The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues. Listen below and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.
When the pandemic arrived in Vermont one year ago this month, Gov. Scott ordered schools to end in-person instruction. Thus began the odyssey of the Class of Covid-19.
The Harwood Unified Union School District covers Waterbury, Duxbury, Moretown, Warren, Waitsfield and Fayston. Last spring, the district’s five elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school emptied out, and all instruction moved online. The classrooms remained empty through August. Graduation at Harwood Union High School was a drive-through affair.
Last fall, Harwood students returned to their schools to begin a year of hybrid learning, with younger students spending up to four days in the classroom, and high school students attending two days in person and three days online.
Wednesday marks a milestone: Harwood district teachers are getting vaccinated at a clinic set up at Crossett Brook Middle School, part of a new statewide effort to vaccinate educators. By this fall, the hope is that students will return full-time to the classrooms of the Harwood district.
In this episode, several members of the Harwood community reflect on this pandemic school year. Jonah Ibson is an English teacher at Harwood Union High School, and Katie Sullivan is a fourth-grade teacher at Warren Elementary School. Both of these teachers appeared on the Vermont Conversation a year ago to share their thoughts on what lay ahead. Gavin Thomsen is a senior at Harwood Union High School and joins for the first time to talk about the Class of Covid-19.
