Norwalk Schools Earns 2020 Pivot Award

January 28, 2021

NCSD LAUNCHES A NEW WEBSITE... TAKE A PEEK

Ten amazing ways the Norwalk Community School District has achieved amid the pandemic:

With staff shortages due to Covid and a shortage of substitutes, school principals, assistant principals and counselors have been seen serving school lunches in cafeterias and subbing in classrooms.
Teachers not only taught their own classes but used their planning times to teach in other rooms which could not be covered by substitutes. (In just one December week middle school teachers covered 75 classroom periods.)
School nurses deserve high praise for their extra effort and hours they dedicated to contact tracing and communicating with families, work often done in the evenings and weekends to assure schools maintained a healthy, safe environment.
The Professional Learning Community coordinator, facilitators and instructional coaches spent numerous hours conceiving the best ways to instruct in a remote learning environment to support teachers in their classrooms.
Custodial staff worked many extra hours cleaning classrooms with special attention to assure safe spaces for students and teachers.
School bus drivers put in hours going above and beyond transporting students by spending extra time cleaning vehicles as another way of assuring safe spaces.
School nutrition staff gave untold hours focusing on meal preparation to give students the healthy foundation for learning. Nutrition staff packed meals-to-go to student homes, often working with fewer than normal staff members, all to make sure students had the needed nutrition.
The District Board of Education devoted numerous hours in special board meetings, dealing with many difficult decisions to balance health and safety with the commitment to provide a strong learning environment.
Students, too, all 3,299 of them, adapted to changes as never before experienced, wearing their masks, practicing social distancing, and giving up large group activities, all while focusing on learning and more learning, knowing they are impacting their futures positively.
Finally, as the strength of an organization is revealed in its response to a crisis, the Norwalk Community School District revealed its strength as students, staff and families pulled together to be Warrior Strong, emphasizing health and safety while focused on learning.