Choosing In-Person School in 2020: a Retrospective

Recently I sat down for a phone chat with ROCS Starling mom, Katie Challis, whom many of you may know as Towhee’s mom. I wanted to get the perspective of a family who had been at school when things were operating more normally, then experienced the shift to pandemic-schooling.   

I started by asking Katie what she thought this year would bring. “Honestly, I thought it wouldn’t even happen!  I wanted it to happen, but thought it probably wouldn’t because it’s 2020. In the spring and summer I had to take everything day by day and be really present. We couldn’t plan anything the way we were used to.  I knew the ROCS staff would make decisions I trust, and we’re already doing hybrid homeschooling since Towhee’s in the 3-day program. I knew if I had to homeschool for a while I could, because we’re totally used to this.  So I stayed present and tried not to stress about it.”  

It’s always good to stay flexible and roll with changes that arise at ROCS, as we’ve all found to be very true as the 2019/2020 school year morphed and summer stretched into the 2020/2021 school year.

Next I asked Katie how her family was feeling about how this year has been going so far. Towhee said “It’s been good”, but he’s ready for things to get “back to normal”. Katie, who was extremely involved last school year, is missing the sense of community that comes from interaction with the staff and other parents. “I felt like I half lived at school!  I went way over my volunteer hours, but I didn’t care because I loved it. I was always talking to people, staying late after school. I feel like now I don’t have the headspace to be as involved as I was; my brain is filled to the brim with worries or trying to figure out how to do new things. Like waking up and thinking if anyone I know or love is sick, or stressing about if my brown and black friends are safe.”

Luckily, Katie knows Towhee is still learning and growing at ROCS. “I haven’t been worrying about my kid even though I haven’t been involved, I know he’s in really good hands. I’m confident he’s learning awesome things, and you’re taking care of him really well.”

So now we’ve passed the halfway mark, I asked Katie about her hopes for the rest of the school year and beyond. “I feel like we got this!  We’ve already done three months so the rest will be easier.  Everything is moving so fast, but it feels like a step forward, not back. I hope everyone says healthy and that next year we’ll carry on, still being our school. I’m still staying present for each day.”

-Maureen Alley, ROCS educator & Katie Challis, ROCS mom