From Adaptation to Recovery
Apta superaque was adopted as the school’s rallying cry back in March of the previous year, and the exigency at that time was to sort through the rapidly changing ‘guidance’ being provided by governmental and health authorities to determine the manner in which Ridgeview would remain open to the greatest number of students for the longest period of time. The hybrid option with which we began and the eventual return to full-time, in-person schooling that followed were compromises intended to keep students and staff safe while providing for students’ educational needs. What we have discovered during the intervening period of time is just how profound the suspension or interruption of schooling could be for all aspects of a child’s development.
Since the implementation of restrictions related to this pandemic, worldwide, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of mental health concerns, instances of adolescent suicidal ideation, academic regression, social diminution, lethargy and sedentary behavior, and intellectual stagnation. Ridgeview has not been exempted from these more worldly trends. It has been reminiscent of a line from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, “The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.”
Just as Ridgeview is a subset of the broader world, youth are a subset of the larger human population. The Washington Post, relying on data from the CDC, has suggested that forty percent of Americans during the pandemic have struggled with anxiety, depression, or drugs, and that this number rises to seventy-five percent for adolescents. In terms of comprehension, composition, and mathematical ability, to say nothing of the acquisition of new knowledge, the spring was devastating. All the more so for students who have since remained remote. In spending time with students, wonderful as they generally are, it is obvious that the pandemic, and the associated restrictions, have stunted their social development. They are less engaged, less aware, less conscientious than their peers of just two or three years ago. With regards to their physical conditioning, many of them have not been participating in the athletic activities they normally would, and their physical health reflects this reality. Their study skills have suffered as has their curiosity about ideas and the intensity of their intellectual inquiry. This is an area one might have thought would escape unscathed, but it too has suffered grievously over the past year. While the first few months were occupied with how to adapt, the next several months will be occupied with how to recover.
Ridgeview is not unique in having something to recover from. Schools worldwide are struggling to come to terms with everything I have mentioned above, and they are generating solutions to ensure that this generation does not become the lost generation. Some school districts have gone so far as to propose extending the academic year to cover the entirety of the calendar year, and others are extending school a month into the summer this year and beginning a month earlier the next. In short, a dramatic situation has resulted in dramatic measures being entertained.
Ridgeview will make only minor modifications to its academic calendar. As noted during the last Principal’s Coffee, the goal is to make big changes that feel small. We intend to disrupt the calendar as little as possible, and to modify the day schedule in such a way as to ensure that students continue to have access to a rigorous curriculum, but with more manageable homework loads in the evenings. Many of the changes being contemplated are intended to increase the level of support to students while on campus without diminishing their opportunity to participate in electives and other activities. We are making changes to ensure that all things related to Ridgeview will occur within the school’s stated calendar dates, that extracurricular activities will occur in a more predictable way, and that commencement and dismissal times are compatible with students’ athletic schedules. Alterations to administrative positions and roles will be made to ensure better support of students in all aspects of their student life.
While it is natural for a school and its teachers to want more time with students to help them recover, we recognize that this must not come at the cost of a childhood, or time with family, or the opportunity to participate in the litany of other events that comprise a full and flourishing life. School is important, even crucial, but it is not everything. The changes we are making are intended to highlight how our community can have both.
The conversation about these changes began in earnest at nearly the same time as we adopted our rallying cry, but it became the central topic of discussion at our most recent board retreat. It has now been discussed with department heads; and shortly, it will be discussed with our faculty. Very soon, we will be inviting interested parents to attend a short presentation in the PAC to discuss these changes and the reasons we believe they are essential to how we will move forward together as a community. I look forward to the opportunity to visit with you about these changes, showcase the newly remodeled PAC, and give assurances that despite all that has happened, Ridgeview will redouble its commitment to our families to ensure that our students and children emerge from this crisis strong.
D. Anderson
Principal
