Three years ago, I retired full time to Rehoboth Beach after practicing law in Maryland for 40 years. Having free time on my hands, I volunteered as a mentor at Rehoboth Elementary School which had an exceptional mentor program of volunteers who worked individually with students who needed extra academic help. Many of the mentors were retired school teachers and all were well qualified to assist the students. The program was supervised by Kathleen Law who coordinated the students and volunteers, prepared the teaching materials, and whose dedication to helping the students was evident every day.
As a mentor I also had the good fortune of working with a number of the teachers in their classrooms. I could not have been more impressed by the professionalism and skill of those teachers. However, I was most impressed with how much the teachers cared about their students, and their efforts expended toward each student’s success. The teachers constantly monitored each child’s reading levels and made adjustments to ensure each student could reach their greatest potential. I observed the teachers working while eating lunch and meeting with specialists and other teachers to discuss individual students, and very often their work day overflowed into the evening hours communicating with parents and preparing for the next day’s classes.
I really enjoyed being a volunteer mentor, but then COVID understandably terminated all volunteer programs in order to minimize the number of people in the schools. Since I could no longer volunteer, I signed on as a substitute teacher working at a number of the elementary schools and the Sussex Consortium in the Cape Henlopen School District. To say the least, COVID has changed the landscape of the schools. The children’s movements in the buildings are limited, children are socially distanced, everyone is wearing masks, and hands are constantly sanitized. All these new requirements and modifications have placed additional work, pressures and stresses on our teachers and the children. However, I was truly impressed how the schools are meeting these new challenges. Even the pre-K students are wearing their masks all day long, with an occasional reminder to cover their noses. Everyone from the teachers and paraeducators, to the bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria staff are doing everything to ensure the students have as safe an environment as possible. I also know that our teachers who are teaching remotely are working harder than ever preparing for classes, communicating with students and parents, and trying to overcome all the difficulties of remote teaching.
The Cape Henlopen District is blessed to have so many hard-working and dedicated educators who truly care about their students. These are difficult times for our schools, and none of us know what the future may hold, but the Herculean efforts of our teachers, para-educators, and support staff should be commended and appreciated by all of us.
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