PROGRESS 2021 – Norwich City School District charts new territory in a year shaped by pandemic
NORWICH – Uncertainty and resilience are two themes that schools have become all too familiar with during the age of COVID-19. The Norwich City School District is no exception, having been dealt heavy blows by the pandemic, sharp cuts in state funding, and administrative changes to boot.
In spite of all that, NCSD Superintendent Scott Ryan says he’s optimistic about the direction the school district has taken, and he’s now calling on the school and the Norwich community to rally behind the Purple Tornado.
“One thing I’ve learned in my 20 years in education is that students and staff are increasingly resilient,” Ryan said. “We are adapted to change. Everything that we’ve known about education has been thrown on its head in the last year; and yet we still exist. I believe in resiliency. I believe in grit, and that’s where we are as an organization. If we want to grow and get better as an organization, then we will.”
The story of NCSD over the last year is anything but unique. The coronavirus pandemic sent staff and students into a tailspin last spring, forcing school officials to close their doors and test the waters of remote learning for the remainder of the school year. By the summer, the district had a plan to reopen for the 2020-2021 school year, albeit a fluid one. It was the first hurdle leading into a chaotic school year of jumbled schedules, socially distanced lunchrooms, and innovative teaching strategies hardly tested in a K-12 public school setting.
“It’s been difficult because there’s so many things happening simultaneously,” said Ryan. “We’re constantly talking about this evolution of thinking and understanding of response to the pandemic; but there’s no handbook for this.”
Ryan, who previously served NCSD as the middle school principal and as the teaching, learning and personnel director, took the reins as NCSD superintendent in January, ending more than a year under direction of interim Superintendent Diana Bowers. He said attention in early 2021 is turned toward closing the educational gaps which students have widened since schools closed nearly a year ago.
“I really want to start to take the district in a direction that addresses kids who we know haven’t been actively engaged since March of last year,” he said. “I would love to get to a place where we can, as a whole, be more proactive. Instead of waiting next to the computer for the governor’s next edict, we’re saying ‘This is where we are.’ We know what our kids need; now let’s figure out how to get it to them.”
But meeting every students’ needs is becoming an uphill battle for the district, which is under threat of additional state funding cuts in its $41 million budget. The district bore steep losses earlier this year, resulting in a district-wide reduction in personnel and resources for the 2020-2021 school year.
“That’s been pretty significant,” said Ryan. “Not only are we doing something we’ve never done before with the blended learning model that involves parents and caregivers, but we have to figure out how to do it with less staff and less support for kids and teachers. It presented some pretty significant challenges.”
For all that, 2021 started with some uplifting financial news for the school district. In January, the New York State Comptroller’s Office announced that, as of June 2020, NCSD improved in the state’s fiscal stress monitoring system, a resource created by the comptroller to give an early warning for communities and school districts with fiscal problems. The Norwich City School District was first flagged by the state comptroller back in 2018 and has been labeled with “significant fiscal stress” for two years. Having that label removed has been a tremendous step forward, Ryan said.
NCSD’s 2020 fiscal monitoring score provides a baseline measurement of the district’s ability to respond to the public health crisis and other financial uncertainty. A letter from the NYS Comptroller’s Office states that the department expects these factors to be reflected in reports in 2021 and beyond.
“We encourage you to closely monitor your financial condition in the current and upcoming budget cycles, as unfolding events may pose heightened risks ahead,” the letter reads.
In addition to ongoing fiscal matters, district officials also plan to focus these later winter months on student and staff wellness while examining gaps in their current student learning model. With remote learning presently at the forefront, NCSD schools are facing student engagement issues that mirror findings in schools all over the country.
For the time being, big developments at NCSD are being characterized by pandemic response, and many of the district’s marching orders are coming from the Department of Health. The district is in a constant state of reaction, spurred by COVID-19 positivity rates in its schools and the surrounding community. The threat of coronavirus exposure forced the school to switch entirely to remote learning in January 2021. The district’s reopening plan specifies that should its schools need to implement short-term closure procedures - regardless of community spread if an infected person has been in a school building - it will follow CDC recommendations and procedures.
“One thing we have learned during this pandemic is that things can change on a day-to-day basis,” former Interim Superintendent Bowers stated in a community letter after the district saw one of its first positive COVID-19 cases in October. “As the rules change, we will adapt and adjust to maintain a safe and healthy learning environment for all students and staff.”
While most schools in the Norwich City School District are now back to operating on a blended schedule of in-person and remote instruction, there’s increasing demand to have students in the classroom more often. The district’s currently planning a phased approach over the next few months to bring more students back if and when it’s safe.
Ryan said he hopes that the coronavirus can be put on the back burner by next school year, making it possible to focus on other goals, including establishing a more solid mission and vision for the district’s decision making. It’s a process he hopes to start later this year.
