By LAURA HAMMACK, guest columnist
One hundred thirty-six days.
On Aug. 5, it’s been 136 days since March 13, the day schools were ordered closed across the state of Indiana. On March 13, we thought we would be closed for a few weeks.
On Aug. 5, we get to welcome our students home.
It’s really incredible to reflect back on all that has happened since March 13. There were so many unknowns. And while we are still processing the conditions of this global pandemic, we have learned a lot.
We have learned that during times of need, our community pulls together, supports each other, and lifts each other up.
We identified during our first week of closure (spring break) that we could provide ongoing food service to our families. Beginning after spring break, we delivered seven days of breakfast and lunch meals to homebound families and also set up distribution centers on the BCHS campus and at our outlying buildings. We are still serving meals and will have served tens of thousands of free meals to students 18 years of age and younger across Brown County.
We also identified that access to high-speed internet was a critical component for families to access remote eLearning. With the incredible support of our partners at Mainstream Fiber, wireless access points were installed on all of our school buildings so families could access high-speed internet in our parking lots. We will never forget the gift that Mainstream gave our school community with those access points. I still see a variety of vehicles in our parking lots accessing this incredible service.
Additionally, we purchased 32 hotspot wireless access devices and issued those devices by lottery to families in need. The devices proved to be excellent solutions. Unfortunately, these devices are expensive, as we are required to maintain the monthly service fee for each access point. Recently, we sought grant funding through a grant issued by the governor’s office to maintain and purchase even more connection points for families during school year 2020-2021.
Volunteers quickly erupted across the community assisting the schools in a variety of ways. I remember one Saturday morning, I was trying to figure out how to get masks for our essential employees, during the time period when masks were difficult to source. I sent an email to our staff asking any of our “crafters” to sew masks for our essential workers. By lunch time, I had commitments for all the masks we needed and more. And no one would let me pay them for their incredible works of art.
Volunteers also supported our meal distribution efforts by driving activity buses for homebound delivery, assisting with distribution on school buses and at school location centers. Once again, all I had to do was ask, and our needs were instantly met. These volunteers were lifesavers for families who in need.
The Brown County COAD served our community throughout this crisis by ensuring that not only our students, but our senior community and other families in need were fed with ongoing access to fresh fruit and vegetables and other groceries through their “pop-up” pantries and meals from Mother’s Cupboard. Additionally, they provided a caring voice at the end of the hotline to help ease anxieties and connect people in need to resources. Their work is ongoing and the schools are so grateful for this support.
We loved working on innovative ways to honor the Class of 2020. Without question, there was certainly heartbreak over the loss of a traditional senior year experience; however, we were thrilled to deliver happy tears and smiles, too. A virtual, albeit personalized graduation, socially distanced individualized yard signs at the track, and the graduation parade through the town of Nashville were just some of the highlights that we will treasure from celebrating the Class of 2020.
We have learned a lot over 136 days. And we are still learning.
One thing we know is that our purpose is returning on Aug. 5. We have constructed an in-person and virtual return to school that provides the opportunity for innovative, world-class instruction, no matter the platform.
One hundred thirty-six days proved, once again, that our community will always be there for their schools and we need you more than ever.
#WeAREBrownCounty
Laura Hammack is superintendent of Brown County schools. She can be reached at 812-988-6606 or [email protected].
