By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
LINWOOD — A major change was recently thrust upon students in districts around the area and across the country as the COVID-19 pandemic has forced them to stop attending school in person and begin attending online.
Nate Lichtenwalner, vice principal and director of guidance at Mainland Regional High School, said the school initially addressed the mechanics of remote instruction, such as providing technology and food service, and toward the end of the second week began addressing the social and emotional needs of students.
“This is uncharted territory,” Lichtenwalner said. “From the beginning there were so many different pieces to handle. Another component that is going to become increasingly important is how the students are doing socially, emotionally and mentally.”
“Across the board it’s really been a collaborative effort. Teachers are very in tune with that need and trying to incorporate that into what they are doing,” Lichtenwalner said.
He said from the administration to the teachers, aides and bus drivers, “everybody is trying to step up and do their part to help.”
Lichtenwalner said the child study team is setting up video conferencing using Zoom, an online platform, to connect with students.
“Counselors are reaching out on an individual basis, especially to students whom they have met a lot in the past,” Lichtenwalner said. “The next wave of support is we will be incorporating more video conferencing.”
He stressed that the school is offering a lot of platforms for communication.
“We want kids to be able to have more interaction,” he said. “It’s been amazing watching all of the staff members, despite title, stepping up and recognizing that the students need this support.”
Kim Spagone, the school’s social emotional learning coordinator, said the school has been trying to meet the social emotional needs of students from a distance in a variety of ways.
“This is a drastic change for students and their families, each of which is unique. Many students come to school each day primarily to connect with trusted adults and their entire social network. We’ve made it a priority to listen to feedback from students and their teachers/counselors during the first week of distance instruction, and to adjust our approach accordingly,” she said.
Spagone said she thinks that a lot of students struggle with a major change in format.
“Social connection and being with other people is of primary importance for being well,” she said. “School provides that interaction, and all of a sudden without warning that has been severed.”
Spagone said some students may have initially been happy to get out of going to school but that now, “many are wishing they could be back at school.”
And Spagone said the new remote instruction model is having an effect on students across the board.
“It affects more than the emotionally vulnerable,” she said, adding that teachers are missing students and missing one another as well.
Spagone said the school has set up multiple platforms through which students can connect with teachers and other staff members.
“We want kids to know that everyone is working all day every day. No one is going anywhere, we are here,” Spagone said. “We have a lot of support in place a Mainland and I’m proud of that.”
One change brought about by student feedback is a new instructional schedule. Students initially were required to check in every hour but “that puts students in front of a screen all day, plus some. We were getting feedback that that was just too much. Students were overwhelmed. They were saying ‘I can’t stand looking at a computer any longer.’”
So the school changed the schedule and instead of having students “attend” from 8 a.m. to 2:39 p.m., they now are required only to be “present” from 8 a.m. to noon. The rest of the day is an opportunity to get support from teachers, who are available at least until 2:39 p.m. and many much longer. Every fourth day is office hours, when teachers are all at their computers and available to students.
“This was in direct response to students’ feedback that they felt overwhelmed and ‘stir crazy’ sitting in front of their computers for the majority of each day, followed by homework, with no in-person socialization to balance it out,” Spagone said.
She said students likely are experiencing feelings of frustration, anxiety and disconnection, and the school is taking steps to address those feelings.
Spagone said the staff is reaching out to students a couple of days a week and sending out resources “for those who wake up in middle of night and need someone to talk to.”
She said the best way to communicate with staff is via the Microsoft Teams portal, which “offers access to every adult on the staff via instant message to get immediately in touch with someone.”
“If they don’t know whom they want to contact, they can get that information rather quickly from anyone,” she said.
Students can also email teachers or connect through individual classroom groups, and soon will be able to do video conferencing.
Another important part of school life is generating and keeping good morale among the student body. Spagone said events such as Spirit Week “connect students to one another, to teachers. Now we are trying to figure out how to do those things virtually.”
Spagone, who runs the school’s gay-straight alliance Rally for Diversity, said the group, as well as the school in general, had events planned that are now postponed or possibly canceled.
“We participate each year in the Day of Silence. LGBTQ students and their allies/friends take a vow of silence for the full school day to bring awareness to the silencing effects of harassment and mistreatment,” Spagone said. “We’re planning to do the same thing over Teams by adding “Rainbow” and “Shhhh” emojis to the end of each comment left in class dialogues. This is a day they’ve awaited all year, and they’re not willing to skip it.”
“These things are still important,” she said. “We are brainstorming about how to do this now. Clubs are thinking of new ways to make activities visible.”
Casey LaFerriere, the school’s freshmen counselor, said the guidance staff had been meeting with health classes throughout the year, providing social and emotional lessons and running small groups. The focus was going to be helping freshmen transition into their sophomore year, but she said the department is now tweaking the groups and focusing on how to adjust to life online.
“We are making sure they are also socially and emotionally adjusting as well,” LaFerriere said. “It’s a dramatic change for all of us right now with social distancing. We want to make sure students have resources, something that helps them stay positive. Every week we will add another layer of support.”
Spagone said teachers are infusing mindfulness practices and well-being activities into their virtual instruction and assignments.
“Some are sending out links to guided meditations, self-reflections, and many are spending a good deal of time offering support and encouragement alongside their core content instruction,” she said.
Other things the staff is doing include the Resiliency Committee meeting to generate ideas that can be implemented schoolwide to prioritize well-being and address feelings of isolation and frustration.
“The administration has been very responsive to ideas and likewise prioritizes the individual needs and adjustment of our students,” she said.
The Intervention and Referral Services Committee continues to follow students who may need additional support. This may include academic or social emotional needs.
Spagone provide contact information to some support services:
Resources:
— 2ndfloor.org is a 24-7 youth helpline.
— PerformCare and Mobile Response, at performcarenj.org or (877) 652-7624, is the state children’s system of care that will help families connect to therapeutic and behavioral services. Agents are available 24-7 and will visit the home of those in need, regardless of current financial circumstances or insurance coverage.
“If a family member is experiencing an emotional crisis in which there are concerns for their safety or the safety of someone else, call 911,” Spagone said.
Asked what the Ocean City School District is doing to help students with their mental health, the district released the following information:
“Continuing with school protocol, our mental health professionals will be available for check-ins during any school closure. We encourage students to visit Remind.com or download the Remind app. Our mental health professionals will be available via Remind and school email between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“Download the Remind app or go to Remind.com. If you do not have an account, please create one using your personal email address. On top left of screen, click on ‘Join a Class’ and enter “ocwellness” for a class code.
“Please know that these check-ins are confidential. In the event that a mental health crisis occurs, we have provided a state-run emergency service provider. If you are unable to communicate with this resource and you have an emergent mental health crisis, please call 911 or your local police department.
Staff contact information:
— Faye Noble, high school mental health social worker: tnoble@ocsdnj.org
— Jill Berenato, high school nurse: jgeller@ocsdnj.org.
— Stepfanie Grisinger, intermediate school social worker/SAC: sgrisinger@ocsdnj.org.