Wilson Elementary
09/10/20 04:59
Wilson Elementary School is the elementary school of the Rapid City School District that is closest to the church we served. The school is housed in one of the older buildings of the District and officials had planned to close the school as part of a district-wide school improvement plan that was presented to voters last year. However, the bond failed to pass and the district is once again evaluating and creating a plan for a new school bond proposal. The COVID-19 crisis has temporarily diverted attention from the school district’s plans, but a new vote on a school bond is in the future for Rapid City residents. The fierce loyalty of Wilson students, parents and alumni may be part of the reason the bond failed to pass. There were many who loudly protested the closing of the school. The plan of the district was to replace older neighborhood schools with much larger schools.
Wilson is one of the most economically diverse schools in the district. Located between 8th and 9th streets in a neighborhood where one block to the west stands a neighborhood of very expensive historic top end homes and one block to the east contains apartment houses and subsidized housing for low income families, the school had a delightful mix of rich and poor and wonderful racial and ethnic diversity to enhance the learning environment.
I had the opportunity to volunteer at the school a few times during my tenure as a pastor in the neighborhood and I always found the morale among the teachers to be high and the spirit of the school to be evident as I visited.
Wilson Elementary is the first school of the Rapid City School District to move to Level 3 in terms of pandemic response. School District officials announced yesterday that the school would be temporarily closed because of “substantial spread” of COVID-19. There was confirmed coronavirus spread in the school. The school will remain closed through next week. School officials aren’t sharing specific numbers of how many students and staff are in quarantine after direct exposure to the disease. What they did say was that absences due to active COVID-19 cases and quarantines made it “difficult to staff our classrooms.” The plan at this point is to reassess the situation sometime next week as to whether the school will be reopened for in-person learning or will continue to be closed after the end of next week.
This has already been an unusual year for students around the world. Here in Rapid City, the schools closed in March for a shortened school year last year. Then there was a delay in the opening of schools ad the district put plans in place, prepared buildings and allowed teacher to gain additional training and preparation for hybrid education models. And now, for the 368 students of Wilson Elementary, there will be no in-person schooling through next week, making for a minimum of seven days of Level-3 distance learning. The shift in the style of teaching and learning will be a special challenge for students who do not have access to high speed internet in their homes. It also presents a special challenge to families who are caught without child care on short notice. The circumstances in which the staff of Wilson Elementary find themselves are such that they know that the gap between rich and poor students will widen as a result of the closure. Some students will receive extraordinary support and will continue to thrive during the closure. Other students will struggle to engage any form of learning at all.
Elementary schools in our district and throughout the United States are also important centers of nutrition for children. Without the public schools, many children go without meals during the day. The lack of nutrition further exacerbates the gap between rich and poor students. For some the school closure is a frightening crisis.
Last winter our daily walks often took us by the school yard at Wilson Elementary. In the time before the pandemic closed the school, we were inspired by the energy and enthusiasm of the children playing during their lunch break. We enjoyed the cheerful chatter that rose from the playground as we walked by on the other side of the fence. When the pandemic forced the schools to close, we really noticed the difference in our daily routine. Although we are walking in different neighborhoods this fall, we appreciate how the mood of the neighborhood will shift today as the school closes.
Every fall I include prayers for public schools, teachers, students and administrators in my prayer vigil. Sometimes I have focused on specific schools in my prayers. Sometimes I have prayed more general prayers. Today it seems appropriate to pray for the people affected by the closure of Wilson School. We don’t know if or when other schools will be forced to close, but it seems likely that schools shifting from one level to another will be a constant part of this school year as South Dakota continues to see rises in cases of illness and to lead the nation in new cases per 100,000 residents.
God of grace and glory, you know the stories of all of the schools and each of the students in the world. Today we place before you Wilson Elementary School. We pray for the dedicated teachers and educational staff of the school. The district’s announcement that it is difficult to staff classrooms means that there are many teachers who have been exposed to the illness. We pray for recovery of those who are ill and for protection for others who have been exposed but don’t yet know whether or not they have contracted the illness.
