Local private school logs a successful year of in-person learning

There is arguably no greater charge than to teach, guide, and inspire children to step boldly and uniquely into their futures. Raleigh's St. David's School has proudly fulfilled that mission for nearly five decades.

Last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered learning institutions across the country, the esteemed school joined thousands of others across the country to adapt their current educational model to provide remote learning for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. Understandably, the unprecedented effort presented multiple challenges.

Today, the faculty and students at St. David's are celebrating their wins having been on campus with in-person learning this school year. They also offer a shining example that there's something remarkable about the resiliency of the human spirit and its ability to overcome challenges.

When the realization sunk in that a once-in-a-century virus could potentially have a significant impact on kids' education, the leadership at St. David's experienced firsthand the struggles and the payoffs that followed when adapting programs and practices. The school's top priority was ensuring the students, their families, and St. David's employees would be safe.

"Our number one priority last summer was to get back on campus, first and foremost," said Emily Nelson, St. David's Director of Marketing and Communications. "So, we asked ourselves what safety measures needed to be put in place."

The school added tents and outdoor teaching spaces and leaned heavily on safety guidelines from the World Health Organization and the CDC. It also sought ways to uphold as many normal school traditions as possible, knowing they'd have to adapt certain activities to protect against a public health crisis.

As a Christian campus, St. David's core values center on faith, virtue and knowledge. Nelson praised her colleagues and students' positive response to the COVID-19-related obstacles they've faced allowing them to continue to fulfill this mission that drives the school.

"Due to numbers, students could not congregate together for our weekly chapel services. Faith formation is key, so adjustments were made creating a rotation of two grades safely worshiping in the chapel each week while everyone else tunes in remotely from their classroom via livestream."

To keep the school's art-focused traditions, the faculty got creative.

"Our teachers moved classes outside in our courtyard and open-air tents. Instead of having a fall play, our talented Fine Arts department produced two radio shows. In fact, they worked with students to build a sound booth on campus, where they were able to record these two shows and share them with the community," said Nelson.

Students also performed band and choir concerts outside in the parking garage which offered great acoustics as well as a safe environment. Faculty filmed the events and then edited the videos to share with the community.

"Our commitment was to allow our students to perform. To showcase all of their preparation and hard work. This also applied to our athletic programming. We have safely provided a way for our athletes to compete since last fall," said Nelson.

"The school's theme for this year has been community," Nelson shared. "Our community has always been strong, and our parents are extremely supportive. But this year, more than ever, we needed to make sure they were connected since they could not be on campus."

Streaming the homecoming court ceremony on Facebook Live so family and friends could share the excitement of crowning the 2020 homecoming king and queen in real time is one example. The school's annual Speaker Series moved to an online platform this year, continuing this program of connecting renowned guests, discussing a variety of topics, to students, parents and the broader community.

"St. David's faculty are rock stars," Nelson continues. "They go above and beyond."

Teachers are teaching in the classroom while engaging students on the screen who are learning remotely, all while adhering to safety protocols. The lower school enrichment teachers travel to classrooms with carts loaded with books to check out from the library, fun activities for a Spanish lesson, or paper, brushes and supplies for art classes. This reduces potential exposures as students stay in their classrooms as much as possible. Teachers are also creatively bringing parents into the classroom for special learning events, activities and presentations through video, Facebook Live and Microsoft Teams calls.

Pulling together and adapting to ever-changing circumstances is key to St. David's continued success. Some new practices – like remote learning options and virtual parent-teacher conferences, will probably stay in place, even after the pandemic is under control. However, Nelson is hopeful for the future.

"Students need to be among their peers. They need to be with teachers. They need to be able to participate in sports and fine arts. And it's not just for the development of their academic mind but also for the stability of their mental health, their happiness," said Nelson. "Overall, seeing that these students have some sense of normalcy during a pandemic is so important and on behalf of the faculty and staff at St. David's, I can confidently say we are all grateful for it."