Page 36 - EdViewptsSpring2021

Better.Together: How We

Remain Social, When Distant

By Joe Palumbo, Director of School Counseling, Keyport Public Schools

“Shaun Cassidy?! Who is what was to come. We as educators, administrators, and community leaders
could not have fathomed the toll that met weekly to figure out how we would
Shaun Cassidy?!” I exclaimed we were about to pay. fit a school year sized peg into a
one Tuesday afternoon. “You are now In the Road Back: Restart and pandemic sized hole. These meetings,
the third person to say that he was Recovery Plan for Education plan held virtually, were fascinating. They
your celebrity crush when you were released in the summer of 2020, school were fascinating not just because
younger.” — musings from another districts were tasked with focusing on of the opinions or thoughts given,
Better.Together staff support group in the social and emotional learning and but rather HOW they were given.
the Keyport Public School District. wellness of their students but also Our teachers had just spent their
I believe we all realized that some prioritizing the “wellness of educators,” spring and now their summer
things would be different when we so that they may better serve their changing everything they ever knew
packed up our classrooms, offices, students (NJDOE). This “put your life about teaching. They were drained.
and work lives on March 13, 2020. mask on first,” idea of focusing on the Physically and emotionally drained.
At the time, we were preparing for wellness of our teachers and staff stuck The toll everyone had been paying
two weeks working at home for the out to my team. since March 13, 2020 was beginning
first time ever in our careers. In some As the summer began to ramp up to show.
ways it was scary, other ways exciting. with planning for the 2020-2021 Let me provide a bit of context:
Looking back at that time now, some school year, our pandemic response Keyport Public Schools is a small
nine months removed from that day, I team made up of teachers, parents, district in Monmouth County made
could have never prepared myself for up of approximately 1100 students

Educational Viewpoints -34- Spring 2021