{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/4b2x34n755/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Damien LaRock Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eDamien LaRock grew up in the Douglaston Hills area of Douglaston, Queens. After moving away during and after college, he lives in his old neighborhood and works as a special education teacher at P.S. 148 in Elmhurst Queens. In the first part of the interview, he discusses growing up in Douglaston. When he was young, low school enrollment resulted in kids from other neighborhoods being bussed in to attend his local school. As a result, he made a lot of friends who lived in Jamaica. As a kid, he wasn't aware of the political issues, he was just excited to have friends that lived somewhere else, not just the kids down the block. The majority of the interview covers Damien's experience as a teacher during the COVID-19 Pandemic. He discusses the logistics of the shift to remote learning as well as the difficulties that sometimes arose with connecting with, and engaging the students.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the second recording, Damien talks about the day to day experiences with remote learning in his Integrated Co-Teaching classes. Once students and staff members began to fall ill, and some students lost parents, the teachers realized they needed to focus more on the emotional and mental health of the children. It was hard to make school a priority when some families were struggling with illness, unemployment and/or food insecurity. At the time of the interview, Damien didn't know what school would be like in the fall, but he thinks a combination of in person and remote learning, guided by data would be the best course of action.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/search/browse/45275"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2020-07-17 (created)","2020-07-27 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Audio"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Damien LaRock (Interviewee)","Bridget Bartolini (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["Interview conducted as part of the Queens Memory COVID-19 Project."]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1980s-2020 (temporal)","Douglaston and East Elmhurst, Queens, NY (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eDamien LaRock grew up in the Douglaston Hills area of Douglaston, Queens. After moving away during and after college, he lives in his old neighborhood and works as a special education teacher at P.S. 148 in Elmhurst Queens. In the first part of the interview, he discusses growing up in Douglaston. When he was young, low school enrollment resulted in kids from other neighborhoods being bussed in to attend his local school. As a result, he made a lot of friends who lived in Jamaica. As a kid, he wasn't aware of the political issues, he was just excited to have friends that lived somewhere else, not just the kids down the block. The majority of the interview covers Damien's experience as a teacher during the COVID-19 Pandemic. He discusses the logistics of the shift to remote learning as well as the difficulties that sometimes arose with connecting with, and engaging the students.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn the second recording, Damien talks about the day to day experiences with remote learning in his Integrated Co-Teaching classes. Once students and staff members began to fall ill, and some students lost parents, the teachers realized they needed to focus more on the emotional and mental health of the children. It was hard to make school a priority when some families were struggling with illness, unemployment and/or food insecurity. At the time of the interview, Damien didn't know what school would be like in the fall, but he thinks a combination of in person and remote learning, guided by data would be the best course of action.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA\u0026nbsp;Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/120/061/small/Screenshot_%28167%29.png?1632218512","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 2 - LaRock_Damien_7.17.20.m4a"]},"duration":5207.104,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/120/061/small/Screenshot_%28167%29.png?1632218512","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/120/061/original/LaRock_Damien_7.17.20.m4a?1626967237","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":5207.104,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061/transcript/31129","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript - July 17, 2020 [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061/transcript/31129/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"[00: 00: 02]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Okay, we are recording.\n\n[00: 00: 05]\t\nDamien LaRock: Okay.\n\n[00: 00: 05]\t\nBridget Bartolini: So first, do you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the Queens Memory informed consent and copyright permission form that I shared with you over email?\n\n[00: 00: 14]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yes, I agree.\n\n[00: 00: 16]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Great. So this is Bridget Bartolini with Damien LaRock. We are recording on July 17, 2020. It's about 1: 30 PM. And this oral history is for the Queens Memory COVID-19 Project. So first, could you please say your full name and spell it?\n\n[00: 00: 37]\t\nDamien LaRock: My full name is Damien LaRock. Damien is spelled D - A - M - I - E - N. LaRock is spelled L - A - capital R - O - C - K.\n\n[00: 00: 51]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Great. And how old are you and where in Queens do you live?\n\n[00: 00: 56]\t\nDamien LaRock: I am 38 years old and I live in Douglaston, Queens.\n\n[00: 01: 01]\t\nBridget Bartolini: And what are your pronouns?\n\n[00: 01: 04]\t\nDamien LaRock: My pronouns are he and him.\n\n[00: 01: 07]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Great. Thank you, Damien. Okay. So as you know, we are recording this interview and we're going to archive it. So people might be listening to it a year from now, or 50 years from now, or a hundred years from now. So for future listeners, it's really helpful to have context about, you know, the time and place, and mostly about you, the person who they're listening to. So I'd like to start just by asking you about yourself, about where you grew up and any background information that you feel is important for us to know about you.\n\n[00: 01: 49]\t\nDamien LaRock: Sure. Well, I grew up right here in Queens. I grew up in Douglaston, and I'm very lucky to be able to continue to live in the same town where I grew up. I grew up in a little section of Douglaston called Douglaston Hill, right near the Douglaston Long Island Rail Road train station. And I lived here with my family - my mom, my dad, my grandmother, my older brother - until I went off to college, and I was in Boston for four years for college. And then when I came back to New York, after graduating from college, I spent two years living in Manhattan, but then eventually came back to Queens. I had a really great opportunity to move right back to the block where I grew up in the house next door to where I grew up. So now I currently live next door to my parents, which is really wonderful.\n\n[00: 02: 57]\t\nDamien LaRock: And I wanted to come back to Queens because as a kid I loved growing up in Queens. It's always felt like home to me. And I became a New York City public school teacher and got a job working as a teacher in Queens. So, it was just a great opportunity to both live and work in Queens. So, I continue to live in Douglaston, but the school where I teach is in East Elmhurst, Queens. So it's nice to have a little bit of a separation, so my whole entire life is not in the little bubble of Douglaston. I get to escape to a different section of Queens for work, which is nice.\n\n[00: 03: 43]\t\nBridget Bartolini: And what's your parents' connection to Queens?