Meal delivery becomes the new norm for virus precautions
Angie Steffen Randolph Times
A couple of places in Randolph aren't allowing the coronavirus disease 2019, abbreviated as COVID-19, to get the best of them. The Randolph School and Senior Center are delivering meals each day amid heightened precautions for sanitary and safety conditions.
Despite 192 students ready for meals, Superintendent Jeff Hoesing said there really haven’t been too many obstacles to overcome during the meal deliver process. March 25, the school served 112 breakfasts and 140 lunches.
"It is still growing in number. Mrs. Brandi Bartels' background in technology has streamlined the lunch count process. The lunch staff have rolled up their sleeves and are determined to run this well,'' Hoesing said. "Our lunch manager, Heather Reimers, worked very hard early on to obtain the necessary data and file the applications to ensure we receive federal funding for all meals served. The paras are delivering meals and managing meal pickup. They've continually modified this to reduce the chances that this program will become a factor in the spread of the virus. The lunch staff have taken responsibility for all of the guidelines. They have made a few adaptations (for delivery). The main challenge is getting them delivered as soon as we can and keep them hot during transport. Additionally, we have to make sure our pick up point at school does not become a source of spreading of the virus.''
The health department asked the Randolph Senior Center to close due to the virus precautions. This leaves Alfreda Moser and Amy Graham holding down the ship, with several volunteers helping deliver about 35 meals at lunchtime over a one half hour time period.
"The volunteers make 10-12 deliveries and people are picking up their food at the curb,'' said Graham. "Most of the people getting deliveries were getting them before this. They are mainly seniors on a list of about 20. The hot meals are delivered in the city limits and one is in the country. Once a week they deliver frozen meals to Osmond and Carroll. Meals usually include homemade foods like oven-fried chicken, pork roast, steak and meatloaf.''
Moser has adapted and been working extra hours since the virus precautions came to town.
"It needs to be done,'' Moser said of the extra hours. ''I am alone in the kitchen. Before I had volunteers to help. I manage to get things done. The sanitation is the biggest thing.''
Moser said precautions for sanitation start in the morning and the procedures have to be kept up until she leaves.
"A very generous lady ordered 20 meals for other people,'' Moser said. "It was a good thing and these people really appreciated it.''
Hoesing said in the days just prior to the closure, Reimers worked to obtain the "free meals for all" status with help from both principals.
"Once that was obtained, we set things in motion to get this done,'' he said. "So far, really positive and grateful (have been the reactions of those receiving meals).”
As for other schools, Hoesing said he has found it is a mix. Some elect pick-up, some choose delivery in the wake of the virus precautions.
"All staff reporting to the building have been instructed to wash their hands as soon as they enter the building and their temperatures are taken in the morning and again in the afternoon, using methods that should reduce any possibility of transfer,'' said Superintendent Jeff Hoesing. "It's going very well. We are delivering both breakfast and lunch. In all aspects of the closure, the lunch program has been a bright spot, along with how well our teaching staff has adapted and learned to provide instruction in a manner that's never been done to this extent. I'm proud to be associated with them."
Students in all grades started a different style of learning outside of the classroom March 19. Some are learning online and some have had packets of material sent to their homes.
"There's been a lot of on-line delivery using interactive zoom meetings, videos recorded by staff, YouTube videos, and traditional paper work sheets sent to the home. The amount of ingenuity shown by our staff has been inspiring to me,'' said Jeff Hoesing, superintendent.
"It has been a sharp learning curve. However, we've had teachers, principals and paras in both buildings that were familiar with this mode of instructional delivery. They've been a real asset to the staff who have not experienced these methods. In the same way, our students and parents will also have a sharp learning curve. Some are familiar with this, some have lots to learn,'' Hoesing said. "Additionally, we are asking all parents to be more integral in their child's learning and we're asking kids of all ages to be a lot more accountable for their own learning. It's not going to go well at the start, but we're seeing some successes pop up all around. I think it will continually get better for those who are willing to invest their time and efforts into this method. The alternative is to just "do nothing" or provide remedial work on concepts that the students already know."
Obstacles have arisen and are different at each household. Some families don't have effective internet at home and some have no internet at all, which makes instruction different for different families, according to Hoesing.
"We have some kids who have not taken the initiative to participate and we're contacting parents individually to see what can be done,'' Hoesing said. "Our staff has really stepped up to the plate in learning how to adapt to this, but that was a big obstacle initially. There's been quite a bit of appreciation and understanding expressed from parents and that's been great. However, we are quickly entering the next phase, where parents are becoming aware of a much greater demand from them to make this all work. They, in turn, will be asking us to improve on certain things we are doing and that's fair."
"What we've found out so far is that 'adjustment' is really not dependent on age or grade level. It's been about how quickly households accept this situation and value whatever education can be delivered to their homes,'' Hoesing said. "The households that can't or won't make the best of this for their child's learning are going to be the one's we struggle with the most when school resumes, even if that is not until next fall."
The time for school to start again is literally up in the air.
"That's completely contingent on the progression of the virus throughout the country and the government agencies' response to it. As of right now, we are not planning on extending the school year. We are continuing to 'teach,''' Hoesing said.
School staff members continue to report each day. Hoesing said he has no theories on what it will take for the virus to subside. He said this is an issue for the health monitoring agencies.
"Our last day for students is still scheduled to be Tuesday, May 19. If the agencies that monitor the flu would allow students to return to school, we would happily take them back regardless of whether we have two weeks or two days left in this year,'' Hoesing said. "We're learning not to anticipate how far this will advance and how this will end. Our staff, parents and students are just responding to the problems that are in front of us without projecting out too much. This will not last forever. That was the message to our kids and staff the last three days we were in session."
"When you're wading through a swamp it may seem like it'll never end, but eventually you'll walk out and be on solid ground again. It's then, when you look back with either a sense of pride or shame in how you conducted your trek through the swamp. It happens over and over in our history,'' Hoesing said. "It's not about whether or not you made the correct decisions, as hindsight will tell you that. It's what drove your decisions. Was it fear or selfishness or was it something better?"
The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 13. How that meeting is held will be up to Paul Schmit, board president, said Hoesing.
"We may have an emergency meeting on occasion if necessary and they may be face-to-face with social distancing or it may be on-line,'' Hoesing said.
