fbpx

THE COVID COLLECTION

TEACHERS AND STAFF BEHIND THE SCENES

Our teachers and staff are the foundation of our school. They are the ones who hold us together and keep moving us forward. This year has pushed our team farther than they thought they could go, learning endurance and flexibility along the way.

We've collected interviews, quotes, artwork, surveys, videos, and more to give a behind the scenes look into our teachers' and staff's lives this year.

IMG_7291

COVID STORIES

Our faculty and staff are the life behind the school. They are the heroes who keep everything going, and we wanted to publish an insider's look into what their experiences this year have been like. We interviewed 15 individuals and we hope you enjoy reading their stories.

Click on the images below to read about what life was like for each person living and working during a pandemic.

WHAT WERE SOME SILVER LININGS FROM COVID-19?

Alison Ketcham

Little School Coordinator

The silver linings have been hard to find. Smaller class sizes this year were a true gift as they allowed for more bonding between teachers and students with one on one time being more possible. We have also come together more as a community through shared uncertainty but also hope. Our super hero staff, especially in the infant toddler program who returned in June, have truly been leaders and paved the way for the rest of the school. I think we all feel very proud of how this school year, while not totally normal, was a happy and welcoming place for the students.

Julio Lopez Martinez

Auxiliary Program Coordinator

I’m not a big fan of being in large gatherings and I’m pretty introverted. Although COVID is scary, a sliver lining is that I have had an excuse to avoid large crowds and be more of a home-body.

Maura Rice

Junior Kindergarten Teacher

I think that for me COVID had both silver linings and unexpected challenges. Some silver linings? We learned that we can connect with our students in different ways: some of them waited all day for our FaceTime dates, or needed to hear us read them a story to feel like we were still their teachers. I had no idea how much just those little moments meant to them, and it was very affirming to realize that. I think it also puts into perspective how important social and emotional well-being is, and how that should always be at the forefront of our program at Congressional. These students wouldn't learn Math topics through the computer unless they felt seen, heard and valued. They desire connection, love and warmth. Those are the baselines they need to feel in order to learn and learn properly and completely. I think this whole pandemic highlighted the extreme importance of making sure people's (especially our students) social and emotional selves are taken care of and valued just as highly, if not more than, their academic achievements.

Cameron Yassine

Grades 5 and 6 English Teacher

I am firm believer that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. In that way, I do think this year has its own silver lining. We are all certainly more resilient, innovative, interconnected, and appreciative of those aspects of life that COVID has forced us to live without for more than a year now. It is also my hope that this pandemic inspires our community and society as a whole to show greater appreciation for teachers and all that they do, because if not now, when? When will teachers earn salaries that reflect their true value? A salary that competes with jobs in business, technology, finance, medicine, law, and countless other professions that would not be possible if not for teachers. As Robert Reich, American economist, once said, "We are paying teachers who are in charge of our human capital, arguably more important than our financial capital, a very tiny fraction of what Wall Streeters are paid." The silver lining of this year, I hope, will be a significant step toward fixing that problem.

Danielle Anderson

EHP Counselor

My connection with the kids gets better everyday and the joy I see on their faces transmits to mine. It’s great.

Laura Day

Admission Associate

One silver lining has been accessibility. I feel like because we have been virtual, we are able to reach more interested parties and offer more convenient dates and times to meet with prospective students and families. It will be interesting moving forward to see if we can blend more virtual components into the Admission process to make things easier for families, while also returning to our more traditional aspects like in-person tours and shadow days. 

Emily Manes

Grade 4 Teacher

Has it all been bad? Absolutely not! I have grown even closer to my partner. I've spent the last year focusing on personal health and physical fitness--cooking healthy meals and exercising more regularly. Now that I'm vaccinated, I appreciate the time that I spend with my friends and family even more. Finally, I've become a more creative teacher...I've found more ways to adapt and differentiate the curriculum for different abilities and different styles of learners.

