Working Through a Pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic impacted many people and created hardships for different sectors of the population. During this time the uncertainty of this event caused stress and anxiety. Many schools needed to shut down and shift to a distance learning model and have students work from home. Concurrently many adults had to also shift to at home work as well. This sudden change created many hardships and showed the need for wellness support. Many students who were at home did not get the same support they did when they were attending in person learning. Also parents did not have the childcare support that schools can provide. Teachers and administrators had to adapt to new technology and the challenges of trying to support the community.
The transition to in person learning came with other forms of trauma and anxiety. Weekly covid testing, possible quarantine and risk of spreading the virus has put an already stressful situation to the forefront of education. School administrators had to be mindful of the ever changing protocols. Teachers had to adjust their lessons to deal with the effect of distance learning had on students. Students had to readjust to being at school after a year of inconsistent learning. Also parents having to send their kids to a possibly dangerous situation and trusting that schools can protect their children from spreading the virus. This highlights how schools are at the center of a community that affects everybody. In the past many surveys, community events and site council meetings have tried to get information about the needs of people in the school district, But how can this information after a pandemic assist in social emotional support, actual change and using this information to directly support the community. This is comonded with other hurdles like access to technology, language fluency, economic access and past trauma can make it hard for everybody in the school district community to voice their opinion. Outreach programs need to be made to help address this. But how can this be achieved without implicit bias and stereotyping a community that may not know that support is out there. |
Research
Design Process
Support and Next Steps
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