PPTC Parents and Teachers in the Time of Coronavirus: Jana Trenk

On March 11th, the World Health Organization declared the novel Coronavirus outbreak to be a global pandemic. The next day, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a local state of emergency. For a few controversial days, New York City public schools remained open. Then on March 16th, De Blasio finally announced that by executive order, New York City public schools would be closed, and online classes would begin on March 23rd.  

A whirlwind of activity followed: Schools worked to ensure students had the necessary equipment and Internet access to allow them to attend online classes, educators scrambled to be ready to begin online classes, and student meal programs were set up. PPTC’s teachers and parents were caught up in these events. It has been a few weeks since New York City public schools ceased in-person classes. However, remote teaching and learning is an ever-evolving challenge for teachers and parents. 

This is the first of an eight-part post series that shares some insight into what some of PPTC’s teachers and parents are going through. Today’s interview is with Jana Trenk, a teacher and PPTC member since 2014. She has served on PPTC’s Board of Directors since 2017, and has worked on projects with the Captains Committee, Communications Committee, Blog Team, and Clothing Committee.

Jana is a member of PPTC’s Social Committee, and is the Social Committee’s representative to the Board. She also co-hosted the Women’s Day Run — our last group event before life in NYC was put on pause —and holds second place in PPTC’s record book for the women’s marathon, with a finish time of 2:55:18 from the 2019 Philadelphia Marathon.  

Where do you teach and what grades/subjects do you teach?

Jana Trenk’s quarantine self-portrait

I’m a first grade Special Ed teacher at P.S. 58 The Carroll School. I work in an ICT classroom, which means that my classroom has two full time head teachers: a General Education Teacher (my co-teacher, Rachel), and a Special Education Teacher (myself). Our students who receive Special Education services have a variety of different needs: ADHD, learning disabilities, auditory processing disorder, speech and language disorders, issues with fine motor skills, and more. I teach Reading, Writing, Math and Social Studies. 

What has it been like transitioning to remote teaching?  

It’s been such a new and unexpected experience. After the mayor announced that school would officially be shut down and we would move to a system of remote learning, teachers were supposed to have a few days of training so we’d learn how to teach remotely. The next week, teachers learned there was no organized system for us to be trained. Instead, schools and individual teachers had to figure out what remote teaching would look like on our own! My administrators were very supportive and understanding: They were never the source of any stress or pressure for me. However, I still felt really stressed: We had only a week to get things ready before it was time to launch our remote learning plans to students and their parents! 

In the beginning, it was hours of work trying to figure out the best way to write up and present information to families. Some questions we had to consider:

- Did we want to send out weekly plans, or daily plans?
- Which platforms would we use to send out those plans?
- How much and what work should students turn in to us?
- Which platforms are best for work submission?
- Should we review work or move ahead with the curriculum? 
- Are we doing live sessions with students? How often and how do we do it?
- What would we do about students who receive speech and language services or occupational therapy or counseling?
- How do we log and submit paperwork for special ed services?
- Do we need to take attendance every day? How?  

We all had many questions: There was so much that needed to be figured out. As the days went on, some things became easier; others have taken a while to figure out. Teachers are still finding out about a lot of changes last minute, such as when we learned we are no longer allowed to use Zoom for live sessions: We have to use Google Hangout or Microsoft Teams. It’s all so new, and there have been many changes along the way. I don’t feel like I have a true routine yet, but I feel a lot better now than I did that first week as things have become a bit more settled in.

“Just as parents have a lot to manage right now, teachers are in a similar situation as they learn how to teach remotely while also taking care of their own families. I think parents and teachers both need to be understanding of each other right now, and realize that this is an unprecedented situation which no one has previous experience with.”

Describe a typical day when you teach remotely.  

My day starts at 8:30am, when I typically have a morning video chat with my co-teacher. We usually talk through some parent emails, and do some other planning together. At 9am, we host a live session with our class. We’ll usually take turns doing a Read Aloud and book discussion, or another activity. We had a fun live session where students each got to present a Social Studies Project for Women’s History Month that they worked on.  

The rest of the day can vary, but there are always things to do, and we're still figuring out what works best. We’ve had multiple small group live writing conferences, where 3-5 kids logged on at a time and shared their writing with the group. We gave them compliments on what they did well, and gave them a new goal to focus on. We’ve had two live meetings with parents as well.  

Each day, students have a “Daily Turn In” assignment. When I’m not doing a live session with students, I’m usually reading the assignments that they turn in, and responding with useful feedback. My co-teacher and I made a class website and Instagram page as well, so I am often uploading things to those sites during the day to maintain a sense of community with the class. 