\n\n[00: 03: 48]\t\nDamien LaRock: Okay. So my parents moved to Queens shortly after they got married. My father actually is originally from the upper peninsula of Michigan. He was born in a tiny little town called Stambaugh, Michigan. And he lived there the first few years of his life. Then he moved to Chicago and after high school, my father joined the Navy where he was trained as a medical corpsman. Because of the great training that he got in the Navy, he was able to get a job working as a lab technician at New York Hospital, and that brought him to New York City. When he first moved to New York, he lived in a rooming house in Jackson Heights. And shortly after that, he moved to an apartment in Sunnyside. He lived in the Phipps Garden Apartments which were owned by New York Hospital.\n\n[00: 04: 51]\t\nDamien LaRock: He met my mom while working at New York Hospital, and she's a native New Yorker. She was born in the Bronx and she grew up with her parents in East Harlem, which at the time was a very Italian-American neighborhood. My mom has Italian and Slovenian ancestry. So she was in East Harlem. My dad was in the Sunnyside area. They met when they were both working at New York Hospital and, um, my mother came from a very traditional household. And so, like, their dates when they were dating were that my father was able to come over to her family’s apartment for dinner [laughs]. So he got to know my grandmother and my grandfather. And once they approved of him, my parents made plans to get married.\n\n[00: 05: 54]\t\nDamien LaRock: The apartment where my dad was in Sunnyside was too small for all four of them. But my mom had always wanted to move her parents out of East Harlem, to just have a little bit more space and better conditions generally. So, they decided after my mom and dad got married to look for a house where my parents could live and my mom's parents could also come. So they, I guess, looked all over Queens and they ended up in Douglaston because the real estate agent who they happened to be matched with knew that they were looking for, you know, a single family house that would have enough space for them and my grandparents, but also for the possibility of kids in the future. And so I think they looked at houses generally in Eastern Queens, around like the Whitestone area. But the real estate agent was like, \"Have you ever heard of Douglaston?\" And my parents had never heard of this little section of Queens here. But they agreed to come check out the neighborhood and they looked at a house that they really liked.\n\n[00: 07: 29]\t\nDamien LaRock: The thing that convinced them that this was the house for them, was that my grandfather, my mother's father, he was from Trieste in Italy. And he had spent some time doing mason work and he knew what good construction was. So when they came looking at houses, they looked at this one house and my grandfather was like, \"This is a strong house. This is the one.\" So, you know, my parents decided to settle on this house that they found in Douglaston.\n\n[00: 08: 08]\t\nDamien LaRock: It was very expensive at the time because they were both working as lab technicians at New York Hospital, not making a fantastic salary. But they were also putting themselves through school. My mom and dad both worked to put themselves through college, my mom at Marymount Manhattan College, and my dad at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. They were busy going to school, paying for that, but also trying to save up money to buy a house. And Douglaston was out of their price range, but they worked really, really hard to save up as much money as they could. I'm not sure how long they needed to save up money. But they got like just enough to make the down payment and they were able to move into the house where they still live in Douglaston. They moved into their house in 1972. So, they've been here now for about 50 years.\n\n[00: 09: 21]\t\nBridget Bartolini: That's so cool.\n\n[00: 09: 21]\t\nDamien LaRock: And I live next door, which is cool.\n\n[00: 09: 25]\t\nBridget Bartolini: So they were pretty young when they moved there?\n\n[00: 09: 28]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. They were, um, in their mid to late twenties at the time. Yeah.\n\n[00: 09: 38]\t\nBridget Bartolini: And what was Douglaston like when you were growing up?\n\n[00: 09: 43]\t\nDamien LaRock: It was definitely quiet and peaceful. I think what distinguishes Douglaston as a neighborhood in Queens is that it's very green. And it's right on the Eastern edge of the borough. So when people come here, one of the remarks is that it sort of feels like they're further east out into Long Island, because we're farther east than the subway lines go. And there are some big apartment buildings, but they're limited by the time you get out this far east in Queens. So it's not quite as crowded, and there's a lot of green space. So, you know, growing up, I remember spending a lot of time with my friends, exploring around Alley Pond Park and going to Little Neck Bay, where there's access to the waterfront. You feel somewhat close to nature, I think as compared to more inner city Queens. I would say a lot of people know each other around here because the community -- you see people walking around on the streets, you see people walking their dogs. I remember when I was going to school at PS 98 here in Douglaston, I knew all the kids in my class, my parents knew all of their parents, and it definitely felt like a tight-knit community.\n\n[00: 11: 52]\t\nDamien LaRock: One thing that was really interesting is, PS 98, when I was there as a student, there were not enough kids to fill up a typical class. And so there were a lot of kids who were bused in from other neighborhoods. I thought that that was really a unique opportunity in order for me to break out of Douglaston a little bit, because we had a lot of kids who were bused in from Jamaica. And as a result of that, I made friends with kids who lived in Jamaica, and then like, you know, I'd ask my parents, \"Can I go over to my friend's house?\" that lived in a different neighborhood. And I always thought it was really exciting to be able to like go to friends’ houses that lived farther away. We can talk a little bit more about that if you'd like, the history of schooling in Douglaston because it's not a particularly crowded area. And so I remember at PS 98, we had only two classes on each grade, and there were not enough kids in the local neighborhood to fill up the classes. So there were a lot of kids from other sections of Queens that would come to our school.\n\n[00: 13: 22]\t\nBridget Bartolini: That's interesting. Yeah. So I also grew up in Queens and that's so different from my experience, where I went to a very overcrowded school. I would love to hear more about the history of schooling in Douglaston.\n\n[00: 13: 38]\t\nDamien LaRock: So one thing that I know is that part of the reason that there were kids that were bused in is because, um, so traditionally District 26, where we are, is known as being a high-performing district. I don't know exactly what the specifics of the history are, but I know there were initiatives throughout, I think, the 1970s and 80s to integrate schools. And I don't believe PS 98 was specifically one of the schools that was chosen for integration projects. But because our school district was a really high performing district, there were many families who lived in other parts of Queens who wanted their kids to have access to a high performing district, who wanted their kids to come.\n\n[00: 14: 49]\t\nDamien LaRock: And as far I know - again, I don't know the specifics of the history here, but - our school seemed to have a partnership, um, or there was some integration effort with a community around Jamaica. And so I think part of that was that there were families who wanted more school choice and, you know, there might've been overcrowding issues in the local schools in Jamaica, or there was just perhaps a perception that those schools were maybe not serving their kids the way that they wanted to. And so there were families who wanted their kids to be able to have access to the District 26 schools. But also, I think part of it was a concerted effort to promote integration.  