"The kids were loving it. We were plowing through the book, making good progress, and I thought, 'gosh, we're going to finish this book,'" says Potts, a teacher at Logan Elementary in Spokane. "I didn't want to lose that."
So this week, despite not being able to physically see his students, Potts records a passage every day from the book from the comfort of his home. He then uploads the audio file for his students to access if they want. It's like a virtual story time.
"It's sort of a connection point for us," Potts says.
The school closure hasn't been easy, Potts says. Teachers have been given ample online tools to try to connect with students as they prepare for weeks without class, but it's largely been up to teachers themselves in Spokane Public Schools to decide what kind of virtual contact they'll maintain. And Potts says his third-graders aren't always responsive as he'd like. Not all of them have computers at home, and he hasn't heard from one of his students at all since Gov. Jay Inslee ordered the shut down last week.
The virtual story time, he says, is one way to retain a sense of normalcy for those kids. He also held a Zoom meeting with several students earlier this week.
"I hadn't done that before, and neither had they," he says. "And I was like, 'I'm gonna try and do it.' Once everybody who was trying to get in got in, I was able to see these kids' faces, and they saw other kids' faces, and it was everything. It was the whole reason you go to a school building everyday."
Potts says everyone's still feeling out the technology. If he wants to start teaching lessons, there will need to be some kind of structure and accountability virtually. Potts says this week has made him more empathic for parents. He's now home with three kids of his own, as his wife still works during the day. Any time his kids are doing learning activities, he says, it's been a blessing.
"That's given us, in a way, a lifeline to managing their behavior and being excited about the day," he says.
That's what he's trying to offer his students, too, however he can.
"It's super challenging to create a new normal in this time," Potts says.
