Harris Middle School language arts teacher Stephanie Warren stands before the Mitchell County Board of Education Thursday, March 11 in Ledger. Warren and other area teachers talked to the board about how their jobs have changed dramatically since the onset of the global pandemic. (MNJ photo/Cory Spiers)
LEDGER — Teachers from Mitchell County Schools provided their perspectives on how the pandemic changed their jobs during the regular meeting of the Mitchell County Board of Education Thursday, March 11.
As part of Superintendent Chad Calhoun’s regular report, he welcomed Mitchell High math teacher Brittany Jarrett, Harris Middle School language arts teacher Stephanie Warren, math and reading teacher Kellie Chapman and school social worker Angela Atkins.
The four spoke to Calhoun and the board about their experiences teaching for the past year since the onset of the pandemic.
Jarrett presented first and said that learning how to teach using new methods presented a new challenge.
“It’s been a learning experience for all of us,” she said.
Jarrett also noted that student participation has decreased and students have found other things to keep them busy as the pandemic has gone on.
“A lot of our students have jobs,” Jarrett said. “They see the money in front of them and say ‘I don’t want to participate in school, I’m making money.’ We have a lot of students that are like that.”
Jarrett added that with virtual learning and students being on different schedules while they learn remotely, teachers can often feel like they’re always on call.
“Every teacher that I’ve talked to lately says they’re working 10-times harder than they’ve ever worked,” Jarrett said.
Jarrett said that teachers have also had to take on new support roles, reaching out to students who haven’t been heard from in a while.
“It’s not perfect,” she said. “We have students that are struggling and we are doing everything we can to help those students.”
Board Chair Brandon Pitman thanked all of the teachers in Mitchell County for their work over the past year.
“This board, I can assure you, knows you’ve not been taking a vacation,” Pitman said. “We know the hours you’ve been putting in.”
Warren followed Jarrett and said that the pandemic has eliminated collaborative learning like group projects and science experiments.
Warren said that the loss of field trips and programs has also been difficult and noted it’s been harder to build relationships with students.
“I sort of feel detached from my students,” she said.
Warren said it’s key to realize that everyone in the school system is on the same side, even during the pandemic.
“Once we realize we’re all on the same team, I think we’ll all be better,” Warren said. “I couldn’t think of a better team I’d rather be on than Mitchell County Schools.”
Chapman echoed many of the thoughts of her colleagues and added that during the first few months of virtual learning, student attendance and participation were high.
Now, some students are beginning to struggle, especially those who are left home alone during the day while parents work, she said.
Atkins closed the reports period by talking about how MCS support staff has helped students and their families since March 2020.
Atkins said she and other MCS staff have been working to connect students and their families to resources for health, food, internet, home repairs, utilities and transportation.
“I’ve felt tremendous pressure to fix situations for kids,” Atkins said. “Unfortunately, not every situation is fixable and that’s been hard. We are so blessed and honored to live in a community that has responded incredibly generously to the needs of our students and families.”