So, you know, in Douglaston when I was growing up - and it still really very much is the case today - it's a very white and Asian neighborhood.\n\n[00: 15: 55]\t\nDamien LaRock: So our demographics tend to be very white and Asian, but growing up, I went to school with a pretty diverse student body, in part because of this integration effort and a lot of the children that were bused in were children of color. I didn't really realize growing up in Douglaston that that was being done intentionally to try to improve diversity, and that there was like some kind of intentional plan for integration.  And again, I don't know that it was like a specific partnership. I know there were other schools in New York City that did have specific partnerships. But for the most part, the kids of color at my school were not living close by.  They were the kids that tended to be bused in.\n\n[00: 17: 01]\t\nDamien LaRock: Nonetheless, I had the benefit of going to school with kids from a variety of different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. And, you know, as a kid growing up, I didn't realize, like, the full history of race and how our country historically has dealt with racial issues. I just knew, like, \"Oh, great. I have lots of friends at the school and like, they're all nice and wonderful.\" And for me, I just remember thinking, like, \"Ooh, it's so exciting that I get to go to like a play date at my friend's house in Jamaica, like that's far away! It's not just like the kid down the block.\" I used to enjoy the opportunity of leaving Douglaston to see other parts. And it was very much because I had friends that, outside of this integration effort, I probably would not have met.\n\n[00: 18: 03]\t\nDamien LaRock: It gave me the opportunity to go to school with a more diverse group of kids, which definitely was beneficial for me, you know, to broaden my viewpoint of who's living in our city. I think, you know, looking back on it, I'm very glad that that busing program existed, because it gave me the opportunity to make lots of friends that I wouldn't have made otherwise. And as a kid, I didn't really realize what was going on, but now looking back on it, I do realize like, oh, the kids that were near me were all white and Asian kids. And the friends that I was able to make beyond my local neighborhood were specifically because there was this integration effort with - again, I don't know if it was a specific partnership, but I remember a lot of the kids that were chosen to come to our school were from Jamaica.\n\n[00: 19: 20]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Could you describe more about the ways that you feel you've benefited from that?\n\n[00: 19: 27]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. I mean, I think just in general, it was very beneficial to be together with kids from all different ethnic backgrounds at an early age. It was beneficial to see kids of different skin tones and from different cultures within my own classroom. It was really beneficial for me to have play dates with kids, and to be able to spend time in their homes and eat food with their families and get to meet their parents and their brothers and their sisters. I don't think that would have been possible if I were restricted to just living with the kids that - just going to school with the kids that I lived with in my surrounding area here in Douglaston. So it broadened my worldview, it broadened the experiences that I was able to have. It gave me a bigger, broader sense of who's living in our city. I think that it was beneficial for all of us that went to PS 98, and I'm really grateful that PS 98 was as diverse as it was. Again, I didn't realize that there was some intention behind that diversity. But I'm glad that it happened.\n\n[00: 21: 12]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. Have you maintained friendships from elementary school?\n\n[00: 21: 18]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yes. Many, many friendships from elementary school. One of the good things is that a lot of the kids that I went to PS 98 with, we traveled all together and went to middle school together. So we all went to Louis Pasteur Junior High School 67. And then we broke up in large part when we went to high school because, as you know, like the high school admissions process in New York is really complicated and there are so many kids that apply to specialized high schools. So many of us ended up going to different places for high school. But I I've stayed in touch with quite a few people from elementary school, several of whom I was able to travel with to high school. And that was a fun experience. Many of us would hop on the Long Island Rail Road and travel in on the railroad into Penn station and then go to high school together in Manhattan. I still see three friends in particular from elementary school on a regular basis.\n\n[00: 22: 37]\t\nBridget Bartolini: That's so cool.\n\n[00: 22: 39]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yeah.\n\n[00: 22: 41]\t\nBridget Bartolini: I think that's pretty rare.\n\n[00: 22: 46]\t\nDamien LaRock: I think so, too, but I hope it's not that rare [laughs].\n\n[00: 22: 52]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. So, are they still busing kids into schools in Douglaston?\n\n[00: 23: 00]\t\nDamien LaRock: I don't know. I don't know what's going on now. I can't speak about that too much. What I can say is, I know that the school where I currently teach, which is PS 148 in East Elmhurst, they were part of an integration project that started, um, I believe in the mid-1960s, around 1964, and continued through the seventies and eighties. There was a specific school partnership with PS 148 in East Elm -- well, depends who you ask, it's either in Jackson Heights or in East Elmhurst. But there was a specific partnership between PS 148 and PS 127. And that was very intentional, to integrate two communities that had different demographics, but were like literally right next to each other. So I know at PS 148 there was a very intentional integration effort that lasted, I believe, from about 1964 to about 1986. Now, I went to elementary school in the late eighties, early nineties, and I don't know if PS 98 was part of an intentional integration effort per se, but I know that this busing program, there was thought behind it. If it was not part of like a wider program, like there were efforts made to integrate our school to some degree.  I don't know if that continues in 2020, but that was definitely the case when I was a student there.\n\n[00: 24: 58]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah, you know, I've heard references to kids being bused to schools, and that was nationwide, right? Was that the federal government that started doing that? It's really a history that I don't know much about.\n\n[00: 25: 11]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. I can't say that I know much about it, exactly, either. I mean, I know it was part of some of the democratic primary debates. I don't know to what degree those busing initiatives were in place here in New York City. And I don't know exactly what initiative specifically was in place at PS 98, but, you know, my perspective was, as a kid, being at PS 98 and you know, as a kid I didn't exactly think about it all that much. I don't think I fully appreciated as a kid, the fact that my school community looked different than my geographic community. At some point the realization hit me that like, \"Oh, all of the black kids don't live here. If I wanna play with them, I have to make arrangements to have my parents drive me to their houses.\" I do remember that hitting me at one point, you know, as opposed to other friends where I could just like walk down the block and hang out with them. But, yeah, I can't say that I was aware of like the specific initiatives that were in place that made that all happen. I just, you know, as a kid, I saw my friends, we hung out in school. I definitely was aware that it appeared to me to be a diverse school. And I was happy about that. I even remember thinking when I moved to middle school and high school, I remember thinking that I was very lucky to live in a city that was diverse.