Located in an area hit hard by the pandemic, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond visited two elementary schools within the Chula Vista Elementary School District to look at safety measures, how schools are supporting mental health and what strategies they are utilizing that benefit both students and parents as they transition back to in-person learning. Thurmond spent the morning at Castle Park and Joseph Casillas elementary schools.
Nine children were in class at Castle Park in teacher Katie Rubio’s fourth grade morning session. Students were socially distanced, wearing masks, each with a shoebox that held their silkworm, a project that Rubio has going with the students. Each silkworm was at a different stage, some eating mulberry leaves, others beginning to pupate. Rubio said this was the perfect science project for the students as the school has a large mulberry tree on campus.
As Thurmond entered the room, Rubio was leading them in “shark fin” breathing exercises, where they placed their hands at the top of their forehead as they breathed in and lowered it as the breathed out. Rubio said these morning exercises are imperative to how the rest of the day goes as it helps students relax and focus. Then, she demonstrated a daily program used, Inner Explorer, another method the school is using to begin class days with mindfulness. Rubio then spoke about the brain functions that control emotions and how the students can recognize their moods, and what they can do when their emotions become high and disruptive. She said if students can stay in the “green zone,” then they can continue learning. Rubio said they check student’s zones at the beginning and the end of class.
“These practices are calming to the children and important in our daily activities,” said Rubio. “Our students have been impacted by the pandemic, some of them more than others, losing family members. My goal is to make this transition back into the classroom as smooth as possible for these kids. Understanding their emotions is a huge part of this.”
Thurmond spoke to the students and said that he loved the mindfulness activity.
“It was very relaxing and a great way to start the day,” he said. “I wanted to come and just learn about how our students are doing in the state and how we can help you.”
Thurmond said it is his job to help all 10,000 schools in the state and was proud of the students taking care of themselves and their wellbeing. He asked if they practiced the wellbeing at home with their families.
“I have two daughters and they feel stressed all the time about the corona virus and the pandemic,” said Thurmond. “They have bee saying when they go back to school that mindfulness is a good way to deal with any kind of stress that you might feel here, at home, or anywhere.”
Thurmond told the students that it is difficult getting used to wearing masks and that he had never worn a mask until the pandemic.
“Right before the pandemic many other countries were wearing masks that helped prevent the spread of disease and now it is probably the most important thing that we can do to keep each other safe,” he said. “If I wear a mask that means we are keeping each other safe “
Thurmond told the students that he was looking forward to seeing the rapid antigen testing that can provide results in 15 minutes. CVSD Safe! is a voluntary testing and tracing program in partnership with the county, the state and Primary Health.
“If someone has COVID they can quarantine and everyone else from the school community can be safe, so we want to help our students and families use these programs,” said Thurmond.
Thurmond said that he was proud of the great students in the classroom.
“You will be whatever you want to be,” he said. “Your education will carry you wherever you want to go. Take care of yourself. Take care of your family and serve your community. We know that you are all going to be great leaders.”
Moving to the Counseling Room on campus, Principal Dr. Monica Castillo told Thurmond that being new to the school her first plan of attention was to hire social worker Julia Sutton.
“Coming in in the middle of a pandemic while people are at home and everyone’s doing distance learning, we had a mission to build trust and build relationships with our students, our staff, and our community. We were here from day one all on the same wavelength of what we need to do, and this is starting with me, starting from the top and leading by example,” she said.
“I want to make sure that our staff felt seen and heard and I wanted to take care of them the way that I want them to take care of the kids,” she continued. “We have check-ins for our staff to see how they are doing on a regular basis. We have a tap-out system where if they are feeling overwhelmed at any moment, they can call a break when they need one.”
Thurmond said the community has experienced a lot of loss for COVID in addition to acknowledging the racial injustice that students are experiencing.
“The focus on social justice for our teachers to share that with our students so their whole self is helping their school,” he said.
“Students are accepted and acknowledged for the trauma that they have experienced in the last year, maybe you can give us some advice you might have that we can use to help other school districts as you mentioned many of the students have experienced the loss to cope.”
Castillo said that she has answered many calls from parents and guardians asking if it is really safe to return to school, one reason that the district is taking reopening slowly.
“They just need us to feel confident in what we are doing and share with them,” she said. “UCSD is testing every day on our surfaces and wastewater, so that is an extra early alert. So, we have several layers in place so that they know that we are being really proactive, and we are adhering to our protocols, and that is the most important thing right now.”