We pray for students and their families whose learning and growing is disrupted and challenged by the sudden move to off campus learning. Help families discover ways to deal with the changes they face. Provide for the safety of children while parents work and family schedules are rearranged.
We pray for school officials. May their decisions be guided by a commitment to the children and their education. May they find creative solutions to the problems they face. May we all renew our commitment to the education and care of all of the children of our community. Amen.
Wilson is one of the most economically diverse schools in the district. Located between 8th and 9th streets in a neighborhood where one block to the west stands a neighborhood of very expensive historic top end homes and one block to the east contains apartment houses and subsidized housing for low income families, the school had a delightful mix of rich and poor and wonderful racial and ethnic diversity to enhance the learning environment.
I had the opportunity to volunteer at the school a few times during my tenure as a pastor in the neighborhood and I always found the morale among the teachers to be high and the spirit of the school to be evident as I visited.
Wilson Elementary is the first school of the Rapid City School District to move to Level 3 in terms of pandemic response. School District officials announced yesterday that the school would be temporarily closed because of “substantial spread” of COVID-19. There was confirmed coronavirus spread in the school. The school will remain closed through next week. School officials aren’t sharing specific numbers of how many students and staff are in quarantine after direct exposure to the disease. What they did say was that absences due to active COVID-19 cases and quarantines made it “difficult to staff our classrooms.” The plan at this point is to reassess the situation sometime next week as to whether the school will be reopened for in-person learning or will continue to be closed after the end of next week.
This has already been an unusual year for students around the world. Here in Rapid City, the schools closed in March for a shortened school year last year. Then there was a delay in the opening of schools ad the district put plans in place, prepared buildings and allowed teacher to gain additional training and preparation for hybrid education models. And now, for the 368 students of Wilson Elementary, there will be no in-person schooling through next week, making for a minimum of seven days of Level-3 distance learning. The shift in the style of teaching and learning will be a special challenge for students who do not have access to high speed internet in their homes. It also presents a special challenge to families who are caught without child care on short notice. The circumstances in which the staff of Wilson Elementary find themselves are such that they know that the gap between rich and poor students will widen as a result of the closure. Some students will receive extraordinary support and will continue to thrive during the closure. Other students will struggle to engage any form of learning at all.
Elementary schools in our district and throughout the United States are also important centers of nutrition for children. Without the public schools, many children go without meals during the day. The lack of nutrition further exacerbates the gap between rich and poor students. For some the school closure is a frightening crisis.
Last winter our daily walks often took us by the school yard at Wilson Elementary. In the time before the pandemic closed the school, we were inspired by the energy and enthusiasm of the children playing during their lunch break. We enjoyed the cheerful chatter that rose from the playground as we walked by on the other side of the fence. When the pandemic forced the schools to close, we really noticed the difference in our daily routine. Although we are walking in different neighborhoods this fall, we appreciate how the mood of the neighborhood will shift today as the school closes.
Every fall I include prayers for public schools, teachers, students and administrators in my prayer vigil. Sometimes I have focused on specific schools in my prayers. Sometimes I have prayed more general prayers. Today it seems appropriate to pray for the people affected by the closure of Wilson School. We don’t know if or when other schools will be forced to close, but it seems likely that schools shifting from one level to another will be a constant part of this school year as South Dakota continues to see rises in cases of illness and to lead the nation in new cases per 100,000 residents.
God of grace and glory, you know the stories of all of the schools and each of the students in the world. Today we place before you Wilson Elementary School. We pray for the dedicated teachers and educational staff of the school. The district’s announcement that it is difficult to staff classrooms means that there are many teachers who have been exposed to the illness. We pray for recovery of those who are ill and for protection for others who have been exposed but don’t yet know whether or not they have contracted the illness.
We pray for students and their families whose learning and growing is disrupted and challenged by the sudden move to off campus learning. Help families discover ways to deal with the changes they face. Provide for the safety of children while parents work and family schedules are rearranged.
We pray for school officials. May their decisions be guided by a commitment to the children and their education. May they find creative solutions to the problems they face. May we all renew our commitment to the education and care of all of the children of our community. Amen.