\n\n[00: 27: 18]\t\nDamien LaRock: Because particularly throughout my middle school and high school years, I would spend a lot of time during the summers going out to upper Michigan, where my dad was from, and spending time with my family in upper Michigan, and meeting kids in the Stambaugh/Iron River neighborhood. And I remember being keenly aware that there were no kids of color in that section of the country, or in those neighborhoods where I was spending time with my family. I would go out for several weeks at a time to be with my grandmother. And my father, even he tells the story to this day that we would take road trips out to Michigan. And at one point, I guess my brother and I were in the car and we made a remark that all the people in upper Michigan looked like my dad. And so, yeah, we were aware that there are demographic differences depending on where you're located. And I remember thinking growing up in New York City, like, \"Oh, I'm glad that I live at a place where there are different people and different cultures.\" But I didn't quite fully realize that Douglaston in and of itself didn't reflect the diversity that there was at my elementary school. That took me some time to realize.\n\n[00: 29: 06]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah, that makes sense. When you're a kid you're just learning about the world and you tend to take things for granted like, \"Oh, this is the way things are.\"\n\n[00: 29: 16]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yeah.\n\n[00: 29: 18]\t\nBridget Bartolini: So you mentioned that at PS 98 you had the opportunity to make friends in different neighborhoods and visit different parts of the city. And then when you started going to high school in Manhattan, that must've been much more so the case.\n\n[00: 29: 35]\t\nDamien LaRock: Oh, yeah. Very much so [laughs]. Yes. So yeah, high school was a blast. I remember being very excited to independently travel for the first time and get on the Long Island Rail Road, go into Manhattan, hop on the subway, which, you know, I had done before with my family, but that transition to high school was really the first time that I was trusted to travel around the city on my own. As you know, I went to Stuyvesant High School with you. And I think one of the benefits of having that high school experience was meeting kids from all across New York City. That was really the time where I started to make friends who were from Brooklyn and from the Bronx and from Manhattan and a handful from Staten Island, not a whole lot, but definitely it opened up my social circle.\n\n[00: 31: 02]\t\nBridget Bartolini: [Pause] I'm just making notes.\n\n[00: 31: 04]\t\nDamien LaRock: No problem.\n\n[00: 31: 15]\t\nBridget Bartolini: So, how was it when you went to Boston?\n\n[00: 31: 20]\t\nDamien LaRock: Um, Boston was good, too. So I went to college at Boston College, and Boston College was -- I would say the student body was fairly diverse, but definitely not as diverse as what I was used to, living in New York City. I would say from the perspective of ethnic diversity, it was less diverse, but of course, given that it was a college campus, I was able to meet kids from all over the country who were choosing to come there from other states, as well as a fair number of international students. So, you know, it gave me exposure to new people and new ideas and different cultures in that way. I would say my living experience in Boston was definitely very much focused on the Boston College campus.\n\n[00: 32: 36]\t\nDamien LaRock: So as a college kid, I definitely ventured out into the city of Boston, but I can't say that I spent lots of time in the city enough to, like, make a full evaluation of the types of experiences that would be offered there as opposed to New York City. I mean, most of my time was definitely spent on campus, at Boston College. But I was there for four years, and then I moved back to New York and after college I spent two years living in Manhattan and had an efficiency apartment in Manhattan. And that was a new experience for me because living in Manhattan is way different from living in Queens [laughs]. In particular I remember feeling like my space was really restricted. I also remember being woken up many times at like four in the morning when the garbage trucks would come. Queens is definitely not as loud, from a living perspective. So yeah, I was in Manhattan for two years and I was happy to come back to Queens where I felt like I had more space, and less noise.\n\n[00: 34: 16]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Hmm.\n\n[00: 34: 19]\t\nDamien LaRock: And so I've been here in Douglaston ever since then.\n\n[00: 34: 24]\t\nBridget Bartolini: So can you tell me more about -- well, I'm guessing that after your time in Boston, it probably changed your perspective on New York City?\n\n[00: 34: 41]\t\nDamien LaRock: I mean, living in Boston gave me the opportunity to feel what it was like to not be in New York City. Because up to that point, I had never really had any other kind of living experience. So I had nothing to compare New York City to. I really enjoyed living in Boston. You know, it's a great city. I really enjoyed my experience there. It definitely felt like a smaller city. But I would say, I guess my experience was that for the most part, everything that I felt like I had grown up having access to in New York City was still available in Boston for the most part, just maybe on a smaller scale. And I would say, diversity included, I think venturing out into Boston, I didn't feel like Boston was so different from a diversity perspective. Whereas like when I went out to upper Michigan, I definitely had that feeling, you know, traveling out to upper Michigan.\n\n[00: 36: 12]\t\nDamien LaRock: It certainly made me sad that I would go out to visit my family in upper Michigan, you know, if we wanted to go out for any kind of food that was not, like, traditional Midwestern American food, it was hard to find. Or you know, just like walking around the community -- I mean, it was even kind of a rare thing to see someone with dark hair. The community was very much a blonde hair, blue eyed kind of demographic. I remember thinking like, \"Wow, where is everybody? Why does everybody look exactly the same here?\" So that point of comparison was -- I'm not sure if I would say it was shocking, but it definitely was not what I was used to growing up in Queens, which is pretty much the most diverse place in the world. Going out to upper Michigan, I got to learn a lot about the history there and learned that upper Michigan is -- it's a very rural place. There are tough winters there. And traditionally the economy was based around mining. So, there was a Native American population there. But for the most part, the Native American population wasn't specifically around the town where my dad grew up. The town that my father was born, was settled specifically because it was around a lot of iron ore. And so mining companies came in, started mining the iron ore and then set up towns for the workers that were employed to live in. And these mining companies specifically recruited Scandinavian immigrants in part because they knew that they could handle the cold winters. So a lot of the people who moved to upper Michigan are from Northern Europe. Thus lots of blonde haired, blue eyed Northern European immigrants. And the industry there has not really diversified.\n\n[00: 38: 56]\t\nDamien LaRock: So that tends to be the people who live in upper Michigan. With that being said, there's a sizeable Ojibwe population, but there tends to be some segregation in -- because the Ojibwe population is very much centered around the reservations there. Whereas the towns that were settled were traditionally these Northern European immigrants. So, going out to that section of Michigan summer after summer, I got to learn some of the history and realized like, \"Oh, this history really influences the demographic of the region.