Meet Mr. Louie, Principal at Saratoga High School
How do you successfully bring students and teachers onto a school campus after more than a year of being shutdown?
We had the opportunity to interview Mr. Louie, Saratoga High School Principal, to learn about his experiences during this last year.
What do you think is most challenging for the students when they return back to SHS after a year of online school this past year?
"From what I understand when speaking with some of the students, the greatest challenges about returning to school include the change in their routines (ie. they haven't had to "get ready for school" in more than a year, haven't had to plan for the time to and from school, and haven't had to organize themselves so that they bring to school what they need).
In addition, socialization is an awkward thing for some students at this age. During online school, there were few opportunities to be social. On campus, there are various times when students can be social and sometimes that creates anxiety or a variety of emotions when observing others being social."
Do you have any advice to parents on how they best can support their children with this transition?
"For the parents, I feel it really depends on what it is their students’ need. There are so many experiences our students are managing and if the challenges are social, academic, or psychological, it is important for parents to help foster opportunities to counter those challenges. Essentially, the key is to be involved with their children and to spend at least 60-90 quality minutes with their child - don’t let a day go by where you barely talk with your kid."
Read the full interview
here
