12 minute read
Our CBA Heroes
On March 16, 2020, life as we knew it at CBA and across our nation, came to a screeching halt. Schools in New York State were forced to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Students were asked to empty everything out of their lockers and bring it home. Faculty and staff scrambled gathering lesson plans and learning new technologies. Remote learning was to become the new norm. At that time, no one knew if it would last for a month, three months, or six months. The only thing known, was the unknown. CBA families, faculty, and staff were forced to adjust to this new style of learning and teaching. They were at the forefront. One hundred percent remote learning was the norm for the remainder of spring semester. A hybrid platform was implemented for back to school in the fall, and finally a full return to the classroom in April 2021. Behind the scenes, a number of individuals on staff made this all possible, without missing a beat, and without much recognition.
“Hero: a person who in the face of danger combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage or strength.”
Throughout this pandemic, many individuals have been heralded as heroes. We present a few individuals who performed heroically and in most cases under the radar. Meet some of CBA’s Heroes.
Bob Bewley
Project Manager of CBA’s School Reopening Committee, Health and Physical Education Department Faculty Member and Department Chair, Boys Varsity Swim Team Coach, 2018 Lasallian Educator of the Year Bob answered the call from CBA President Matt Keough, for this huge responsibility with the humility, willingness, and strength of character that he draws from as an administrator, teacher, and coach. Always quick to give credit to others, he spent the summer boning up on regulations from the CDC, New York State, and Onondaga County and researching and reaching out to other schools and colleges in our region so that he would have the knowledge needed for this critical task. His leadership style is that of collaboration and empowerment, which led to an extremely effective and efficient reopening. What was your role during the pandemic—what did you have to do so the school could continue to function, reopen in September, and continue to operate today?
“I'm the last person to be considered a hero. I see myself as a part of a team. Mr. Keough was the coach, and I was the captain that served as his liaison between his ideas and the committee members. If you remember that Mr. Keough was transitioning from principal to president and had to accomplish the vital roles of both positions. I served him best by being a resource for all the committee chairs. I believe it helped CBA position itself as a leader in the Covid-19 response, but more importantly it allowed our students and families (and staff) to feel confident we had a safe effective plan to reopen school.”
What was your biggest challenge/struggle?
“My personal challenges were the balance between my role as (as Mr. Roache coined, ‘czar’) and teaching. Principal Brillante was a huge help. When I was torn between the two worlds, she reserved a substitute teacher so the classes would still continue. The biggest challenge for me personally, was once the boys swimming season started and my two-way time pie was now a three-way time pie. “The layout of the committee structure and Mr. Keough’s total reliance and faith in the committees made the process, while stressful at times, actually go very smoothly. While other districts struggled and at times had to start over, we sailed through the choppy waters fairly smoothly.”
“I don't have a word to describe the pandemic year, but more of a total restoration in the faith of good people coming together to perform a service for their community.”
Brenda Mulhern
Director of Operations: Finance, Maintenance, Technology, and Food Services Brenda’s oversight of the many facets of school operations during the course of the pandemic was nothing short of remarkable. Her creativity, ongoing research and analysis, attention to detail, and awareness of parental concerns (she is mom to CBA sophomores, Ryan and Zachary) gave important credence to her recommendations and decision-making. Few in the CBA community are aware of all of the hats worn by our adept CFO or the steadfastness with which she approaches the many duties within her realm.
“My job during the pandemic was to oversee the Finance, Technology, and Maintenance departments. This was a very challenging time for all staff members. Maintenance had the responsibility to create a safe and secure environment for all CBA family members to return. At the start of the pandemic, I realized that PPE was going to be in short supply, as I followed the news stories from around the world. I worked with Jim Stoltz, Maintenance manager, and had him pre-order many items and stockpile to make sure we had the PPE necessary for employees and students to return. This also allowed us to take advantage of lower prices before demand for the products grew in our area. We also monitored closely the county initiatives and took advantage of products available to schools at free or reduced costs. We also spent many hours developing a cleaning schedule, re-opening plan, creating space and equipment for temperature taking, in addition to organizing furniture as CDC recommendations changed. Technology had to be purchased and distributed to make sure all our teachers, staff, administration and students were able to access the learning platforms, no matter where they were located. We deployed hot spots, Chromebooks, and laptops to several students and employees. In addition, we purchased and installed many software packages that allowed us to continue to educate our students who were now at home instead of in school. The technology department spent many hours training teachers, staff members, students, and parents with the new platform of learning, in addition to always being on call to troubleshoot. They are still creating and modifying our systems as we have students that are in the building and those that are still hybrid. “Finance had the job of making sure bills were paid, salaries were paid, and tuition was collected during uncertain times. Families were losing jobs, health issues were forcing families to miss work, parents had to leave jobs to stay home with younger children not allowed to attend day care and people were just scared to enter the community with the uncertainty of an unknown germ circulating and the potential risks that could cause harm to themselves or their families. There was also lots of speculation that our economy would collapse. Many hours have been invested trying to secure funding from all possible resources to minimize the financial impact the virus could have on our school. We secured funding from the Cares Act, PPP loans, Title money and EANS. All these programs provided funding to respond to the coronavirus. Funding sources have allowed us to purchase technology, maintain adequate supplies of PPE and continue to pay our operational expenses during the pandemic.”
What was your biggest challenge/struggle?
“The biggest challenge was to create an environment where students, parents and employees felt safe and secure.” One word to describe the pandemic and the last year?
