Two days before Opening Day of the 2017-18 school year might not be the most convenient time for a solar eclipse if you’re in the education business, but it’s certainly a teachable event, so naturally DMPS educators found several ways to capitalize on the celestial rarity.
Central Academy Director Jessica Gogerty and her staff made a point of squeezing time into the midst of new year preparations and boarded a chartered bus Monday morning bound for Lathrop, Missouri. The daylong fieldtrip was a chance for some unusual professional development on a rolling retreat.
“This is a once-in-a-career opportunity for all of us to be together in a moment of awe,” said Gogerty. “To be inspired as so many scholars and artists have been over the centuries and across the world. We will never have this moment again. A lot of leadership literature uses the metaphor of ‘getting the right people on the bus’ as a way to convey the idea that school improvement is a journey. At Central Academy, the bus is an important symbol. Many of our students ride each way from their home school to us every day. That’s 30 – 60 hours on a bus just to participate in our program. They do it year after year because it is worth it. We provide unique opportunities in a unique setting among unique people. This year we’re riding a bus too!”
McCombs Middle School principal Nancy Croy had the same sort of thing in mind for her staff; interpret the eclipse as a harbinger of a special year about to begin.
She’s been planning since school adjourned for the summer last spring. With the help of office manager Cheryllynn Bricker and science teacher Debbie Victor, Croy ordered safety glasses for the staff, arranged snack packs that included “Moon balls” (which looked a lot like Cheetos) and Sun Chips (the brand) and composed chants like the following
“Motivated, motivated
Downright dedicated
We’re McCombs Middle School
HOO-RAH!”
“As we start the new school year we are reminded to shine light into each student’s life,” Croy said.
The Downtown School IS already back in session thanks to its extended calendar and students there goggled up to view a phenomenon that is unprecedented in their lifetimes. The next solar eclipse visible in America is expected in the spring of 2024. Some of the students watching this one will be about to graduate from high school when that one happens, an event almost as cool as the moon blotting out the sun.
Staffs from several other district schools also gathered outdoors as the moment of “totality” approached, including North High, Hubbell Elementary, Perkins Elementary, Merrill Middle School and Weeks Middle School.
Teachers officially reported back to school last Friday.
To paraphrase an old song, the new school year looks so bright, you gotta wear shades.