Gene Giammittorio

Assistant Director of Auxiliary Programs

This experience has really made me appreciate what I have. I pay a lot more attention to the little things now. Stop and smell the roses as they say. 

Cecliia Mejia

Early Childhood Lead Teacher (Fireflies)

Throughout the pandemic I learned to value even the little things and have grown closer with my family. 

Matt McCoart

Auxiliary Program Coordinator

The silver linings were a reconnection with family and a recommitment to reading. 

Dessi Gad

Early Childhood Lead Teacher (Caterpillars)

There is always, of course, a silver lining and for me this is the reconfirming how important is the family for me, we had the chance to spend so much time together. We were given time to contemplate on the things that really matter.

Evan Seklecki

EHP Counselor

I go out a lot less so I’ve been saving money.

Alla Stellakis

Kindergarten Assistant Teacher

I’d say the sliver lining for me was actually coming onto work and having the ability to teach in person versus online.

Flora Mansilla

Early Childhood Teaching Assistant (Busy Bees)

Personally, wearing a mask all the time has helped me with allergies (spring and autumn) to pollen. I have not had the need to take medicine, and the children have not gotten sick like every year.

Jessie Madden

Early Childhood Teaching Assistant (Caterpillars)

The silver lining has been gaining independence, discovering new ways to approach people and lesson plans. There is less drama and a little more time for self care because life outside the classroom has a slower pace. We are all a work in progress individually, and as a school and the positive note is feeling safe and knowing our collective journey is going forward. 

Tinelle Davies

Director of Human Resources

The silver linings for me have been extended time with my nuclear family (I never would've had this much one-on-one time with my teenage son), getting a puppy (Reggie is the new love of my life!) and building tighter bonds with my colleagues (we've been through a lot together over the past year). I'm looking forward to a less eventful 2021!

Chuck Viator

Transportation Lead Driver

 In my opinion, there are two hidden benefits: traffic has been very light, and the wearing of masks combined with the emphasis on sanitization (washing hands, wiping surfaces, and personal hygiene) resulted in a reduction of seasonal flu and common colds. I would recommend considering making that emphasis become the new normal. On a lighter note, the students and the parents have been great partners in the process of returning to school.

Eliana Rivas

Transportation Lead Driver

In the past I would often pass on opportunities to hang out with people, thinking there would be plenty of chances to do so in the future. The pandemic has definitely made me realize I’m a lot more social than I originally thought I was.

Early Childhood Teachers sent videos to their students before returning in person so they could get used to seeing them in masks.

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART OF THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN?

Teacher-Survey

THANK YOU TO OUR FACILITIES TEAM, BUS DRIVERS, AND EHP STAFF!

IMG_4879_web
Unknown-101
Unknown-99

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE HARDEST PARTS OF COVID-19?

Janet Turk

Kindergarten Teacher

This might sound a little silly but the fact that we were not able to sing with our students was extremely difficult for me. Prior to this school year, I would sing with my class every day and all day. Singing makes my heart happy and I teach not only fun songs but songs that teach skills within my curriculum. I still taught songs to my class this year but saying them is very different.

Maura Rice

Junior Kindergarten Teacher

 I think a challenge for me was screen fatigue and lack of work life balance. It often felt as though everyone was "on" and "plugged in" so there was never a time we truly felt we could stop working and just disconnect. There were no set "office hours" and all hands on deck just applied across the board. While this was probably necessary for the first few weeks while we all got our bearings, it is SO important that we give people time off, time away and do not expect that their every minute should be lived online. Just because we have the access doesn't always mean we should give the access. People were constantly being asked to go above and beyond, and while that might seem like resilience and perseverance, to others it was just anxiety overload and trying hard to stay above water and adjust to a completely new way of life. This pandemic should teach us all to be a little more gentle with ourselves and each other. We did an incredible thing: we kept school going and learning going during a global pandemic which none of us has ever seen before. Now, we need to truly take the lessons we learned and apply them as we hopefully reach a post-COVID, or at least post-pandemic, world. 