“By June 30, my goal is to re-imagine what we really want for our learners and establish a mission and vision as supported by goals for the entire district,” he said. He added the need to establish “who we are and what we want for our learners.”
“I think we have to change our mindset to these being our kids collectively,” he said.
In spite of all that, NCSD Superintendent Scott Ryan says he’s optimistic about the direction the school district has taken, and he’s now calling on the school and the Norwich community to rally behind the Purple Tornado.
“One thing I’ve learned in my 20 years in education is that students and staff are increasingly resilient,” Ryan said. “We are adapted to change. Everything that we’ve known about education has been thrown on its head in the last year; and yet we still exist. I believe in resiliency. I believe in grit, and that’s where we are as an organization. If we want to grow and get better as an organization, then we will.”
The story of NCSD over the last year is anything but unique. The coronavirus pandemic sent staff and students into a tailspin last spring, forcing school officials to close their doors and test the waters of remote learning for the remainder of the school year. By the summer, the district had a plan to reopen for the 2020-2021 school year, albeit a fluid one. It was the first hurdle leading into a chaotic school year of jumbled schedules, socially distanced lunchrooms, and innovative teaching strategies hardly tested in a K-12 public school setting.
“It’s been difficult because there’s so many things happening simultaneously,” said Ryan. “We’re constantly talking about this evolution of thinking and understanding of response to the pandemic; but there’s no handbook for this.”
Ryan, who previously served NCSD as the middle school principal and as the teaching, learning and personnel director, took the reins as NCSD superintendent in January, ending more than a year under direction of interim Superintendent Diana Bowers. He said attention in early 2021 is turned toward closing the educational gaps which students have widened since schools closed nearly a year ago.
“I really want to start to take the district in a direction that addresses kids who we know haven’t been actively engaged since March of last year,” he said. “I would love to get to a place where we can, as a whole, be more proactive. Instead of waiting next to the computer for the governor’s next edict, we’re saying ‘This is where we are.’ We know what our kids need; now let’s figure out how to get it to them.”
But meeting every students’ needs is becoming an uphill battle for the district, which is under threat of additional state funding cuts in its $41 million budget. The district bore steep losses earlier this year, resulting in a district-wide reduction in personnel and resources for the 2020-2021 school year.
“That’s been pretty significant,” said Ryan. “Not only are we doing something we’ve never done before with the blended learning model that involves parents and caregivers, but we have to figure out how to do it with less staff and less support for kids and teachers. It presented some pretty significant challenges.”
For all that, 2021 started with some uplifting financial news for the school district. In January, the New York State Comptroller’s Office announced that, as of June 2020, NCSD improved in the state’s fiscal stress monitoring system, a resource created by the comptroller to give an early warning for communities and school districts with fiscal problems. The Norwich City School District was first flagged by the state comptroller back in 2018 and has been labeled with “significant fiscal stress” for two years. Having that label removed has been a tremendous step forward, Ryan said.
NCSD’s 2020 fiscal monitoring score provides a baseline measurement of the district’s ability to respond to the public health crisis and other financial uncertainty. A letter from the NYS Comptroller’s Office states that the department expects these factors to be reflected in reports in 2021 and beyond.
“We encourage you to closely monitor your financial condition in the current and upcoming budget cycles, as unfolding events may pose heightened risks ahead,” the letter reads.
In addition to ongoing fiscal matters, district officials also plan to focus these later winter months on student and staff wellness while examining gaps in their current student learning model. With remote learning presently at the forefront, NCSD schools are facing student engagement issues that mirror findings in schools all over the country.
For the time being, big developments at NCSD are being characterized by pandemic response, and many of the district’s marching orders are coming from the Department of Health. The district is in a constant state of reaction, spurred by COVID-19 positivity rates in its schools and the surrounding community. The threat of coronavirus exposure forced the school to switch entirely to remote learning in January 2021. The district’s reopening plan specifies that should its schools need to implement short-term closure procedures - regardless of community spread if an infected person has been in a school building - it will follow CDC recommendations and procedures.
“One thing we have learned during this pandemic is that things can change on a day-to-day basis,” former Interim Superintendent Bowers stated in a community letter after the district saw one of its first positive COVID-19 cases in October. “As the rules change, we will adapt and adjust to maintain a safe and healthy learning environment for all students and staff.”
While most schools in the Norwich City School District are now back to operating on a blended schedule of in-person and remote instruction, there’s increasing demand to have students in the classroom more often. The district’s currently planning a phased approach over the next few months to bring more students back if and when it’s safe.
Ryan said he hopes that the coronavirus can be put on the back burner by next school year, making it possible to focus on other goals, including establishing a more solid mission and vision for the district’s decision making. It’s a process he hopes to start later this year.
“By June 30, my goal is to re-imagine what we really want for our learners and establish a mission and vision as supported by goals for the entire district,” he said. He added the need to establish “who we are and what we want for our learners.”
“I think we have to change our mindset to these being our kids collectively,” he said.
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