“The best word to describe the pandemic is ‘heartbreak’. The fact that millions of people lost their lives is heartbreaking. It will take families months, or even years to get back to ‘normal’. The vaccine distribution, funding from the government, jobless claims decreasing is helping but there is still shock, disbelief, anxiety and anger that a pandemic hit our world and took so many beautiful people. I know our CBA community will return stronger, wiser and will not only assist our adolescents and family members, but we will be better equipped on how to handle a crisis and how to assist others when a crisis happens again.” Lori Walker
School Nurse Lori’s knowledge of her craft and the care and compassion with which she approaches every child make her an ideal school nurse. What set her apart during the pandemic was her thorough grasp of guidelines even as they changed irregularly; her ability to adapt and think creatively when trying to address seemingly insurmountable tasks; her empathy toward her “patients” and their families as each faced unique concerns. What was your role during the pandemic-what did you have to do so the school could continue to function, reopen in September and continue to operate today?
“My role as school nurse during the pandemic obviously grew. Last spring and summer and continuing throughout, I co-chaired with Kathleen Hanson (Counselor) the Student Safety and Wellness Reopening Subcommittee. My committee was responsible for creating safety policies and protocols for faculty and staff. When students were actually in school again in September, I worked directly with the local Health Department to complete contract tracing of all students and staff. If students needed to be in quarantine, I had to contact them and their parents. Each day, I check the Health Assessment to make sure students who are ill or had an exposure are not present in the building. Also on a daily basis, I report to New York State students who are positive. I am also responsible for testing for our studentathletes twice a week. I have more frequent contact with parents regarding illness and refer students for Covid-19 tests and medical doctor referral for return to school protocol.” What was your biggest challenge/struggle?
“I wouldn't say it was a struggle or challenge, but I would say what I really dread doing is having to call parents to tell them their child has been put on quarantine for 10 days. That is heartbreaking for me.” One word to describe the pandemic and the last year?
“One word ....really??? That's impossible as so many words come to mind. I'm going with two. I always try to keep things on a positive note... So I will say COMMUNITY... but I have to add UNSETTLING too.”
Jim Stoltz
Maintenance Manager Jim is a “Jack of all trades” and addresses problems with an open and creative mind, leading to efficient, effective solutions. The challenges around facilities management were many and varied from storage needs to designing layouts around pandemic rules and regulations. Jim and his Pictured (front): Chrissy Ornoski. (L-R); staff stepped in and stepped Jim Veverka, Pat O’Laughlin, and Jim Stoltz up, quietly assessing physical plant issues, determining the best solution, and getting it all done with nary a problem. What was your/your staff’s role during the pandemic-what did you have to do so the school could continue to function, reopen in September, and continue to operate today?
“When Covid hit, we emptied every classroom of desks and chairs and rearranged the school (social distance). It took a lot of measuring. We loaded two trailers with all the extra furniture. Prior to opening back up in September, we created spray bottles and wipes and placed ‘covid kits’ in every classroom and office which included gloves and masks. We covered urinals and sinks in all bathrooms for social distance. We spray every morning all areas of the entire school and do it during each lunch period. We are constantly unloading supplies that are delivered to school. My staff has worked so hard and makes sure every day that areas are disinfected and safe for students and staff.” What was your biggest challenge/struggle?
“The biggest challenge is locating and maintaining proper amounts of disinfectant and PPE equipment.” One word to describe the pandemic and the last year?
“Disruptive.”
Frank D’Agostino
Technology Department Frank and the Technology Team operated behind the scenes throughout the pandemic to deliver the best possible technology to CBA teachers, staff, and students – in school Pictured (l-r): Mark Legler, Frank D’Agostino, and remote. They pivoted Ed Hilliard on a dime to address critical needs, perhaps the most critical during the physically distanced lives we all lived for weeks and months on end. Without technological services, CBA would have ceased to function. What was your role during the pandemic-what did you have to do so the school could continue to function, reopen in September, and continue to operate today?
“I don’t think it’s possible to properly state the role the Technology Department played during the pandemic, while staying true to the theme of Humble Heroes. We developed a Technology Loan Program to equip students with Chromebooks and internet access, literally over a weekend. We also worked with Assistant Principal, Steve Garraffo, and teachers Amanda Webster, and Connor Carroll to develop a professional development program for teachers to provide continuity of education during the pandemic over that same weekend. We developed, on-the-fly, instructional materials on best practices for teachers to use while teaching remotely. We troubleshot technology issues for students, parents, faculty, staff, and administration over the phone and using remote access technology. All of that was week one. We got tired. We got cranky. We got stressed. We got through the year. “Beginning in late spring 2020 and through the summer and in this school year, we’ve worked with re-opening committees to develop methods for classes to function in a socially distanced environment, for students to get checked in and have attendance taken, and for remote learners to stay part of the CBA community. Edward Hilliard worked incredibly hard to, among many, many other things, input and refine the hybrid schedule right up to when we opened our doors in September. And then he did it again when we switched back to in-person classes.” What was your biggest challenge/struggle?
“Our biggest struggle, like everyone’s, is uncertainty. The reality of not knowing how best to proceed, how long the pandemic will last, and who in our families, both in our personal families and in our collective CBA family, will get sick, is constantly on our minds.” One word to describe the pandemic and the last year?
“If I had to describe the pandemic and the last year in one word, it would be ‘uncertainty.’ We began the pandemic without a functioning federal government and very little information about how to stay safe. We didn’t know if a vaccine was coming or how long it would take. We didn’t know if the economy could continue, or if there would be widespread shortages of food and basic supplies. We didn’t know if CBA could continue to operate or if enrollment would drop to an unsustainable level. We didn’t know if we would live through it.”
