School Matters Week of 01/31/2022

In our society, we sometimes overuse certain words, so they begin to lose their meaning. Words and concepts which may have had a specific identity/meaning become diluted because they are used so frequently. Words such as literally, amazing, interesting, difficult, nice, important, actually, bad, and good are some of the most overused words in the English language. Often, these words are used as crutch words because we lack the vocabulary, the imagination, or the energy to use a more descriptive word. It is uncommon to enter any conversation without using these words. As I reviewed this article, I realized that I had already used three of these words in the first paragraph and had to find a substitute word.

One of the words that I have heard frequently over the past several months is the term “hero.” Many individuals in our society have been labeled as heroes for their actions. Clearly, the nurse who enters into the COVID floor every day at the hospital to provide care and comfort to his/her patients deserves the recognition of being called a hero. These nurses, and other healthcare workers, must wear extremely uncomfortable PPE equipment each day, live with the constant threat of infection, and work countless hours to take care of us. Those individuals could easily be called a hero. Law enforcement/first responders who prioritize our safety above their own, and who come in constant contact with potentially infected individuals, would also deserve the title of heroes.

Personally, I have seen our teachers/staff walk into a very small classroom and maintain close contact with 20 - 25 students every day without hesitation or complaint. Several of our staff have medically comprised conditions, but they place the needs of their students in front of their own and continue to teach. They cover classes of absent colleagues without reservation, they assume extra duties to help students who are sick, and still possess the passion to help students. These individuals are also worthy of the recognition of being called a hero.

During one of our recent inclement weather days, I left home early in the morning and was dreading traveling on that snowy morning. As I left my driveway, I discovered the main road was cleared of all snow, and it was virtually dry. Someone had stayed up late or woken up early, loaded the truck with salt, treated the road with chemicals, and scraped the road, just so the rest of us could travel safely. I had no idea who these people were, but clearly, they had performed a great service to all of us. At that point, those individuals were heroes to me.

As I drove to road, I thought about the commitment of the road crew. They would probably not save a life today, stop a crime from happening, or teach an at-risk student to read, but they were doing their part to keep our community safe. I also thought about how often we simply take our everyday life experiences for granted. We assumed the grocery stores will be stocked with what we need, the banks will be open, the restaurants will have our favorite meals prepared, the gas stations will have fuel, and the snow will be removed from the road. All these services are based on the fact that someone got up, went to work, and did their job.

I once heard that a true hero was simply an ordinary person doing an ordinary job in an extraordinary manner. Perhaps we should not take all of these individuals for granted and thank those who give us a haircut, the person who serves us food, the person who takes our fast-food orders, or the countless other people who cater to our needs. In a world where many have elected to drop out of the workforce, it is becoming increasing more important to tell the ones still working that we appreciate them for showing up. I am not entirely sure what it takes to be called a hero these days but we definitely feel the pain when those individuals fail to show up for work. We should all take a moment to appreciate what we have and thank those who are working. This is not only the right thing to do but this may encourage those who are working to show up again tomorrow if we express our appreciation for them being there today.

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 rose sharply when we returned from winter break, but our numbers seemed to have leveled off this week. On Friday, we had approximately 153 active cases. Last week, we had 182 cases so our numbers are heading in the right direction. Of these active cases, 123 are students and 30 are staff. It is our hope we have seen the peak of this surge, and we will see a gradual decline in our number of cases.

2. Last week, we postponed the majority of our athletic competitions with the intent of rescheduling them this week. Unless we experience a major surge in cases, we will resume athletic competitions at the elementary/middle school level on Saturday. Both levels are involved in tournament play and should finish up by the end of next week. In addition, we will resume competition at the high school level. The East/West basketball game is scheduled for this Friday, and it has been extremely difficult to find another slot for this game. We will continue to have the East/West game on Friday. I completely understand there could be legitimate complaints about having this game during a significant surge, and I will take full responsibility for this. We are only playing the varsity games to limit participation and reduce potential exposure.

3. School districts throughout the nation are experiencing a shortage of bus drivers. We are providing excellent benefits and compensation for our bus drivers. Please consider driving a bus for the school system. Drivers will work approximately 1.5 hours in the morning and 1.5 hours in the evening. Drivers will receive fully-paid health insurance. Also, for those interested in making extra money, employees can drive field trips and extracurricular events if desired. Please contact Mr. Rodney Long (longr@hcobe.net) or (423-586-2103) if you have any interest in driving a school bus.

4. We should have everything ready to provide COVID testing for students on Tuesday of next week. It is important to understand this testing is clearly voluntary and will require explicit parent consent before any testing is done. We have made a few procedural modifications to what we had listed in previous updates. We will send permission forms home with all students the first of next week. We must have the permission form, and receive verbal consent, before an elementary or middle school student will be tested. We will take verbal parental permission for high school students. These kits will not be the rapid tests. Tests will be sent off, but we should have the results back in the morning at the start of school. This will be a free service to parents if you want it. This is not a mass effort to test every child, and we will not attempt to persuade/encourage children to be tested. We will only test when parents want their child to be tested. We will not require parents to come to school and test their own children. We will conduct the testing if we have the appropriate permission forms. The forms can be found on our website by clicking on the “Parent” quick link and the COVID information link. We will send home paper copies with elementary/middle school students. High school students can request a copy or download the form.

5. We have had several local food vendors provide an incentive for Hamblen County School staff on February 7 for our monthly Celebrate Education program. We are having a date-night for our staff members, and we encourage local vendors to provide some type of incentive or discount (free dessert, 10% off on an entrée, etc.) for HCBOE staff on that evening. Please contact Mrs. Karlene Webb at 423-581-3101 if you want to participate.

6. We have rescheduled our February School Board meeting to February 15 at 6:00 p.m. in the Heritage Room of the Central Office.

I loved the quote of Major Dick Winters (WWII veteran and Band of Brothers fame) who said that he was not a hero, but he served in a company full of them. I am not entirely sure what it takes these days to be a hero, but I think all of us have grown a better appreciation for those who show up for work every day and do the work. Simply showing up for work and doing your job in an extraordinary manner may not elevate you to hero status, but it has become increasingly critical in this nation. Thanks for your attention to this article and remembers, School Matters!