\" And now as an adult, I can appreciate why things are the way they are. But as a kid traveling from New York City to there, my impression was like, \"Where is everybody? How come everybody looks pretty much the same, and how come you can't get good Chinese food?\" I can't remember. There would be days where we'd be like, \"Oh, can we get something different to eat?\" And like, Nope, it's just not an option [laughs].\n\n[00: 40: 17]\t\nBridget Bartolini: That's funny. And that's really cool how you learned about the history of upper Michigan. So when you were living in Manhattan, what neighborhood were you in?\n\n[00: 40: 28]\t\nDamien LaRock: In Morningside Heights.\n\n[00: 40: 30]\t\nBridget Bartolini: So did that experience of living in a different part of New York City change your perspective on Queens and on Douglaston?\n\n[00: 40: 39]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. Oh, very much so. Yeah. Specifically because I was living in an apartment. I was living in a small apartment. During my two years after college, I went to graduate school at Teachers College and lived in the apartments that were part of the Teachers College campus. I lived in Whittier Hall on Amsterdam Avenue and 120th Street. I had a little efficiency apartment that looked over Amsterdam Avenue. Actually I really enjoyed living in the building cause I felt like the building itself was quite a community. I have lots of fond memories of, you know, keeping my door open, and friends would walk up and down the hallway and just pop in. That was unique because there was always lots of traffic in the building and always people stopping in. We had a really good building community. That was something that I wasn't used to in terms of my Queens living situation.\n\n[00: 42: 05]\t\nDamien LaRock: The other big difference was the noise. It was super noisy all the time. Thankfully I'm not a light sleeper, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. So it didn't bother me all that much, but the one thing that I could not sleep through was the garbage trucks coming and banging at four in the morning. That would always wake me up and I'd be like, \"Ugh, these garbage trucks, why, why do they come so early?\" But yeah, moving back to Queens, particularly Douglaston -- cause I know not all neighborhoods in Queens are particularly quiet, but Douglaston certainly is a quieter one. You know, now I wake up to birds chirping and I would say the noisiest thing here is the Long Island Rail Road train passing by, which it does fairly often. But to me somehow it's more like white noise in the background. It's not a jarring kind of a noise, it's that familiar New York City sound of a train passing by. I'm sure that if you live near a subway line, you have that similar feeling of like, \"Oh, it's part of the –\"\n\n[00: 43: 23]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah, I grew up by the A train and I feel like it's a comforting noise.\n\n[00: 43: 29]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yeah.\n\n[00: 43: 31]\t\nBridget Bartolini: It's funny cause we both went to Stuyvesant High School, and we also both went to Teachers College. And I had the experience of subletting a professor's apartment, so in faculty housing for a few months, and it was on Morningside Park, and it was so quiet!\n\n[00: 43: 58]\t\nDamien LaRock: Oh wow. And that's like only a block away.\n\n[00: 43: 59]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah, it's like one avenue away from where you lived in Whittier Hall. And yeah, there it was quiet, you know, across the street from the park. And now I live in Queens, in Jackson Heights, and I get woken up by garbage trucks here.\n\n[00: 44: 15]\t\nDamien LaRock: So this is a very neighborhood specific kind of thing. Yeah.\n\n[00: 44: 19]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Indeed. Yeah. Or even block specific.\n\n[00: 44: 22]\t\nDamien LaRock: Right, right.\n\n[00: 44: 23]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. That's funny. Okay. So, we also want to talk about coronavirus.\n\n[00: 44: 31]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yes.\n\n[00: 44: 31]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Do you remember when you first heard about coronavirus?\n\n[00: 44: 38]\t\nDamien LaRock: I do. I remember that I first heard about it from a taxi cab driver. I was riding in a taxi cab, and the man who was driving, I think he either was listening to like 1010 WINS or some radio news station, or he had been listening to it earlier that morning. And he mentioned to me that there was this virus that they discovered in Wuhan China, and it seemed to be pretty bad. And there were more and more people that were getting infected. And then it was just about the time that deaths started to be reported out of Wuhan. So this was, um, I think when the coronavirus itself like was particularly present in my consciousness, that would have been around mid-January, I think. I may have heard about it earlier than that on the news, but I think the moment when it hit me like, \"Oh, something bad is happening and this is going to be a problem,\" was that conversation in a taxi cab. Yeah. And just this realization that things in Wuhan were getting worse and worse.\n\n[00: 46: 18]\t\nBridget Bartolini: This is a big question, but can you tell me about what happened from then, when you first heard about it, until now?\n\n[00: 46: 28]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. Um, okay. So when I first heard about it -- I would say for the rest of January into February I was definitely conscious of what was going on from an international perspective. It was clear that the virus was something that I needed to be aware of, that our country needed to be aware of, that society in general needed to pay attention to. And it became more and more a part of daily conversation with colleagues that I work with and with my family. And, as I mentioned before, I'm a teacher at PS 148 in East Elmhurst, Queens. And it even started to become more of a part of the conversation that was happening amongst my third grade students.\n\n[00: 47: 41]\t\nDamien LaRock: I forget exactly when this was, but it was either late January or sometime in early to mid-February. I took a field trip with my class to the Queens Botanical Garden, and we were riding the school bus going to our field trip. And one of my students, Reinaldo, asked me what the coronavirus was. So we started to talk about it and he started to express some fear that he heard that this virus was going to come here. And I remember trying to think really carefully about how to respond to him because, you know, he's a nine year old child and I certainly didn't want to make him feel worried about it, but I also didn't want to give him a false sense of comfort and just say like, \"Oh, everything's going to be okay,\" because it didn't seem like that was going to be the case. So I just tried to explain what I knew about the virus.\n\n[00: 48: 56]\t\nDamien LaRock: At that point there were no confirmed cases. I don't believe there were any confirmed cases in the United States. There certainly were no confirmed cases in New York at that point. I remember talking to Reinaldo and the other kids who were sitting around us on the bus about the fact that this -- you know, yes, scientists had discovered this new virus, and thankfully it didn't seem to be close to us at that point in time. I was able to say that right now it doesn't seem like anyone in our local community or city is affected by this. But I said, this is something that everyone is watching very closely and we still don't really know a lot about the virus. I remember we were talking about the name \"coronavirus.