April 27, 2020 by Dr. Paul Austin, Superintendent
Hingham Public Schools
Editor's note: The Hingham Anchor recently asked Dr. Paul Austin to describe the efforts of HPS staff during this crisis and he provided the following response:
On the evening of March 12, 2020, the Hingham Public Schools were turned upside-down and thrust into a global health crisis like a rocket ship hurtling through space.
In the days prior to the closure [of schools statewide], concerns about the “Coronavirus” swept the world like a tidal wave, consuming everything and everyone in its path, and shutting down and crippling global economies, one town, state, and country at a time.
And finally, on March 13, Hingham Public Schools leadership, teachers, staff, students, families, and members of the community became witnesses to the greatest change to education and instruction in history. Without question, these past few weeks have been incredibly challenging for all of us. Words and phrases such as COVID-19, Zoom meetings, and social distancing are forever captured within our vocabularies. These are days in which it is oftentimes difficult to focus on routine work amidst the daily crises that arise.
Administrative Leadership
Prior to the closure on March 13, district administrators were hard at work planning for what seemed to be the inevitable closing of schools. Although we were unsure if or when a closure would occur, the groundswell of concern made it certainly feel imminent. I assembled the leadership team on March 12 to begin developing contingency plans, and like the true professionals they are, they rose to the occasion to chart the course for the unknown days ahead.
Little did they know when they were writing the initial plan that they had seen the inside of their schools for the last time for the 2019-20 school year. In the first few weeks of the closure, district leadership met for many hours each day via the Zoom platform to discuss and plan for an eventual return to instruction.
Although dealing with their own children, responsibilities, and pressures of home, every member of the leadership team worked long hours and days to determine how best to meet the needs of students in this most difficult and uncertain situation.
Throughout this crisis, the leadership team has worked tirelessly to serve the community, and I could not be more proud of any group of people I have ever worked with than I am of the HPS administrative staff. I am honored to be a part of such an incredibly dedicated group of people.
Support Staff
Throughout this crisis, the central office and school support staff have worked remotely to keep the district running smoothly. Through their hard work and dedication, HPS has continued to ensure that our employees and bills are paid and that the business of the district continues.
As a $55 Million dollar business, their work has been vitally important to ensure the health and well-being of the district and its employees. They are an amazing group of incredibly talented and dedicated individuals, and I am so proud of what they have done during this very difficult time.
One of the first orders of business was to ensure that the district assisted families in need. Within a few days of the initial closure, our food service program managers and employees were hard at work feeding any child in Hingham who needed a meal.
Our goal was to feed any child in Hingham without charge. At first, the numbers of children accessing meals was relatively low. However, over time, the numbers grew. Custodians and kitchen staff took steps to ensure that all facilities were sparkling clean and safe, and procedures were quickly put in place to allow families to safely pick up meals.
After the first few weeks, HPS and the Town of Hingham partnered to serve not only children, but also elderly veterans and the most vulnerable members of our community. As kitchen staff prepared meals, our transportation staff safely delivered them day in and day out. While many people were safe within their homes, many HPS staff have worked endless days and weeks to ensure that the needs of the community are met. Words cannot describe how proud I am for all that they have done.
Education Support Staff, Teachers, and Teacher Leaders
Since the early 1900's, children across America have been required to attend public schools, and for more than 100 years, teachers and staff have always been there to greet them. But, after March 16, teachers were thrust into the new world of "remote learning." The shift that our educators have made has been difficult and nothing short of miraculous.
Even in this age of technology, there is a substantial gap in the equipment and skills needed in the provision of remote learning. Some of our teachers did not have home computers that were appropriate for spending hours on Zoom calls, recording instruction, or making live-stream connections with their students.
Although our educators are well-trained and highly-skilled classroom teachers, few had had any substantial training in the delivery of instruction online. To address these obstacles, the district did its best to supply teachers with necessary equipment as they put aside their fears and embraced the new challenge ahead of them.
Teacher leaders immediately organized to provide hours of professional development on remote learning, and our teachers stepped up to the plate. So many of our educators spent hours learning how to use the Zoom platform, Google classroom, and other online applications used for instruction.
Like anything new, some of our teachers are more comfortable in those platforms than others, but they all are making huge efforts. Every teacher knows the importance of connecting with their students, and they are all doing their very best to meet that challenge head-on to provide the very best education possible to our students in this very difficult period. In the end, I know that our students are loved and well cared for by our educators every single day. We should all be very proud of them!
In closing, I would like to thank the members of the Hingham School Committee, the HPS administrative and leadership teams, faculty and all the support staff for their amazing and tireless work during this unprecedented time in history. I am honored to work beside these incredibly talented and dedicated professionals that serve the children of HPS. Though these days are clouded with uncertainty about when this terrible pandemic will end, I am certain that we will not only get through this together, but we will emerge stronger, better, and more unified than ever before.
Learn more: Working as a team, HPS administrators, teachers, and staff continue to rise to the occasion