BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD)– Teachers across the state had to adapt to major shifts in the classroom this past year.
Today was the anniversary of COVID- 19 in Louisiana. What was unknown a year ago was how significantly it was going to impact education everywhere, including in Livingston Parish.
Back in the fall, frustrated teachers in Livingston Parish gathered together to voice their concerns about schools reopening.
Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE) President Dr. Tia Mills said, “It’s a lot of stress, you have a lot of teachers who are teaching virtually and in person at the same time. That’s really difficult.”
Educators had to re-learn and develop new skills to adjust with the fast moving changes.
Dr. Mills said, “We had workshops to help teachers understand what to do during the time of virtual learning, what that looks like, how to set up a class in the virtual world, and how to instruct in the virtual world. We even show what things have and have not been effective. ”
Teachers took on the unthinkable mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Livingston Parish Schools Superintendent Joe Murphy said, “Teachers have been phenomenal. They’ve stepped up. They’ve taken on all of these challenges. Some have put their own health risks behind them just so they can be there for their children, and I am so thankful.”
LAE hopes this year has allowed people to reflect on the importance of teachers within the community.
“There has been a push to ensure that our educators, not just teachers but support professionals as well, are being paid adequately for the work they do because they have really sacrificed a lot and dealt with a lot during this time,” Dr. Mills explained.
Even after a year of darkness, there’s still light.
“Obviously we are hoping that we come out from under these restrictions and we can have a normal school year next year,” said Murphy.
Dr. Mills said, “Of course, there are still concerns for educators and parents even, and students, but I do believe that this phenomenal thing this unfortunate situation has shown is the ability for educators to pivot regardless of what the circumstances are.”
Vaccinations will take place in Livingston Parish on March 10 in an effort to keep our educators safe.
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