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Back to school (again)
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| The pupils at River Oaks Elementary were quick to open their books. |
By CYNTHIA LESCALLEET
Yes. The two weeks off from school may have felt at times like the winter break at the holidays. But no, it wasn’t the same thing. On that, parents and educators agree.
While students will make up the instruction they missed, they returned to classrooms with very different experiences from the hurricane and its aftermath. And these differences needed a little classroom management.
At River Oaks Elementary, for example, teachers had the help of some psychologists to handle students either eager or reluctant to share their stories, said Kelly McBride, ROE principal. Students could talk if they needed to but were under no pressure to do so, she said.
Academically, the students may have fallen out of the school routine that had been in place less than a month, but they’ll fall into one again quickly, she said.
The school will monitor student performance to target those areas that need tweaking, she said.
Some ways ROE might handle this, as warranted, is by offering tutorials a little earlier in the school year than usual or by adjusting the program to meet those needs.
“Fortunately for us, we don’t have a large turnover of students and we know most pretty well — so we already know areas of concern and areas of strength for most. The teachers will be working fast and furiously (this) week trying to get the instructional plans updated,” McBride said in an e-mailed response.
The school had some storm damage, including quite a bit of water in one wing and two restroom ceilings caved in. Custodians and HISD work crews handled the repairs. Power returned Sept. 25.
School officials realized some families still had no power because they called each day to see if school had reopened.
Over at Roberts Elementary School, which resumed Sept. 18, some students reportedly returned to a classroom in which the teacher had switched around the desks and invited her pupils to pick another chair and start over.
Speaking for many parents, Cheryl Sorak of Morningside Place said the unexpected school hiatus meant a little bonding, some adventure, a quick escape to extended family elsewhere and lot of play dates —without electronics.
While the break from Roberts Elementary felt like summer vacation at times, she said, it was different because all the amenities and support available to families in the summer were closed.
And those that were open were very popular. The zoo, for instance, was, well, a zoo.
Working parents faced their own challenges during the break.
Veternarian Taffi Tippitt of the Southampton area, for example, had some flexibility with her schedule since she owns her practice. While her child accompanied her occasionally, the arrangement was not ideal.
Like many working parents,Tippitt said she was uncomfortable about leaving her child at home.
Within families and around neighborhoods, informal cooperatives emerged as parents traded off home and office duty, she said.
Either way, however, there was a little guilt, she said. “The working mom feels guilt anyway so (Ike child care arrangements) layered more on top.”
The practicalities of children on their own quickly kicked in regardless of homefront arrangement. Televisions and computers, if they worked, carried new locks.
For older children, the school-free days meant opportunities to volunteer.
Countless parents encouraged and accompanied their children on service missions.
At St. Thomas Episcopal School, for example, students helped to rake and remove branches from homes of elderly neighbors and helped raise money for the relief effort, said parent Regina Seale.
Seale shared a perspective many have observed. Despite the inconveniences and discomfort of enduring long, hot, powerless days, the devastation in Galveston was far worse.
While students will make up the instruction they missed, they returned to classrooms with very different experiences from the hurricane and its aftermath. And these differences needed a little classroom management.
At River Oaks Elementary, for example, teachers had the help of some psychologists to handle students either eager or reluctant to share their stories, said Kelly McBride, ROE principal. Students could talk if they needed to but were under no pressure to do so, she said.
Academically, the students may have fallen out of the school routine that had been in place less than a month, but they’ll fall into one again quickly, she said.
The school will monitor student performance to target those areas that need tweaking, she said.
Some ways ROE might handle this, as warranted, is by offering tutorials a little earlier in the school year than usual or by adjusting the program to meet those needs.
“Fortunately for us, we don’t have a large turnover of students and we know most pretty well — so we already know areas of concern and areas of strength for most. The teachers will be working fast and furiously (this) week trying to get the instructional plans updated,” McBride said in an e-mailed response.
The school had some storm damage, including quite a bit of water in one wing and two restroom ceilings caved in. Custodians and HISD work crews handled the repairs. Power returned Sept. 25.
School officials realized some families still had no power because they called each day to see if school had reopened.
Over at Roberts Elementary School, which resumed Sept. 18, some students reportedly returned to a classroom in which the teacher had switched around the desks and invited her pupils to pick another chair and start over.
Speaking for many parents, Cheryl Sorak of Morningside Place said the unexpected school hiatus meant a little bonding, some adventure, a quick escape to extended family elsewhere and lot of play dates —without electronics.
While the break from Roberts Elementary felt like summer vacation at times, she said, it was different because all the amenities and support available to families in the summer were closed.
And those that were open were very popular. The zoo, for instance, was, well, a zoo.
Working parents faced their own challenges during the break.
Veternarian Taffi Tippitt of the Southampton area, for example, had some flexibility with her schedule since she owns her practice. While her child accompanied her occasionally, the arrangement was not ideal.
Like many working parents,Tippitt said she was uncomfortable about leaving her child at home.
Within families and around neighborhoods, informal cooperatives emerged as parents traded off home and office duty, she said.
Either way, however, there was a little guilt, she said. “The working mom feels guilt anyway so (Ike child care arrangements) layered more on top.”
The practicalities of children on their own quickly kicked in regardless of homefront arrangement. Televisions and computers, if they worked, carried new locks.
For older children, the school-free days meant opportunities to volunteer.
Countless parents encouraged and accompanied their children on service missions.
At St. Thomas Episcopal School, for example, students helped to rake and remove branches from homes of elderly neighbors and helped raise money for the relief effort, said parent Regina Seale.
Seale shared a perspective many have observed. Despite the inconveniences and discomfort of enduring long, hot, powerless days, the devastation in Galveston was far worse.
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