The hardest part of the pandemic was the unknown. The fear, the worry, the anxiety. 

The best part? Realizing that those we love are everything. That phone calls shouldn't be put off, that taking care of others and having compassion are true life skills, and that the world is bigger than just our little corner.

Cecliia Mejia

Early Childhood Lead Teacher (Fireflies)

The hardest part for me was my son working as a volunteer firefighter during the pandemic.

Jessie Madden

Early Childhood Teaching Assistant (Caterpillars)

The hardest part of the pandemic relating to school has been the barrier we have from parents. I miss the relationships and getting to understand children through their parents. Of course we communicate through technology but closeness and emotion can be watered down. I miss seeing parents. It has also been hard keeping distance from employees. I miss the camaraderie, support, laughs, gatherings, ideas and shared information. There was a disconnect in the beginning but we’ve learned to navigate through and share space and perspectives.

Laura Day

Admission Associate

Working remotely has been such a roller coaster of emotion! There are some days where I like being able to get up early and have a cup of coffee on my balcony before starting work. But other days I miss the connection with people! Especially being away from campus, it is hard to still feel like a part of the community. Most of Admissions work is customer service and making personal connections-this has definitely been harder to do through a screen!

Deborah Everson

Senior Accountant

Not being able to spend time with loved ones.

John Cavanaugh

Grades 7 and 8 History Teacher

The hardest part has been bimodal instruction and ricocheting among all six rooms on the top floor each day. Silver lining - this bizarre year is almost over!

Angie Rutledge

Physical Education Teacher

After 25 years in Maryland. I sold my home in June of 2020. I moved back to my hometown of Bristol, VA to provide housing assistance to my mother.  I found a job as a PE Aide in a local county.  The pay for an Aide was very little so, I kept searching for a full salaried job in my field without success.  On a whim, I applied for 3 jobs back in the DC area.  I arrived at the Congressional campus on March 2, 2021 for an in person interview.  I was offered a position the next week and accepted. The week following that, the pandemic was upon us. I was able to live with my mother the rest of the spring and summer, we were great companions during this stay at home time.  In August, I moved to Fairfax, VA in a new environment for me.  I had very few friends in the area and absolutely no connections at Congressional.  The hardest part about this pandemic for me was leaving my hometown behind and moving alone into a world of social distancing making everyone around me strangers. Unfortunately, this feeling has not changed.  I have joined a softball league which has allowed some new connections, so this may be a silver lining. 

Dessi Gad

Early Childhood Lead Teacher (Caterpillars)

The hardest part of  pandemic form me was and still is -  that people became afraid and/or suspicious  of each other; also not being able to see people smiling , the  state of alienation that deepened even more with the pandemic.    

Cameron Yassine

Grades 5 and 6 English Teacher

As a teacher, overcoming unexpected challenges is in the job description. Still, for obvious reasons, this year came with a plethora of new challenges that no one could possibly have prepared for. It's difficult to pinpoint what, on that long list, was the most challenging for me. Truthfully, any one challenge would have been fairly easy to overcome on its own, but what made this year most challenging was the avalanche of challenges that seemed never ending. 

Having to teach in-person wearing a mask to a large group of masked children and a smaller group of virtual children simultaneously, adjusting my curriculum to fit that bimodal plan, implementing new technology, battling that technology often when problems arose, having additional duties in order to support the cohort plan, following countless new health and safety procedures, having to travel from classroom to classroom for each one of my classes instead of having a classroom of my own, keeping myself, my students, and their families happy, healthy, and safe during a global pandemic and when the world outside seems to be falling apart, not being able to travel or see my friends or loved ones, and having to do all of this on top of the other everyday challenges that comes with being a teacher left me feeling a little like a headless chicken trying to juggle flaming cats. 

