Charles Reed ES second-grade teachers connect with families

Charles Reed Elementary School second-grade teachers spent three afternoons recently meeting with students and parents to hand out new learning materials.

The meetings gave teachers, parents, and students a chance to connect outside of the computer screen during remote learning.

Teachers Pam Stoklosa, Marie Tunno, Cheryl Czyewicz and Kerri Konie set up tables and chairs more than six feet apart and wore masks during the 15-minute visits.

They gave students books, learning material packets and a few fun items.

Many teachers met their students briefly in August when they gave school supplies and laptops as parents drove through the parking lot.

The socially distanced, face-to-faces meetings were a priority for Stoklosa once District 202 decided to start school with remote learning.

“They are my kids from day one,” she said.

It is much easier to get to know the parents and students face to face, said Tunno.

“Students who are shy on Zoom were much more talkative in person,” she said.

“I also got to hear how they are feeling, and they could be honest, because they weren’t put on the spot in front of everyone.”

Sarah Rodriguez, whose son Issac is in Stoklosa’s class, was excited to visit his teacher.

Issac is very talkative so the meeting was a chance to really talk to his teacher, Rodriguez said.

“He got the chance to express his feelings to his teacher,” she said.

Teachers also could connect with parents who shared their concerns and asked questions, Konie said.

Parent could share their concerns, successes and how their students are doing at home, she said.

Student also got the chance to see that their teachers are real people not just a person on the computer screen, Czyewicz said.

“(The meetings) allowed students to come out and share things about themselves that they can’t always share in a Zoom class,” she said.