The Empty School

I never thought I would work in an elementary school with no students. It was very strange going to the school - when I was finally let back in the building. No one was there. For 5 months I worked from home and was told late in July I could go in to work two days a week. July quickly turned to September and still no children running around. The playground was empty, the halls quiet, food being distributed to the children through distribution points and classrooms were just as they were when everyone departed in March of 2020. Virtual learning was going on all over the country. Many students were being left behind. The opportunity to learn was there - but the parents were either working at home on their own jobs or leaving the kids with older siblings (who had their school work to do) or with grandparents or in a daycare of they were lucky enough to find one open. Phone calls being made about attendance and getting work completed. Grades were at an all-time low for many students. Parents complaining that Chrome books were not working, they didn't have the supplies (cause they never came to pick them up), wifi was spotty, and kept dropping the class. There seem to be more problems than solutions. It is now January of 2021 with all the hopes of the new year. The pandemic cases are at an all-time high but vaccinations are starting. With any luck, A new school year will start in September 2021 with children back in the classrooms.