A roundtable conversation with two of our grantees discussing the current state of education.
Cristo Rey Kansas City and Good Shepherd Academy recently sat down with us to chat about tech in the classroom, what students need most five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and why the arts are necessary in education. Below are highlights from that conversation.
McGowan Fund: You’ve both been McGowan grantees for quite a few years now—you’re doing something right! But it’s been a tough handful of years for education. We’re also at the five-year anniversary of COVID. So, let’s talk a little bit about what learning looks like now five years out. Are things getting better?
Claudia Meyer, president and CEO at Cristo Rey Kansas City: I came to Cristo Rey three years ago, and we were definitely seeing the effects and the trauma at that time. However, I believe that we’ve learned from it and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Every student suffered, whether they come from the inner city, whether they come from a rural area, or the metro area. Everybody felt the COVID effect, right? But we put programs and protection in place that are helping students. We’re looking at data and figuring out where can we fill in the gaps. We really target those areas and have started scaffolding for more support, not only for our students, but support our teachers as well.
Jim Jones, principal at Good Shepherd Academy: We’d really seen an uptick in students arriving with anxiety. They were having a hard time with active play because they were home during COVID and there was no one to engage with. So now we’re really working to teach them engagement. We’re trying to give them outlets and be empathetic about the needs they’re struggling with. As far as curriculum, we implemented the NWEA testing, where we give a standardized test three times a year so we can look at the data and chart a path for individual success for our students. We’re meeting the children where they’re at. I think our data is improving, the psyche of our children is improving, and I think that has a lot to do with the social emotional learning initiative we began three years ago too.
CM: Absolutely, Jim. We also implemented the NWEA. So now when we test them in the fall, the winter, and the spring, we can compare the data and we can see where we can fill in the gaps. It allows for more intentional teaching and allows for more intentional support. We are starting to see the effects of our test scores going up too. That is something we just celebrated. And like Jim was saying, we’ve made sure emotional support is also available. We’re able to learn a lot from all the data that we’ve gathered.
McGowan: I’m wondering if we can talk a little bit technology. Students were given tech tools like Zoom during COVID but we’re also seeing things like artificial intelligence entering the classroom. I’m curious how your schools are approaching tech. Is it friend? Foe?
JJ: Right now, we’re viewing it as friend because we take the necessary safeguards. We have a full-time computer teacher, and a good part of the first two weeks of school are used for going over the safeguards of using that computer wisely. Our students are so tech savvy that some of them know how to bypass the firewall and get into places they shouldn’t, so we’ve also hired a tech company to come in and juice up our safeguards. We are keeping our children protected. The other thing we have a lot of issues with is cell phones. One of the initiatives in the diocese is to encourage parents to wait until the child is in eighth grade for cell phones. And it’s not even cell phone that’s the issue; it’s their ability to connect to the internet.
CM: Yeah, I agree, Jim. I think we are taking the same directive as you are. We’re looking at tech in a friendly way, and we are educating our children on how to use AI. And then we’re also offering our teachers support so that they are able to support the students. Our administrators are taking classes too. Our teachers are able to monitor our students’ computers, so if they are not on task, then we’re able to see it right away. Jim was right, the kids are tech savvy. They can get into their Chromebooks and figure out how to read text messages. But we’re learning from them as well, we’re taking their lead. I think we take an approach of educating first, showing how it can be used to assist students, but then also showing how it can be harmful as well. We have implemented a cell phone policy in our building since last year; cell phones must go into the students’ lockers upon arrival and students can’t take them out until the end of the day. And what we have experienced from our students is a huge shift in their emotional well-being. Kids are talking to kids instead of looking at their phones.
McGowan: There seems to be a return among students to more connective activities like board games and card games. I think we’re seeing a desire to find that human connection again, make up for some of what was lost in COVID.
CM: We have dominoes available after school, and the kids are loving it! Even though they can pick up their cell phones after school, we put out a bunch of board games for them to play while they wait for their rides or their bus. And now we have a huge number of kids going, “What is this?” “It’s called dominoes,” we say. “Let me show you how to play it.”