\" I was explaining what a \"corona\" was, like how, for example, when you have a solar eclipse, the little ring of light that shines is called the corona. And I was talking about the word corona and its relationship to the word crown, and how that has to do with the shape of the virus. And that was generally enough to, I guess, satisfy Reinaldo. But after that it definitely became more and more present in our daily consciousness every single day. The kids were talking about it more in school. I remember my co-teacher and I, and several friends who were teachers, we started having more and more conversations about what was going to happen if the virus were to come to New York City, how that would affect schools, how that would affect life in New York.\n\n[00: 51: 02]\t\nDamien LaRock: And then the New York City Department of Education started sending out informational flyers to parents just talking about the coronavirus. And I remember the very first one was very scientific. It said, you know, scientists have discovered a novel coronavirus. This is what it is. It talked about the spread of the virus in the world, and the fact that at that point in time New York City did not seem to be experiencing any cases of it, but that the mayor and the Schools Chancellor, Richard Carranza, were going to inform parents about the progression of the virus and how that might affect schooling. And then shortly after that, a second letter was sent out, I think maybe around the time that the first confirmed case was discovered in New York, and then it started to become clear that at the very least what we needed to do is start to become much more careful about personal hygiene and different practices that we can put in place around staying safe and virus-free.\n\n[00: 52: 38]\t\nDamien LaRock: I remember I had a conversation with my co-teacher about needing to do some lessons with our kids about washing their hands and covering their coughs. And, you know, these are third graders. So we knew that this was going to be a struggle, but we even talked about trying not to touch your eyes and your nose and your mouth. We had lots of conversations about finding this tricky balance between teaching hygiene, making sure that we were talking about the virus, because, you know, they were talking about the virus -- it was a part of their daily conversation and their lived experience -- but also not instilling too much fear in our kids because it wasn't clear in those early stages how fearful we needed to be. And we certainly didn't want to make the kids feel more worried than they needed to be. But we definitely felt that we needed to teach them how to incorporate some safe practices into their daily routines.\n\n[00: 54: 07]\t\nDamien LaRock: So we started to hear about more and more confirmed cases in New York City. And then by that point, everybody in school was talking about like, \"Are they going to close the schools? This is getting pretty bad.\" At that point, it was all just speculation that perhaps the schools would close. But certainly other things in society were starting to close. I remember talking to friends who had said, \"Oh, my job is now asking me to work remotely from home.\" And it seemed like every day on the news, one more thing was canceled. But schools were still open. I guess this was the week of March 9th.\n\n[00: 55: 21]\t\nDamien LaRock: I started to notice that some parents were keeping their kids home. So our attendance numbers started to drop. I remember thinking to myself like, \"Okay, we don't know if the schools are gonna close, but some parents are making the decision that things are getting bad enough that they don't wanna send their kids in. And, you know, whether or not schools would close officially was still up in the air, but it became clear that daily school life was going to be infected -- uh, it was going to be affected -- by a drop in attendance. And then there were more letters that came out from the Department of Education, talking about disinfection procedures being implemented, and the need for schools to establish a quarantine room. And once that was announced, that our school needed to designate a quarantine room, we were like, \"Hmm, okay, this is really getting bad. Perhaps the schools should close because we're now talking about what to do if kids or staff members present with symptoms, and needing to put them in quarantine within our building.\" So yeah, that was around the week of March 9th. And then there was some, again, just speculation, but pretty significant speculation that schools would be closing shortly.\n\n[00: 57: 07]\t\nDamien LaRock: So I remember, it was Friday, March 13th. That was the last day that teachers and students were all together in the school building. Several teachers started to say, \"You know, schools may not be open next week. Maybe we should send our kids home with their books this Friday.\" So my co-teacher and I had a conversation and we were like, \"Yeah, that's a pretty smart idea.\" We just made an assumption that things were going to change really rapidly because, like that week Broadway shows were canceled and then the NBA season was canceled and there were all these announcements about things being canceled. So my co-teacher and I, we said, \"Okay, all right, kids, it's Friday afternoon, we've got the weekend ahead of us. Things are changing so quickly day to day. Take your math book home, take your writing folder home.\" We sent them home with their major books that Friday thinking that something might change pretty quickly. And even if it didn't, we started to see enough parents were keeping their kids home, that if parents started to decide, like, \"Oh, I don't want my kids going back on Monday,\" we wanted to make sure that they'd at least have their books at home so they could continue working. So that's what we did. We sent home whatever we reasonably could that Friday, March 13th, and then it was on Sunday, March 15th, that Mayor de Blasio announced that indeed schools would be closed. So the kids did not return on Monday, March 16th. But teachers were asked to come back for three days that week to prepare, to get all of the technology in the building set up for distribution.\n\n[00: 59: 32]\t\nDamien LaRock: Because we were told that we were going to be sending home pretty much all of our laptops and iPads that we had in the building, that we would be sending them home to students because the following week we would start remote learning. And at that point, nobody knew how long remote learning would last. We knew it was going to be for at least a couple of weeks, but there were some thoughts that maybe we would be able to get back into the building before the end of the school year. Nobody really knew what was going on. We just knew, like, immediately we needed to make this transition to remote learning. There was a lot of panic amongst the school staff about how we were gonna do this.\n\n[01: 00: 35]\t\nDamien LaRock: Nobody knew how this was going to work. We didn't know if we had enough laptops and iPads in the building to send home to the kids. We didn't know what would happen if we had kids who didn't have access to technology, if we didn't have enough to hand out. We didn't know if our kids had internet connections. We were really trying to figure out how to manage this tremendous change. So Monday the 16th, teachers and students did not return back into the building, but that Monday we were all working from home, communicating with our families, letting them know that we were transitioning to remote learning. Teachers were calling families, making lists of which kids had computers at home, which kids had laptops, which kids had iPads, which kids had at the very least access to a smartphone.\n\n[01: 01: 46]\t\nDamien LaRock: So that Monday we just spent a lot of time trying to contact our families as much as we could. We teachers came back to the building on Tuesday - and so that would've been Tuesday, March 17th. And we spent the whole day continuing to reach out to families, trying to figure out who needed technology. We started to organize all of the laptops and iPads in the building. We started to gather together packets of work and all of the books that hadn't been sent home. We bundled everything that we could, by child. We put a pile on each child's desk and had everything ready to go for parents to come pick up later that week.