Page 39 - DistanceLearning

One of my strengths as a first year adminis- Finally, it’s vital to let our teachers

trator was connecting to the PreK-5 students know how amazing they’ve been That was a major goal
and how hard they’ve been work- of mine, to create a
in my building. Whenever I did the announcements, I would ing. The emotional health of our sense of pride and
end it with “Do Good, Be Good, For Good...Go Red Raiders!” It teachers is something that is being school spirit in the
began to catch on, and whenever one of my students would see somewhat overlooked during this younger students, so
me in the hallway, they would say that phrase to me and offer me “new normal” of remote learning. by the time they en-
a hug or a high five. It was a great feeling. I’m a huge proponent Many of them are trying to teach tered middle school
of school spirit and the benefits it brings to a school, so it made their students and their children. I (in the same building)
me happy that something was beginning to stick. When something know first-hand that it is a struggle they had bought in.
begins to stick, it becomes part of the fabric of the building, and in to balance the two, as my wife is a
turn, becomes part of the school culture. That was a major goal of teacher and we have four-year-old twins and a seven-year-old. So,
mine, to create a sense of pride and school spirit in the younger we as an administration team, delivered a little something to every
students, so by the time they entered middle school (in the same teacher in Keyport Schools on the last day of Teacher Appreciation
building) they had bought in. This would cut down on chronic ab- Week with the hope that it put a smile on their face.
senteeism and discipline problems. Speaking of, I can’t wait to see everyone’s smile when we walk the
But then the unthinkable happened, the building closed, but the halls again, and oh I almost forgot--
school did not. So we transitioned quickly and successfully to a re- Do Good, Be Good, For Good! Go Red Raiders!
mote learning platform. Grades PreK-2 created a blended learning
plan that consisted of Google Classroom, Class Dojo and printed
materials. Packets were created for grades PreK-2. Whoever was Whoever was absent on that last day,
absent on that last day, March 13th, I personally delivered their March 13th, I personally delivered their
materials that afternoon. Parents were very appreciative and my materials that afternoon.
students got a kick out of seeing me on the streets of Keyport.

The next week I decided to create a YouTube channel. It’s me
reading books to my younger students, called Books With Mr. Ben-
nett. It was something silly and fun and a way for me to connect I posted the read alouds on teachers’
to them, to let them know that I was still thinking of them. I post- Google Classrooms and Class Dojos.
ed the read alouds on teachers’ Google Classrooms and Class
Dojos. Many students commented on how much they loved the
read alouds, and even one parent tweeted a video of her children
laughing while listening to me read. Good stuff.
Recently, I tweeted a picture of myself holding a sign with the slo- We as an administration team, deliv-
gan mentioned above as another way to connect with the school ered a little something to every teacher
community and community at large. Many teachers and students in Keyport Schools on the last day of
retweeted with a version of their own. It’s important to me to let Teacher Appreciation Week.
everyone know that not only am I still thinking of them, but that we
are all still thinking of each other.
39