An Epstein Administrator Looks Back On The Pandemic School Year

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the 2019-2020 school year to an abrupt end. While Epstein remained online for the remainder of the school year after the nationwide shutdown, while students were learning virtually, administrators were already figuring out how everyone could return in person in the fall. Associate Head of School and Principal of Elementary School, David Welser, talked to Eagles Online about how the challenges and wins of this experience have made this school year different than the last. 

As told to Molly Diamant, Sara Diamant, and Kayla Furie  

In the beginning of the pandemic, people couldn’t come to school. It was a challenge -- but I was also excited to try something new. We have never had virtual school, even with a snowstorm. It was fun learning to use Zoom so all the classmates could see each other on their computer. Many kids did not see friends during the shutdown, so it was a great opportunity to see them still safely.   

 None of the administrators had a summer break. They were busy trying to make the school comfortable for all the students returning. They had to figure out what would make the students the most comfortable. Some of those strategies were knocking classroom walls to make bigger spaces with more ventilation and requiring everyone to always wear masks. COVID-19 has been full of so many surprises, so we had to make sure the students felt like they should not have to worry about coming to school. 

We had to think of a whole new way for students to go to the bathroom safely. We started a new cone system to show others that they were in the bathroom. There are two cones now outside of the bathroom, and when you go in you push a cone in front of the door. That was one way we could ensure social distancing in a space that is more contained.  

Another modification we had to make was that we had to change the number of books we had to buy for all children to have their own. Because of the pandemic students could not share textbooks, which is what usually happens during a school year. We had to buy a lot more books than we would have the rest of the years at Epstein.  

We had to make sure the kids who opted to learn online this year still feel like they were part of the class. We had to think of every possible scenario, and what being included could look and feel like. So, this year, whenever students go outside, we make sure one of the students hold the iPad the virtual kids will be on. This helps the kids at home feel a part of the class.  

Over COVID we were still able to educate the students. We are so grateful that we could keep the school running, even when kids were at home.