MISSION IN ACTION...FROM A
D I S TA N C E By Jennifer Broccato Caine ’86 Advancement Communications Specialist
At Notre Dame Preparatory School, we are “are rooted in tradition and contemporary in education.”
Mrs. Maria Purcell Boote ‘86’s virtual Spanish class
At the time of publication, NDP, like the rest of the world, was facing unexpected and unimaginable changes in mission delivery because of COVID-19. Academics, spiritual growth, and social justice, a mission rooted in nearly 145 years of tradition, took on truly contemporary execution as our community moved from a face-to-face to a virtual learning environment overnight. Faced with the pandemic, as well as a mandate to educate the students of Notre Dame Prep both academically and spiritually while serving those in need, administrators and educators pivoted from traditional education delivery methods in as little as 48 hours. Realizing the impending crisis facing the world with COVID-19, NDP administrators began planning and practicing for virtual learning. Beginning March 16, 2020, gone were the days of morning advisory, classroom instruction, hands-on labs, and more. The planning strategy paid off, as academic schedules were defined, technology kinks were ironed out, and teachers and students entered the world of virtual learning relatively smoothly.
NDP donations to area University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
A home office readied for virtual learning 6 • Roots & Wings • Spring 2020
“We went into this challenging period in history with determination. We wanted our girls to continue their growth and education as seamlessly as possible,” said Sister Patricia McCarron SSND, Ph.D., headmistress. “It wasn’t going to be easy, but we had and continue to have the right people in place to implement the important work of educating young women to transform the world, no matter where that education takes place.” Having a technologically advanced curriculum allowed NDP to enact virtual learning better than many other schools. Faculty quickly converted lesson plans, originally formatted for face-toface instruction, and learned tech tools such as Zoom, which facilitated instruction and helped maintain classroom connection and community. Assignments, which were posted on the school’s PrepNet portal, were completed asynchronously by students in
