Navigating Uncharted Waters

No way should school grounds be silent, yet as I walk through Collegiate’s North Mooreland Road campus several hours before the midnight closure, it is eerily silent.

 

Sure, birds are chirping and a gentle breeze rustles the leaves, but there is no laughter, no good-natured chatter, no bustle of activity, all of which abound at this home away from home for so many.

 

When will we be back? Two weeks? A month? Two months? Longer? No one knew for sure that day – now we do – but my thought at the moment was, We can’t go there right now. You see, going there only made this unprecedented coronavirus crisis all that more challenging.

 

Several times each summer, I take a self-guided tour around campus, talk to folks about their lives and jobs and excitement for the upcoming start of school, and report their thoughts and reflections in this space.

 

This was a much different campus tour, but despite the climate of the times, it was an uplifting one nonetheless.

 

As I began my walk, I encountered my longtime colleague Melanie Gorsline entering the front door of Flippen Hall and inquired about her mindset as we sail into the uncharted waters of remote learning.

 

“For someone who grew up on this campus and has been here all her life, it’s unfathomable,” replied Melanie, who enrolled at Collegiate in 1962, graduated in 1974, returned as an art teacher in 1978, and has been here ever since. “I’m preparing like everyone else, but I’m hoping Collegiate will be what it’s always been, and this won’t change it.”

 

What brings you here today? I asked.

 

“I’m picking up the 8^th grade graduation certificates so I can calligraphy them,” she said. “And I’m picking up all my catalogues so I can order supplies for the future. And I’m just going to walk around and take one last look at the place.”

 

There’s a strange feel in the air, I offered.

 

“For someone who’s very hands-on, this is challenging,” she said. “I’m very intuitive about many things, but the computer I am not. I’m having a hard time learning how to ZOOM, but I’ll do it because I know I can…and it’s all for the kids.”

 

Next, I crossed paths with Kris Rennie, who’s the systems administrator and, with his tech colleagues, had been pulling yeoman’s duty as we race headlong into this world of ZOOM.

 

What’s been going on? I asked.

 

“We’re supporting faculty, staff, students, and families at Collegiate technology-wise,” he said. “You name it, we’re doing it. We’re crazy busy.”

 

 

“It has,” he said. “It helped a lot. One of the good things about Collegiate is that we do a lot of planning to avoid major problems. Nothing has happened yet. I hope it stays that way.”

 

In the Sharp Academic Commons, I encountered Missy Herod, who entered first grade at Collegiate in 1960, graduated in 1972, returned as a teacher in 1981, and remains on deck as Upper School associate director of student life.

 

What brings you to campus today? I asked.

 

“I’m packing up my office and taking things home and trying to figure out what I’ll need for the rest of the year,” she said.

 

 

“Teaching from home,” she said. “And staying in touch with all our clubs and student leaders and keeping them active and having regular meetings. And working on events like baccalaureate and graduation and the honors assembly and Special Olympics. We have to be totally flexible and ready to go with anything.”

 

 

“For me, it brings back memories of 9/11,” she said. “And of Three Mile Island when our school (Kimberton School near Valley Forge, PA, where she taught at the time) had to shut down. We were about 60 miles from the nuclear reactor and the winds were bringing everything towards us.”

 

 

“I think we’re all going to find some inner strength,” she replied. “Life will slow down a bit. That gives us time to reassess our own personal health and mental health. I’m trying to find gratitude in this. I know I’m appreciating nature more. I’m stopping to look at the trees and the flowers. I’m spending time with my pets. I’m thankful that I have them. I’m trying to find things to smile and laugh about.”

 

A few minutes later, I encountered Jeremy Clark, Collegiate’s grounds supervisor, enjoying a quiet moment in the Dinah Pearsall Gazebo just outside the physical plant office in the West Gym.

 

What’s going on with your crew? I asked.

 

“Right now,” he replied, “we’re doing the normal routines and discussing our future plans with the shutdown coming. The plan is to bring in a minimal crew and just sustain life: like watering plants and mowing the grass.”

 

“It is,” he said. “A positive is you’re in your neighborhood, and it seems like everybody’s in good spirits when they’re walking around and out with their family. But it’s surreal. It really is.”

 

Next, I stopped by the physical plant office to visit Wilbur Athey, Collegiate’s special events and projects supervisor who arrived on board 38 years ago.

What’s happening going forward? I asked.

 

“Basically, we’ll do operational things like moving mail, making sure packages get where they’re supposed to be, keeping Collegiate running until we get our people back, keeping this place sanitized on a healthy level,” he said.

 

“Everything is so unknown,” he said. “We don’t know what’s happening and how it’s going to impact us, the school, the community. We’re just trying to take it day by day. A lot of people have questions. There’re not a lot of answers. We’ve been through challenging times before. Collegiate has always come through. We’ll continue to stay positive. We have to keep moving forward.”

 

On my way out, I noticed a sign that read “I Can and I Will” on the office door of housekeeping supervisor Spencer Evans. That’s his motto, he said.

        

So what’s your crew doing today? I asked.

 

“We’ve been sanitizing on a daily basis,” he responded. “We have confidence that the campus will be left in a healthy state. Once we begin the return process, our plan is to gear up and come in a few days early to re-do what we’ve done so far.

 

“Some individuals will be needed on campus (during the closure). Our goal is to make sure we maintain their spaces on a daily basis. When they leave, we’ll come in and clean and disinfect. When they return the following day, they’ll be confident they can work in a healthy environment.

 

“The situation is evolving minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. We’re just keeping an open mind and looking forward to more normal days ahead.”

 

To that, I responded, simply, Amen.

  ~Weldon Bradshaw