are stating this surge will burn out in 2 – 3 weeks and things will return to normal. Also, many are stating this strain is not as severe as early ones which may mean the virus is weakening. It is my hope we can hang on for 2 more weeks until things will get better.

2. We are experiencing some supply chain issues with food products, but we have been able to provide breakfast and lunch each day. We will certainly not have the variety of lunch options we had earlier in the year, but we will be able to provide a quality meal each day. We have received a couple concerns that we would be forced to close schools because we did not have enough food to serve lunch. This is not the case as we are able to provide meal options for students.

3. We are having a difficult time securing substitute teachers during the surge. We are paying a $300 bonus for any individual being able to work 30 days during the month of January and February. Please consider subbing if you are able. This would be a great opportunity for community service and will help us keep schools open. Please contact Mrs. Jessica Darnell (darnellj@hcboe.net) if you are interested in subbing.

4. We will have a HCBOE staff night out on February 7 as our Celebrate Education program for February. It is our hope that local restaurants will provide a discount, or some other type of incentive, for all Hamblen County School Staff. For example, someone may offer a 10% discount, or a free dessert, for all Hamblen County School Staff on that evening. Please let Mrs. Karlene Webb know (webbk@hcboe.netor 423-581-3101) if you are interested in participating. We will collect all offerings and push those incentives out to all staff members. We sincerely appreciate all those who are willing to help.

5. Preschool registration will run from February 21 – March 18. Parents can either download the application from our website or pick up an application at school. Applications will not be available until February 21, and we encourage parents to begin applying on that date.

6. We are experiencing extremely a high rate of positive cases in some of our schools. We are monitoring the numbers daily and are in constant communication with principals. We will close schools when we do not have the sufficient staff to effectively execute the instructional program or when it becomes unsafe. There is no qualitative number that would close a school, but we are closely monitoring conditions. It is our intent to provide parents with ample notice if we forced to close a school, if possible.

7. At this point, we are not considering any modifications to our athletic competitions and are not limiting spectator participation. However, we do ask everyone to practice safe health practices to help slow the spread of the virus.

8. It is our hope to provide free COVID testing for all students (with parent permission) the week after next if our supply of testing kits arrives. We will let parents know when this testing is available. Again, it is important to emphasize that testing would be strictly voluntary and would require explicit parental permission before we did any testing. COVID testing is a parental decision, and we would provide this service only if parents wanted it.

9. Schools will be closed on Monday, January 17, in observance of Martin Luther King holiday.

10. The school board approved the calendar for the 2022 – 2023 school year, and it is posted on our website.

Since the pandemic, many superintendents have longed for that Damascus Road experience in which we would receive divine revelation of what we should do with the pandemic. Unfortunately, most of us have not been blinded by that divine light yet, so we must rely on that guiding light which directs our life. Keeping schools open to take care of children, if possible, is one of those guiding lights for me. Without that safety net, many of our children will not recover from this pandemic. Thanks for your attention to this article and remember, School Matters!