\n\n[01: 02: 49]\t\nDamien LaRock: On Wednesday, March 18th, we spent the day in socially distant groups going down to the school auditorium. I think we did two grades at a time. So at PS 148, we have about seven or eight classes per grade. So we had the teachers and the paraprofessionals that worked on any given grade come down in shifts to the auditorium, where we attended an approximately half an hour to 45 minute presentation about how to sign up for Google Classroom. Well, our accounts were essentially created for us, but we had to activate our accounts. And we got a really quick crash course on Google Classroom and how to start doing remote learning, using Google Classroom. That Wednesday was very much focused on just trying to figure out how we were going to do this transition to remote teaching.\n\n[01: 03: 59]\t\nDamien LaRock: And then Thursday, March 19th, we had the parents come to the school, again in shifts from the morning until the afternoon. We did grade by grade. We had parents come in shifts, and then each class had a table on the sidewalk in front of the school. We had a long line of tables that were about six feet apart each. Then each teacher stood at a table representing their class. They brought down all of their bundles of work for the kids and the laptops that were going to be assigned to anyone who said that they needed one. And we gave out all of the materials. Some parents came alone. Some parents came with their kids. So in some cases we were able to see our students for one last time and, you know, wish them good luck and at least have a little bit of a sense of closure.\n\n[01: 05: 19]\t\nDamien LaRock: I also remember that day in particular, that Thursday, was a day where I saw the most drastic change in terms of how people across New York City and my school colleagues were responding to the virus being present in New York. You know, at that point on Thursday, March 19th, there had been quite a number of deaths. I'm not sure how many, but I think it was up in the, like, between 1 in 200 range. So we knew that there were people that were starting to die from this virus in our city. So, I typically take public transportation into work. I take the Long Island Rail Road from Douglaston into Flushing, and then I might take the bus or I might take the 7 train. When I got on the Long Island Rail Road that morning to come into work, it was, like in the entire train car, it was me and the conductor and I think five other passengers. I remember I took a picture of the train car, because it was so empty and so different from what I was used to in terms of a morning commute that was like, you know, packed. Every seat was filled, there were always people standing. So, yeah, I just remember thinking like, \"Oh my gosh, nobody's out.\"\n\n[01: 07: 20]\t\nDamien LaRock: When I got to school, it was -- you know, I had seen people around the city wearing masks before that point, but now more and more people who hadn't been wearing masks on a day-to-day basis -- like that Thursday, there were people in my school building that were wearing masks when parents came to pick up their kids' bundles of work and the laptops, parents came wearing masks. Surgical masks and construction masks, bandanas, whatever they had. Not everybody was wearing a mask, but definitely there were more people who were starting to be conscious that masks could be helpful. And so we gave out all of our laptops, we gave out our bundles. And after the end of the school day, I actually walked from PS 148 through Jackson Heights to go to the 7 train. I definitely noticed there were far fewer people on the streets than I'm used to. Oftentimes after school I would take a walk down through Jackson Heights, along 37th Avenue; I might stop for a coffee or something. And so it was interesting to see two things. On the one hand, there were not a lot of people out. On the other hand, where there were people, it was around any kind of grocery store that was open, and people were just stocking up on whatever they could. And on that walk home, I stopped by the Downtown Natural Market in Jackson Heights to pick up a couple of things. I was like, \"I might need to stock up on a few things before I go home!\"\n\n[01: 09: 36]\t\nDamien LaRock: So I picked up a few things for myself and my parents and then got on the 7 train. And again, the 7 train was quite empty. I didn't feel all that nervous because there just weren't a lot of people around. So, I didn't feel super concerned about my own safety. But, I came home after school on Thursday, March 19th. The first thing that I did when I came home was, I took off all my clothes and changed into new clothes. Cause you know, I think nobody was really quite sure how to handle the virus or what to do to stay safe, but I thought, \"Well, I've been out all day. I could have been exposed to something, let me take off these clothes and try to not bring this in the house.\" So I came home that evening and pretty much have been home ever since! [Laughs] So yeah, today's Friday, July 17th. I've barely left since then.\n\n[01: 10: 49]\t\nDamien LaRock: So that Friday, March 20th was basically a day off. We didn't officially have anything that we needed to do, but I know that a lot of teachers were trying to set up their Google Classrooms. My co-teacher and I were on the phone, we were trying to collaborate about how we were going to create our lessons and how this was all going to work. Pretty much that Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were working all throughout that weekend trying to get everything set up so that we could have something to present to the kids and have some kind of organized transition to remote learning as of the next official school day, which was -- um, I guess let's see -- Monday, March 23rd. So yeah, Monday, March 23rd was the first day that we started remote learning, and we didn't know how long it was going to last. There was a tremendous amount of anxiety amongst our school community about how we were going to do something that pretty much none of us had ever done before.\n\n[01: 12: 23]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Hmm.\n\n[01: 12: 24]\t\nDamien LaRock: That first Monday was extremely chaotic. My co-teacher and I were able to put some prerecorded messages onto Google Classroom and set up some assignments for the kids. But we still weren't comfortable, or really had a lot of knowledge about how to do live lessons. And we also didn't know how to get the kids to figure out how to log into live lessons, because we had no opportunity to train them on the technology that we were now asking them to use from home. So live lessons were just, like, not a thing that first day, or that first week. But that very first day of remote learning, I just remember my co-teacher and I -- and I'm pretty sure this was the case for most of the teachers in our school -- we were on our cell phones all day long contacting parents and pretty much working as IT specialists. We were doing a lot of work, just talking to parents about how to log into the laptop we had given them, how to log in the right way so that -- you know, our laptops are set up so that by default they're on a student setting. But in order to have full access to Google Classroom, they needed to be on the administrator setting. So we had to walk them through logging in the right way as an administrator for the computer that they had, and then how to log into Google Classroom and get their kids set up with that, how to access assignments. And for the most part, these were just individual phone calls to parents.\n\n[01: 14: 27]\t\nDamien LaRock: So we had our checklist and we would call the parents, we'd walk them through until they were successfully logged in, and then we'd just, one by one, check them off the list. That was all day Monday. And then that was again all day Tuesday. By Wednesday my co-teacher and I had successfully logged in all of our third grade students, which was like such a feeling of accomplishment! I also teach a fifth grade class with another teacher. I'm a special education teacher, so I was doing a one period push-in with a fifth grade math class. And we had some difficulty getting some kids successfully logged in with that class. Most of the kids were able to successfully log in, but we had one child that, like, we just could not figure out how to contact him or his family.