Alison Ketcham

Little School Coordinator

The hardest part of the pandemic for me personally has been not being able to visit with family. Being a DC transplant, my family resides in Vermont and I have not seen them since Christmas 2019! Of course since then, we have all been vaccinated and I am thrilled to be able to visit with them this summer. For school, it has been having to give up some of our physical spaces to convert to classrooms to ensure the children are adequately spread out and to comply with CDC restrictions at the time. Our littlest learners who cannot wear masks did not get to have music and library this year but luckily have been able to enjoy PE outside. 

Gene Giammittorio

Assistant Director of Auxiliary Programs

The hardest part for me was being stuck at home. I felt like a caged animal..so I binged Tiger King! I really enjoy getting out and being in nature. It felt claustrophobic.

Lisia Bailey

Early Childhood Lead Teacher (Dragonflies)

The hardest part of living and working with Covid is not being able to fully engage with the children because the mask limits—the children seeing our expressions and full faces.

Charity Francisco

Early Childhood Teaching Assistant (Caterpillars)

All in our family were positive with COVID-19.

Chuck Viator

Transportation Lead Driver

The challenges facing transportation during the pandemic are assuring that the students are safe from exposure and providing as normal a service as possible.

Emily Manes

Grade 4 Teacher

There have certainly been a lot of challenges throughout the Covid-19 pandemic; both professionally and personally. I have been fortunate that no one close to me became seriously ill during the pandemic, but the anxiety and the fear...the "what ifs" were constantly racing through my mind...especially as we went back to school in August.  Personally, I have missed seeing my friends and family who live far away. My father lives in California, and he has always been my rock. Not seeing him for 15 months was emotionally challenging. There have been times when I've felt isolated from those who live in the same town as me too. 

When school started back up I was concerned that the precautions that we were taking wouldn't be enough---what if I brought this virus home to my high-risk partner? By November, my anxiety started to ease. The challenges didn't go away though. I was still trying to figure out how to engage my students in the content...get them excited about learning while keeping the community safe. Throughout the last 14 months, I spent countless hours teaching myself to use numerous computer programs, which I could then use to adapt my curriculum for those learning at home AND in the classroom. All the while, I've been a full-time graduate student at George Mason.

Matt McCoart

Auxiliary Program Coordinator

The hardest part of the pandemic was the isolation and the increased time indoors. No longer was it as easy to have spontaneous activities with friends or family, outings to restaurants or just a casual day of running errands. We all adjusted in time, but it was very challenging to mentally adjust to.

Maryam Razi

Junior Kindergarten Assistant Teacher

My hardest part of the pandemic was being away from the classroom and children. And not be able to teach them in the classroom. I enjoy seeing them laugh, play, learn, and grow up.

Alla Stellakis

Kindergarten Assistant Teacher

Human are social creatures and we were not meant to be so isolated, so that has been the hardest part about this pandemic.

Flora Mansilla

Early Chlidhood Teaching Assistant (Busy Bees)

The pandemic a situation that changed the world and our lives.After being locked up having to return to work knowing that we were more exposed to being infected by the virus and taking the virus to my family was a very difficult decision.

Tinelle Davies

Director of Human Resources

The hardest part of the pandemic for me was performing my job last summer. Between having to furlough some employees and reduce hours for others plus plan for a safe return for faculty and students for the 2020-2021 academic year, I probably worked the hardest I've ever had to work. In addition, I really missed my extended family as my parents and sister are local, but our family followed some pretty strict COVID precautions and chose to only socialize outside. We have really enjoyed hugging each other again over the past few months!

Desmond McGlone

Middle School Math Teacher

Not being able to see my family face to face.

Gretchen Herbst

Director of Enrollment Management and Financial Aid

I've missed meeting families in person and observing students in person. It was also hard to work with the increased demand and trying to manage everything with a small team. We worked during the time we would've been commuting and we worked longer hours during nights and weekends.

POSTERS HANGING AROUND SCHOOL DESIGNED BY OUR VERY OWN HOLLY KEIMIG, GRADES 7 AND 8 ENGLISH TEACHER