Although classes have transitioned to an online setting, aspects of in-person learning such as jumping on a school bus in the morning or lining up to buy a snack during lunch are still non-existent. As a result, district employees that used to serve these functions have had to shift roles. District bus driver and Tech Support Hotline member Lauren Fasciano said that Northshore School District has managed to find new responsibilities for school staff who can’t perform their typical duties during COVID-19.
“Northshore found a way to keep their staff, identify their unique skill sets, and use them in areas of need to support our school community and primarily the students,” Fasciano said.
One amenity students can no longer access is the school’s Ala Carte window, where Wendy Armour works at Leota Middle School. Now, Armour said she works a variety of services relating to food transportation and library access.
“I am helping prepare food that is going out for delivery at any school that needs help,” Armour said. “I also go out on the school bus to help deliver meals to the families, and deliver library books from several elementary school libraries as part of the Books on the Bus program.”
District bus driver Mirian Galeana-Pérez also delivers books and lunches. She said that the joy of her previous position is still present despite the lack of kids on her bus.
“I do not get to drive a set route and see and hear happy kids every day, but I still have the joy of driving a big yellow bus! I have been delivering lunches and delivering library books,” Galeana-Pérez said.
With the increased reliance on technology during the school day, NSD has also created a team of employees to help families troubleshoot devices. Fasciano has taken on a new role as part of the Family Tech Support Hotline.
“My new role is to assist students in accessing their classes. This can be through the use of district equipment or software-related issues. We often receive calls where a device has stopped functioning properly, and we need to do some problem solving to make it functional again,” Fasciano said.
All three staff members said that the community reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and that forming a connection with students has been a big advantage of the staff’s new roles. Galeana-Pérez said she takes an extra step to make the role fun by dressing up as different characters each week when she delivers books to Frank Love Elementary.
“Jack [my co-worker] and I wanted to make it fun for us and the kids, so we decided that I would dress up like the school mascot, a cheetah. At the time it was something simple. Never did we think it would bring such joy to the kids and parents and staff,” Galeana-Pérez said. “So after the first library run, I decided that more smiles and laughter were needed during this crazy time. The next week I was Scooby-Doo, then Dr. Seuss, Pet the Cat, and most recently an Elf. I wish you could see the joy we see when the kids and parents see the big yellow bus and me dressed up in a costume as I dance around saying hello.”
The new positions also help students through this time by providing regularity in their daily routines. Armour said that their temporary roles are imperative to establishing normalcy in many students’ lives.
“Keeping our kids fed and letting them have access to library books helps in their growth and development, and gives them some sense of normalcy in their lives, where nothing is normal right now,” Armour said.
Fasciano said that being able to offer support to students has been fulfilling.
“My favorite part of this temporary job is successfully helping students and families with their tech issues. These are tough times right now, and any little bit of help that we can provide is rewarding,” Fasciano said.
However, staff said that not being able to work with their usual students has been a downside. Armour enjoys delivering books to elementary schools, but she said she misses the middle school students she used serve at the Ala Carte window.
“The kids are always excited to receive library books from the school bus,” Armour said. “Since we deliver library books to elementary kids, I do miss seeing the kids I know from Leota Middle School and the smiles on their faces when they reach the front of the line to buy their treat for the day!”
Maintaining a positive attitude was a recurring theme in staff members’ responses. Fasciano emphasized that staff members are aiming to help the community in any way possible.
“We are here to help in whatever manner we can,” Fasciano said. “We are grateful to still be working in a needed capacity.”
Galeana-Pérez said that her way of giving back to the community is bringing joy to the people she works with.
“I want people to know that being strong and bringing kindness and joy to my community is my part of giving back. Things are far from our normal, but we will stand together and help each other in this crazy time,” Galeana-Pérez said.
