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The Classroom
 
Blog School Closings
The situation  in which a public, private or religious school are forced to close there doors, to protect the life, health or safety of the students, parents, staff or administration. Usually this is done for one, two days or as long as a week. But in March 2020 the Coronavirus cause massive world wide closing of school which resulted in  extensive disruption of all levels of education.
The opinion below are the result of my professional experiences as an: historian, webmaster, master teacher, teacher's union vice president and president, parent and grandparent.
 Updated 7/7/2024
 School ClosingClosing of schools is not new. Schools have been closed before due to hurricanes, snow storms, active shooters, health scares, bombs and other situations in which the health and safety of the students, teachers, staff and administration is at stake. Today we face an even greater reason for the closing of our schools here and world wide, the staggering possible affects of any world wide pandemics and school shootings. The effects can be short and limited for an hour, day, week or maybe a month. Many school officials and politicians are now talking about closing schools for the rest of the school year if not longer. What affects will this have on the students, parents, staff and administration?

Staff
Will face the prospects of layoffs and furlough and must figure out ways of paying their bills and feeding their families. In a disease related closing. My heart goes out to them in this crisis. Hopefully this crisis will end sooner than some are predicting and they will be able to go back to feeding the kids, cleaning the rooms, fixing what is broken, typing reports and doing the vital things these personal do in the schools. In a shooter related closing they must at first deal with the trauma of the events and the possibility of both mental and physical trauma.

Students
* Sport training and interschool games will be disrupted. An idea might be to use this time to develop your skills and body. Your backyard and an open field is a great place to work out! Jog along sidewalks and any place you can workout. Use objects from around the house as weights and pull up bars. If you have to put up a makeshift basket to practice hoops. Believe me I did that and really built up my skills, stamina and body.
*You might have to retake some courses. But look at it this way if you do have retake a class, it will be easier since some of the material you have already studied. Use The Classroom to supplement what your school is offering especially the Distant Learning Page.
*Sadly some of you seniors will not graduate on time and thus jeopardized a job or college, hang in there and use this time to improve your mind, education and your chances to land an even better scholarship, college or job.
*Your relationships with your parents and peers will be strained, as they too will be forced to stay at home. Compete with them on online games (warning don't overdue this). Talk on the phone, text, email, skype or facetime with them  and show that you care.
*Learn to communicate play and work with your parents, brothers and sisters.
I believe if you are patient, cooperative and use this time to improve yourself you will come out ahead of the game.

Parents
*You will have to hustle to find ways to balance your work, education, care and safety of your children.
* Set up schedules so as to structure your child's time. You will then be able to figure out ways to monitor their activity. This will help you fill idle time in constructive ways. Here are some articles that might help NY Times, Time, Dept of Education, Raising Children, Scholastic, thecentsiblelife, Business Insider. Studies show that the crime rate increases during the summer vacation ThoughtCo, Bureau of Justice Statisticsc, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology and thus would apply to this crisis.
*You should consider your child's educational and emotional needs by using our education site The Classroom in which you can get the resources to help bridge the gap until the schools reopen.
*You will have to deal with the emotional distress caused by the closing of the schools. Remember keep your counseling age appropriate and try to calm their nerves. Stress that the closing is temporary and they will soon see their friends and teachers.
*Here are some articles that will help LA Times, American School Counselors Association, CDC
*Stay strong and alert. This could be a blessing in that you will get closer to your children and both and them will understand each other better.

Teachers
*You will have to use all your experience, training and imagination to provide your students a continuation of their studies via the distance learning programs established by your district and state. If you are not one of the lucky teachers who has this available to them I wish you the best of luck.
*Keep your cool! I know how this will disrupt your lesson plans and research you have done to prepare for the course work. I know very well how frustrating this is from my many years of teaching. Hang in there and don't pull your hair out and get plenty of sleep, you are going to need it.
*If possible keep in contact with the students and the parents and let them know you are there for them. This is vital to their success.
*Keep smiling and maintain a caring attitude.
*Make your instructions simple, since you  will not be there physically to help the if they have questions. Here are some articles that might help in this trying time USA Today, Distant Learning Page, K12, CDC. For

Administrators
*Here are some tips from the CDC

*Instruct your staff on the proper ways of preventing the spread.
*Follow up on the custodial staff as to their cleaning of the gym, cafeteria, lockers, equipment, halls, books and classrooms.
*Keep in contact with the staff and offer words of encouragement for this is a tough situation they are experiencing.
*Keep in contact with the parents and the PTA to provide information and support.
*Keep yourself healthy.