JJ: We have a club that meets twice a week, and just last week, a group of students just spent an hour putting paper airplanes together. Half of them had no idea how to make a paper airplane, you know? But then once they got the hang of it, you could see the engagement. It’s like Claudia said, they’re talking to each other again, which is paramount in our world.
CM: Yes!
McGowan: I’m wondering if there are other trends that you’re seeing right now in education, other activities that are prioritizing connection?
JJ: For us it’s the arts. We really have a focus on the arts. We had a gala a few years back where we raised $90,000 to redo our music rooms and we decided to redo our art room too. Then with the music room and the art room, we could start a very solid drama club. We’re getting the kids involved in outlets that are helping their mental health. They did Beauty and the Beast last year, which means welcoming them back after school hours. It’s just nice to know that we’re giving opportunities again that we’d lost during COVID. It feels like’s coming back from the ashes.
CM: I love that, Jim. We’re doing the same thing. It’s about offering opportunities that they otherwise would not have. Our kids want to stay after school because they want to be with their friends, but also, their neighborhoods are not safe places to play outside. We too have seen our arts clubs grow. And we’re also seeing kids interested in esports. It’s a way for them to just be together in a room, cheering each other on, giving each other support. Also, our robotics team has seen a huge influx of kids wanting to participate. And while they’re having fun, they’re also putting critical thinking skills back in place. They are collaborating, they are problem solving with one another. We’ve seen kids come back for sports too, and they’re not looking for state titles or championships. They just want to be part of a team.
McGowan: It’s interesting that the two of you are talking about how important the arts are when we’re seeing arts funding being cut all around us. Arts education can be so many things, including empathy education and a place to connect.
JJ: Well, I think creativity is necessary. Students need to be able to think outside the box, to express themselves in a creative way, whether it’s through pastels or oil paints. Last year, our kids made piñatas. We use the arts to reestablish the connection that COVID took away from students. I think that students having a way to express their creativity is really starting to get us back in the right direction of education.
CM: I keep going back to a sense of belonging, right? I want to create an environment that makes kids feel like they’re wanted there. And I think the arts makes kids feel seen, makes them feel like they have a place to go, a place to expose the world to their gifts.
JJ: And I think when they were home during COVID without that human interaction, without friends, their expressions were kind of dark. I think that was part of the isolation. But now we’re seeing a change. The kids are starting to, I’m going to say soften, because now they’re a part of something bigger than being in front of a computer monitor.
McGowan: Jim, I like that you use the word “soft” because I do think that we’ve became a bit hard, and I think that unfortunately the world is a bit hard right now. We live in very divisive times and I’m wondering how you’re helping your kids stay open.
CM: Just last week I was out of town at a conference, and somebody asked how I was navigating my role during these times, and I told them, I didn’t know how to put it into words, but I could give them a visual. I said, “Imagine the tallest roller coaster ever. Imagine me right in the front seat. And then, my teachers, the kids, my board members, are right behind and we’re all going, ‘Woah!’”
JJ: Up and down. Yes.
CM: That’s how it feels. But I think that as adults and as people who believe in God, as people who believe in the greater good, things are going to be okay if you are a compassionate person.
JJ: We’re really trying to stay on top of the anxiety we see our kids dealing with. That’s where the sensory room comes in, which was only possible because of with the generosity of the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund. We hired a therapist from Beyond Behavior Health, and from what I’ve seen, it looks like it’s going to be something that sets us apart. We’ve also added security systems because I think it’s important that the students know that they can be in our environment, feeling safe and protected, and thrive in the classroom. We’re also teaching them that it’s okay to disagree, and that there are ways to do that respectfully. We have to respect each other as individuals.
CM: Absolutely.
McGowan: I just want to thank you both again for the incredible work you do.
CM: Thank you for the amazing support that you give our school. We really couldn’t do our work without it. Jim, it was wonderful to meet you too. I will pray for you and your school.
JJ: And God bless you on your vocation. Keep up the good work!