We would like to give a big thanks to all of our entire staff at Wausa Public Schools. This year there have been more changes to their career than ever. With new regulations and restrictions, it’s difficult to teach how they have in the past.
Staff members Dawn Friedrich and Sheila Hoesing were interviewed to better understand the changes they have had to make to adapt to the current situation keeping our students safe while maintaining the best educational environment possible.
I asked Dawn Friedrich what sort of changes she has made in the classroom this year to adapt to what is going on.
Dawn Friedrich teaches Business and leads the Wausa FBLA chapter. When asked about the additional time she spent teaching this semester she said, “I’ve had my classes set up for students to submit assignments online for a long time, but this year I’ve moved everything online so if we have to go remote, my students and I are ready. In my classroom, my desks are now all 6 ft apart which pushes the size of my room to the limit. Students are also required to wear masks. I think the thing I miss the most is not seeing facial expressions.”
“It really does double the amount of work. It takes some time getting the online classroom ready. Students then need to be taught how to access the class as well as submit assignments and tune in to online live class meetings. Once this is all set up, it’s not bad. Then comes the current situation–we are holding school face-to-face, but when students are quarantined and not able to attend classes live, the teacher load increases again. Staying connected to the quarantined student(s) and making sure they have all of the class materials they need is time consuming but very necessary.
Sheila Hoesing teaches FCS at WPS. She said “the biggest challenge is being there emotionally for students, not just for the normal stresses of everyday school life but all the additional stresses that have come through this pandemic.”
We appreciate all WPS teachers and all staff members who have had to make sacrifices to keep their classrooms going. In unprecedented times its difficult to keep moving forward, so we thank you for continuing on and educating the future of Wausa!