Educators, students and families are adjusting to the new normal as best they can, with students learning online and/or with packets of materials. Many teachers are still using their classrooms at least part‑time to teach from in the new digital landscape, and parents are trying to balance work, or the lack of, youthful energy, educational needs and family dynamics. A sampling from around the Downeast region gives a taste of how many are coping.
     Principals and educators worked rapid‑fire the first week that students stayed home, figuring out digital and videoconferencing means of teaching with tools such as Google Classroom, Skype and Zoom and creating work packets for all grades, but in particular the lower grades and students with special needs.
     Calais Middle/High School Principal Mary Anne Spearin explains that workshops for teachers to learn different technology platforms took place right away. "Our teachers, some, had really steep learning curves," which they met with flying colors, she adds. Teachers check in with students every day. "It's really important to keep students to a routine." A little fun thrown in the mix is always good, and Calais teachers participated in a drive‑by honking parade for their students at home before the April 2 mandate increased the need to restrict movement.
     Lori Ellis teaches English language arts to juniors and seniors at Calais High School. She's taught there for 31 years. "Trying to muddle through this has been interesting," she says. Staff who understand technology helped considerably, and she attended Google Classroom workshops. "I'm used to pen and paper and red ink attached to my hand. Now I'm getting 400 e-mails a day" of questions, and homework arrives in different document formats. However, most of her students have handled the transition with ease because they've "been doing things electronically" already with many engaged in dual‑enrollment online classes with higher education platforms like Husson

University and the University of Southern Maine.
     Social isolation is the larger issue for Ellis. "Students are struggling. Staff are really struggling with that." She explains, "We're used to seeing 20 faces" in‑person, with eye contact and body language providing clues to a student's overall well‑being that can be harder to gauge through video and online classes. However, like the other schools in the region, staff are using a variety of ways to stay in contact with students, including phone calls for check‑ins, Google Meet and Google Classroom "to have conversations, a sort of 'hang‑out' component to say, 'Hey, I'm here if you want to chat'" adds Ellis.
   With young children learning at home, parent Alison Archer of Dennysville says, "The most challenging part of distance learning is being a teacher as well as a mother to young children. They do not understand that I am working even though I am home. A routine is slowly coming together, but the struggle is real. I am very fortunate for my Edmunds Consolidated School family. I'd like to also say that those on the front lines of the pandemic are heroes, but our students are the little mighty heroes. They get up each day, do their school work and carry on. They want to learn. They want to know more. They are the fire that educators can continue to fuel."
     Lubec Principal Tina Wormell says she's "extremely pleased with the level of participation of the students, the parents, the staff, with everybody." All students, she says, are equipped with devices -- grades 7 and 8 through a state program, while the younger students all have an iPad provided through a grant. Connectivity may be an issue for some, she adds, "particularly those out on Straight Bay Road." The school's WiFi is available for those in close proximity to the building, and so is the system provided by the Lubec Memorial Library. Brandon Lyons of Lyons' Market says they will also make their system available during the stay‑at‑home order. These, and possibly other WiFi sources, can be accessed without entering a building.
     "The kids have lost so much," says Wormell. "They lost their entire athletic program." She adds, "It's easier for those in grades 5 through 12."
     Of special concern, say both Wormell and teacher Debbie McPhail, are the first and second graders who are learning to read. "If they're not reading by the time they go into third grade, experience shows there will be problems down the road." McPhail, who teaches at this grade level, said she is communicating with all parents, every day. "The parents are awesome, totally awesome," she says, pointing out that she sends home "three hours of work per night." McPhail, a teacher with many years of experience, observes that teaching a student how to read is often a process that needs to be tailored to the individual student and requires much patience.
     Much of the work, explains Wormell, is sent home by papers that are provided Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. They are arranged on a table inside the outer vestibule to be picked up; completed papers also have a table. The inner door remains locked, but the outer door is left open.  "So much of this is unanswered," Wormell adds. "We don't know where we're headed."
     Over at Edmunds Consolidated School (ECS), Principal Trudy Newcomb notes that paper packets of learning materials are sent to Pre‑K through Grade 3, with some of the lower grades also starting to use Google Classroom. The rest of the grades "are mostly virtual, using Google Classroom with papers for those without Internet." She adds, "The teachers have been amazing. The kids are engaged." Each student has a staff member who is acting as their case manager, checking in once a day, and also having a phone or video call with parents to see how things are going.
     "As principal, my day is a lot of checking in with teachers, making sure they take time for themselves. We have over 20 staff members, some are working at home, some at school part‑time," says Newcomb. But she notes, "We're used to seeing people all day long." The change has been hard. "Staff are doing OK. It's hard." They see that some students are struggling, "that this is hard for them." Helping a bit are physical education packets, with one, an Easter egg hunt, proving to be helpful. Easter egg drawing sheets were filled in by students and hung in windows. Staff drove by, beeped when they saw an egg and dropped off packets and a few treats. The egg hunt happened before the April 2 mandate that added restrictions to movement and proved to be a great hit.
     Molly Calder, ECS grades 5-8 teacher, started the first week of teaching with packets but has since moved over to completely digital, other than for a few students who need packets to supplement the digital learning. Her grades 5‑6 students were for the most part new to the technology. She considers the biggest lesson the students are learning is how to use the technology.      "Now they know it all and have a big leg up. They're doing great now."
     She adds, "I need them to be OK emotionally rather than academically." Calder has always focused on emotional well‑being in her teaching practice, with deep breathing and mindfulness a part of her teaching day. She continues with those efforts as well as talking about anxieties students may be having. "I miss my kids." She adds, "I tell them to take it day‑by‑day; we talk about staying safe, the difference between fact and fiction, websites that are informative versus fake news." She pauses. "They're very good at that," she says with pride in her voice.
     "They're brave," says Shead High School teacher Corynne Zinni. She teaches English language arts to grades 8‑12. "They're really stepping up to it." While she has been trying to incorporate technology throughout the school year, she hadn't used Google Classroom before. "I think there are some benefits I hadn't considered." She's thinking about how she might use the technology when school returns to normal. Her older teens, for the most part, know how to use technology, but "there are some students who we know don't have electricity or Internet." Packets are still used for those students, she notes.
     She misses the non‑verbal cues that tell her if someone isn't understanding something. "Obviously, I'd prefer to see them in the classroom." She feels some stress about whether she's communicating clearly to students. "But we're all working together on this," and that helps.