E1B Journal Message from the District Superintendent
It is the beginning of June. This is normally the time when educators feel a sense of satisfaction and celebrate accomplishments from the year. This year, however, is anything but normal. Covid-19 caused roughly one-third of the school year to be turned upside down, ripped apart and pieced back together. We’ve struggled. We’ve worked harder. And, by coming together, we’ve discovered solutions that allowed us to continue to serve our community.
At Erie 1, we’re committed to those we serve – students, staff and the community. I am proud of the many ways our employees modified our operations to ensure we could continue that mission. There are too many instances to list in this brief letter. However, I wanted to share a few examples to demonstrate the breadth of our response.
- Provided more than 300 online professional development workshops for educators to support technology integration and general instruction. More than 3,000 participants attended these sessions.
- Provided devices, internet access via MiFis, and printed instructional materials to support learning at home.
- More than 600,000 pages were printed relating to this year’s absentee ballot school election and budget vote including, postcards, ballots, notices and newsletters.
- Led, or increased frequency of, regional meetings for superintendents, instructional leaders, administrators and more.
- Adapted the cafeteria point of sale system to support the new food delivery service needs.
- Hosted frequent WebEx meetings with personnel and HR administrators to discuss new and emerging issues related to closures.
- Despite the many challenges of remote learning, instruction continued for K-12 students. In addition, 94 adults in the Licensed Practical Nursing program graduated from Workforce Development.
We were able to do this on top of our traditional workload because at Erie 1 BOCES, we never closed. We retooled, we adapted and we forged ahead for our community. Without question, we will all learn from this experience. But, as we still struggle with the uncertainty ahead, it is important to celebrate what we have accomplished. It appears June remains a time for celebration after all.
Sincerely,
Lynn M. Fusco, Ph.D.
District Superintendent/CEO