I have been a teacher for 20 years and this is a school year like I have never experienced before. I wanted to do this post as a way to look back and remember such a crazy, unpredictable, and unusual school year.
Since we are a Dual Language/Immersion school, I have 2 classes. Typically, I have one class in the morning and then the other class in the afternoon. This year, however, I have one class Mondays and Wednesdays and the other class Tuesdays and Thursdays. We rotate classes each Friday. So...that means I see my students only 2-3 times/week.
In a typical school year, the morning bell rings at 8:10 a.m. and students would enter the building at that time. This year, students can enter the building as early as 7:45 a.m. This is so kids do not mingle and play on the playground before school. Students can eat breakfast at school and, this year, they are eating in the classroom instead of the cafeteria. Since masks are off while eating, students must be facing forward while they eat breakfast. If students are not eating breakfast, I always have some sort of morning work ready to go. Students mingle into the classroom until 8:10 a.m.
I have students in my room right at 7:45 a.m.
When we do attendance, there is now an option for kids who are in quarantine.
At about 8:15, we go over the morning work and then move on with our day: Fundations (8:25-9:10) then Language Arts (9:10-10:15). (Sometimes we take a mask break/walk around the playground at about 9:30 a.m.) At about 10:15 a.m., I call students by colored groups to get their winter gear out of the lockers, one group at a time to limit the closeness of students in the hallway. Students get their winter gear on in the classroom.
Students have these color-coded numbers on their desks and lockers. We have 4 groups: yellow, orange, blue, and green.
This is how we line up to go outside: numbered order, safely distanced from others.
Students are at recess from 10:20-10:50 a.m. This is our duty-free 30 minute "lunch." (It is part of our contract to have a 30-minute duty-free lunch.) Do I eat my lunch at 10:20? Nope. I use this time to spray and sanitize desks, make any necessary copies, reply to emails, check in with my team, get materials prepped and ready, etc... On Mondays, it is my turn to get the cart of lunches from the cafeteria at 10:40. At 10:50, students come back into the school and head back into the classroom. They must use hand sanitizer or wash their hands at this time. Once again, I call the colored groups to put their winter gear into lockers. Students get their lunches and start eating. (They should not remove their masks until they actually start eating.) While students are eating we listen to books on either Storyline Online or Epic. Sometimes we watch Magic School Bus or other education videos. Masks are off so students must face forward while eating. This is also when I eat my lunch, mask off behind the plexiglass that is on my table for small groups. (When students finish eating, they immediately put their masks back on.). At about 11:15, I pass out cleaning wipes so students can wipe off their desks after eating. Their masks must be on when they put their trash into the large trash can in the hallway. Hand washing occurs again.
eating lunch
I use this spray/sanitizer on student desks 2-3 times/day.
We continue with our day: Moose 30 (Tier 2) from 11:20-11:50; small group from 11:50-12:10 (and Centers); specialists from 12:15-1:00. Oh yes, specialists. Specialists are done in our classrooms this year (except P.E.) and students have the same specialist all week (to limit the number of students specialists are in contact with). This means our team finds a spot to meet each day since it is very difficult to focus in our classrooms while specialists are happening. We usually sit in the faculty room or library, masks on of course.
After Specialists, I continue to meet with small groups until about 1:35. At that time, I pass out snack (since we eat lunch so early). (Students should use hand sanitizer or wash their hands before eating snack.) This year, all snacks must be individually packaged. Parents have been rockstars with donations of snacks, cleaning wipes, hand sanitizers, and hand soap. Once again, students must be facing forward while eating their snack since their masks are not on during this time. At 1:40, I start calling color-coded groups to get their winter gear out of their lockers. We go to recess from 1:45-2:00.
After recess, they use hand sanitizer or wash their hands (along with the many other times throughout the day). From 2:00 until the end of the day, we either do writing, math, or any special projects. At 2:45, students who ride the bus or go to the after-school program start getting cleaned up. They put their red or yellow bin on the cart and their white bins on the counter or shelf. Headphones go into the shoe holder. They wipe off their desks, stack their chairs and off they go. At 2:50, students with last names A-M start getting ready. They get dismissed at 2:55. At 2:55, students with last names N-Z start getting ready. They get dismissed at 3:00. We stagger times to reduce the number of parents picking up students at one time. That reminds me---Parents and visitors are not allowed in the school or on the playground. We emphasize to parents to not hang out together in large groups while picking up their kiddos.
My Spanish teacher partner and I stay outside until our last student has been picked up. Then it is back to the classroom to clean and sanitize desks, countertops, sink, light switches, door knobs, you name it. (I actually do this 2-3x throughout the day, as well. It is constant. Spray, wipe, spray, wipe, etc...)
Each of our classes (red and yellow) has a cart like this that we move back and forth between English and Spanish classrooms. These bins hold the supplies that both classrooms use: pencils, whiteboards/markers, crayons, scissors, and glue. Each student has their own headphones that are kept in the shoe holder on the side.
Each student also has a white bin that stays in my classroom. This has the supplies/materials that are only used on the English side.
When I get home from school, the first thing I do is change my clothes and wash my face. It sure does make for a lot more laundry but it's what we have to do right now.
And there you have it--a day in the life of a classroom teacher during the COVID-19 pandemic. Have parents been super supportive and grateful. You bet. Do I feel safe? Yes. Are my students happy to be back at school. You have no idea how happy they are. Are days exhausting? Every. day. Am I still glad I chose teaching as my profession? 110% yes.
(I may be adding a few more things...so much to document and think about!)
