With plans for an unprecedented start to the 2020-21 school year locked in place, some time-honored traditions were “business as usual” the week of Aug. 31, the final week before the start of classes. Onboarding and professional development sessions were delivered in an efficient mix of online and live formats, not unlike the expanded learning environment in classrooms.
The week began with orientation for the more than 30 new teachers in Camden Diocesan elementary and high schools. Covered topics included curriculum, discipline and bullying, social media and communication, new protocols for remote learning, health and safety related to COVID-19, benefits and other human resources issues, and the unique advantages of a Catholic school experience.
“We intentionally invite God’s grace in a public, not bashful way. … At Catholic school we help students to understand the world they live in,” said Catholic Schools Superintendent Dr. Bill Watson, speaking to the group via Zoom videoconference about Catholic identity.
His message resonated with Carmen Cruz-Cox, who recently joined Paul VI High School in Haddonfield to teach Spanish.
“I am so grateful to God for this blessing that I am able to go teach and pray with students, in a place where I can express my beliefs,” she shared with the group.
Alex Kramer, new middle school science teacher at Resurrection Catholic School in Cherry Hill, said he was drawn to “the sense of community” and the ability to “integrate [faith] into our subject, even if we’re not teaching religion.”
Several teachers continued onboarding by attending an in-person VIRTUS “Protecting God’s Children” session at Saint Vincent de Paul Regional School in Mays Landing over the next two days. Facilitated by Rod Hererra, director of the Office of Child and Youth Protection, the program helps adults recognize signs of sexual and physical abuse in children and teaches them how to report it.
“Every adult is a mandated reporter. All you have to do is suspect abuse in order to report it,” said Herrera.
The session is delivered through a set of videos, which participants watch and then discuss. A licensed therapist, Herrera said he believes the sensitive nature of the material lends itself to a live, rather than online, format. To accommodate smaller in-person groups, the diocese has created more opportunities to attend VIRTUS training.
Professional development for teachers is often on the agenda the week before school begins. Bobby Lockwood, director of Curriculum and Assessment for the Diocese of Camden, spent time with teachers at Assumption Regional School in Absecon to talk about ways to create rotating learning stations — where students move about the classroom — in a time when movement is restricted and some students are learning remotely.
“We have to find new ways to engage all learners, in the class and remote,” he said.
Lockwood was especially pleased that the training felt “completely normal, other than we were all wearing masks.” He added that the masks were quickly forgotten as participants became engaged in the content and discussion.
“It was like processing any other concept. Teachers were already thinking ‘how can I apply this to my classroom?’”
With hope, prayer and an abundance of advance planning, students too will experience new ways of learning and adapt to their masks for a school year that is business as usual. And more.
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