‘I’m here’: Columbus teacher gets creative to stay connected with students in COVID-19 pandemic
Jordan Waller choked up as she recalled how she felt when the Muscogee County School District closed due to the coronavirus known as COVID-19.
“I shed tears for my babies,” Waller, a second-grade teacher at Dorothy Height Elementary School, told the Ledger-Enquirer. “I just prayed that, wherever they are, they’re staying safe, they’re making right choices and the people around them are making right choices for them.”
During an interview Monday in her Columbus apartment, as her 4-year-old daughter did prekindergarten lessons on a computer tablet, Waller showed how she uses her laptop and cellphone to continue teaching her students — while juggling her duties as a mother at the same time.
“This environment is challenging me to be a better teacher,” she said.
Her students attend a school where 84% are considered by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement to be economically disadvantaged, but Waller is relieved that only two of her 20 students don’t have Internet access at home to complete their assignments online.
So she calls each day to check on those two students. MCSD made packets of printed lessons for students to take home before the March 14 announcement that schools were closed for at least two weeks.
Although MCSD teacher “office hours” are supposed to be 9-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. Mondays-Fridays during the closure, Waller said she also is connecting with students and parents whenever they need her, even at night or on the weekend.
“I do understand the certain situations that my students are in,” she said, “and I’m being flexible in working with them. … I enjoy the interaction. I enjoy when they call me.”
Most of her students live in single-parent homes, Waller said. Some have a grandparent taking care of them while the parent goes to work, she said.
Waller choked up again as she said, “For some students — I’m sorry — school is their safe haven. School is where they feel loved, they feel safe, and to know that we can’t be their safe haven right now, that’s why I’m doing my best to make it as normal as possible. … If you stay right here on your device, my heart knows you’re OK.”
She connects with them via phone, messaging and video.
“I’m finding ways,” she said, “and I’m so appreciative of my parents who are letting students continue to communicate with me.”
Waller credits her colleagues for sharing their ideas and helping each other. She plans and collaborates with fellow teachers through the Zoom videoconferencing tool.
Each of her students has a portfolio on Class Dojo, an education technology app and website, where they upload their work and Waller gives them feedback.
Students use codes to log in to games on the website 99Math. The challenge Waller set up Monday required the students to solve as many two-digit addition problems as they could in 30 seconds.
She encouraged them with this running commentary: “And in the lead, we have Nick! He’s already answered two questions! … Oh, I see you AJ! Catch him, AJ! You can do it, Nat! … Use your strategies! You can catch him, Jordan! I know you can! Five more seconds! … Next round.”
On the digital platform Kahoot, her science lesson Monday was about states of matter, her English lesson was about contractions, and she was looking forward to the videos she had asked her students to make about their highlights from last week.
“We’re not grading it right now on the spot,” she said, “but I am monitoring.”
Waller has special themes for each day this week. Monday was Superhero Day, dressing like a hospital worker, first responder, grocery store employee or anyone else helping to fight the coronavirus. Tuesday is Crazy Hair Day.
“I’m just trying to make it engaging and still let them know I’m here,” she said. “You may not see my physically, but my heart is still here, and if you need me, call me, text me.”
Waller, an eight-year educator, is in her first year with MCSD. She started her career in Dougherty County and was named that school district’s Teacher of the Year in 2017. She moved to Columbus to be closer to her hometown of Manchester, where she graduated high school in 2008. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Albany State University and master’s and specialist’s degrees from Georgia Southwestern University.
Waller considers her teaching career a calling, especially during this tough time.
“I’m blessed to be here and in this moment,” she said. “… My babies, I love them. I couldn’t do it without them. If I didn’t have awesome parents and awesome students, it would be hard.”
Katrice Boyd is one of those parents.
“I love Ms. Waller,” Boyd told the L-E. “I love what she’s doing. I wish all teachers were like that. … The way she takes time out of her day — she has her own life and kid — and she cares so much about my daughter to make sure she’s still keeping up with her lessons, I don’t have words for it. I mean, I’m grateful. I’m absolutely grateful.”