All the First Grade teachers meet together each day to make sure that we are all on the same page with plans. We also have full staff meetings once a week.  

Jana’s weekly school staff meeting, where administrators and teachers share updates.

How are your students handling remote learning? Has there been a drop in attendance?

Remote learning is a completely different experience for each family based on the needs/academic level of the students, as well as parents’ schedules and ability to help out. I’ve had some parents say that the work is too easy, and others say that it’s much too hard. It’s really difficult for teachers to figure out how to differentiate and provide support when students are at home, instead of with us all day. 

Some students also have limited access to technology. Teachers have been taking attendance each day, but the Department of Education and my school recognize that all families have different situations. We are providing work to families for students to complete each day, but attendance and completion of work is “suggested” rather than required. Also, students aren’t being penalized for not attending sessions, or not completing work during the pandemic. 

What has pleasantly surprised you about remote teaching? 

When we were at school, we had our curriculum set a certain way. Now that we’re teaching remotely, a lot of the curriculum we used before doesn’t translate well online. I’m enjoying having more creative freedom in how things are done. I am having our students do a Time Capsule activity to memorialize their thoughts and feelings as they live through such an unusual moment in history. There is a lot of learning that can happen beyond what is in the usual curriculum.  

What is your biggest complaint about remote teaching? 

It’s not easy having everything I teach being so visible to the parents of my students: I feel a bit self-conscious at times, like I’m opening myself up to being observed and evaluated at all times.  Every time I make a video, parents could watch and re-watch it, and have an opinion about what I said and how I said it! And when I do a live session, I know many parents will be listening in.  

The first video I ever made was a simple one: I was saying good morning to the students and talking about how much I missed them. I was so scared to make that first video, I filmed it twelve times just to get a two-minute video that I liked enough to post! Now I’m getting a bit more relaxed with it, and usually only film something three or four times. The parents have generally been kind and thankful about everything, so I think the worrying is mainly in my head.  Now I sometimes feel good if parents are watching, because I’m proud of the work that I’m doing.

Do you have a message for parents?  

It’s a really difficult time for all of them right now. Many aren’t trained as teachers, and aren’t familiar with the schoolwork their kids are being assigned. All of a sudden, they’re thrown into this situation where they have to do their own jobs, as well as support their kids at home. I try to make lessons and activities as easy to understand and self explanatory as possible, but first graders are so young. They really need a lot of supervision. 

Just as parents have a lot to manage right now, teachers are in a similar situation as they learn how to teach remotely while also taking care of their own families. Some of my colleagues are not comfortable with using technology and doing live sessions with students, so making videos is difficult and stressful for them.  

I think that parents and teachers both need to be understanding of each other right now, and realize that this is an unprecedented situation which no one has previous experience with. Things are not going to be perfect education-wise, because no one had the time to prepare or plan for this beforehand. We’re all just doing the best we can.  

Do you anticipate changes to how you teach your students once you are back in the classroom based on what you have experienced teaching remotely?  

In just a short time, I’ve learned so much about presenting materials to students and families digitally. Once I’m back in the classroom, I will continue using some of this knowledge and make a point of integrating technology into what I’m doing each day. For example, there is a great site called GetEpic.com, where students can browse books of all different reading levels and read them online. I’d also consider making a class website each year.  

Have you been running? How has your running changed since we’ve been in “lockdown”?

Before the pandemic, I was pretty focused on racing. Now I’ve been doing a lot lower mileage, and am hoping to work on strength training. Since there are no races right now, it seems like a good time to work on imbalances and become stronger and more durable.  

Do you have something else you’d like us to know about your experience teaching remotely or more generally about your “lockdown” experience?

I’ve always been a pretty big daydreamer, and am happy with getting in my head and just thinking for long periods of time. I’m good at amusing myself with random things. One of my latest activities was coming up with a list of QuaranTUNES such as “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” by The Police. I like reading and listening to podcasts: Usually the content I choose is related to running, psychology, human behavior and relationships.

I also enjoy the challenge of trying to see what kinds of club events and activities could be possible virtually. I’ve been working hard with the PPTC Social Committee to come up with fun virtual events to help members to  maintain that sense of community. I know a lot of people are feeling lost and lonely right now, so it’s important that we have ways for members to connect.  

Interview and text by: Linda S. Chan
Photos by: Jana Trenk
Edited and produced by: Alison Kotch