\n\n[01: 15: 39]\t\nDamien LaRock: As much as we tried a variety of different methods of reaching out -- using the ClassDojo app; calling on the telephone; we got other people in the building, the school aides, to help try to contact them -- we just could not get a hold of this student. And actually throughout the rest of the school year, this one particular student was just nowhere to be found. We tried and tried and tried. Other staff members from the school tried. It turns out, through the grapevine, I guess the family moved to Texas and --\n\n[01: 16: 23]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Oh, god!\n\n[01: 16: 23]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yeah! And, um, but the child ended up never successfully logging in. So, I don't know if this child registered for a new school in the community where they moved to in Texas, but it was a sad experience to just lose contact with one of our students and not even get a chance to say goodbye and then be really worried about what access to learning they would have for the rest of the school year.\n\n[01: 17: 09]\t\nDamien LaRock: I'm thankful to say that that was the rare exception for most of our kids. We did see that they were able to successfully log in and participate in remote learning. There were kids who were spotty in their ability to log in on any given day or, you know, once we started to incorporate live lessons into our teaching, we saw lots of conflicts arise:  kids who couldn't use the computer at certain times because their parents were work-- trying to work remotely from home and either they needed access to their computer and hadn't gotten a laptop from our school, or in some cases families have multiple children and so maybe one kid could get on the laptop, but the other child didn't have a laptop to go on to their class.\n\n[01: 18: 14]\t\nDamien LaRock: So we would host live lessons, but we wouldn't necessarily have all of our kids attending. Then my co-teacher and I started to realize, we need to have a variety of different ways to reach out to them. We needed live lessons because we wanted to make sure that we could like actually interact with the kids to some degree, but we also needed prerecorded lessons that we made ahead of time, so that if a kid couldn't come to a live lesson, they had access to watch something that was prerecorded. So we were just trying to work through all of the logistics of that. But I am happy to say that I think our school rose to the occasion and was able to relatively successfully implement remote learning. And we did ultimately see that our attendance was quite good.\n\n[01: 19: 12]\t\nDamien LaRock: My co-teacher and I were talking, and we were actually really pleased to see that we had quite a streak of days with a hundred percent attendance. Now, what attendance means during remote learning is very different from what attendance means in school, because we marked attendance by kids showing their presence in any way. So whether it be posting a comment to something that we had put on Google Classroom or actually attending one of our live lessons, any kind of presence would be counted as being there. So I guess we can say we were happy that we had a lot of days of a hundred percent attendance, but there were also many of those days where the kids were technically there because they might have commented on something, or maybe turned in an assignment, but they weren't present for our live lessons.\n\n[01: 20: 16]\t\nDamien LaRock: So they didn't get the full experience of access to all the content we were presenting on a given day. So we had a lot of concerns about that. And of course we had these prerecorded lessons that we would post up to Google Classroom, but we didn't really have any idea whether kids were actually watching them, and to what degree they were engaging in the videos we were presenting, because when we did live lessons with the kids, it was clear a lot of kids were in very noisy homes. There was a lot going on in the background. So we just hoped that they were able to attend to the prerecorded lessons that we presented. They may or may not have shown up to our live lessons. We were certainly very happy when they did, because we could then have some kind of an understanding that they were at least getting the content that we were presenting live.\n\n[01: 21: 25]\t\nDamien LaRock: It was just really interesting to see throughout the school year, there were some kids who really struggled in the classroom who all of a sudden were doing very well with remote learning. I think in part because -- you know, I know of one student in particular whose grandmother just sat with him, and all day long, she was his personal one-on-one, and she made sure he did his assignments and she made sure that he participated when we had our live lessons. And he ended up doing really well, and I think he ended the year pretty successfully. On the other hand, we had kids who did very well in the classroom who now just really did not seem to be doing particularly well, stopped turning in assignments. We had kids who would participate in in-person class discussions, but then when we would have our live lessons, they didn't want to turn on their camera, they always had their mic muted. And so we could see they were there, but their little box on Google Meet was, you know, just an icon. Perhaps they logged into the live lesson, but then they walked away from the computer or were getting distracted with other things. But we would have a lot -- not a lot, but we would have some number of kids who never wanted to turn on their microphones or turn on their cameras and just wouldn't participate in our discussions. So that was hard. We had to work really hard to try to increase participation that way. But it was interesting. We had kids who transitioned really well to remote learning. We had other kids who were struggling in the classroom who seemed to be doing better cause they got support from their families. And then we had other kids who were doing pretty well in the classroom who seemed to trail off with remote learning. So it was definitely a mixed bag.\n\n[01: 23: 37]\t\nDamien LaRock: When we started remote learning, we did not know how long it would last. We were always paying attention to Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza and listening for their projections. Eventually they said, yep, this is gonna be how it's gonna be until the end of the school year. And once we came to that realization, I think everybody just felt very saddened that we wouldn't have a chance to see our kids in person again. For my fifth grade class, I know the fifth grade teachers and the fifth grade students were particularly sad about having to miss all of their graduation activities. But with that being said, I think everyone realized that from a safety perspective it was the right thing to do - as cases were surging in New York - to keep remote learning through the end of the school year. So that leads us to now, and into summer vacation. And, you know, now we're all speculating about what's going to come for September.\n\n[01: 24: 59]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah, yeah, gosh. There's still so much uncertainty. Um, Damien, it's now 3: 01 PM.\n\n[01: 25: 09]\t\nDamien LaRock: Ah!\n\n[01: 25: 09]\t\nBridget Bartolini: So, we both mentioned we had other calls at three. Thank you so much for telling your story. This is really interesting and amazing to hear your day by day experience, especially that week of March 12th, from March 13th onwards. Yeah, it's really insane. And it just sounds like it was so stressful for parents, for kids, students and teachers -- like, wow, it's so valuable to hear about the experience that you went through and how teachers really have stepped up. And I feel like --\n\n[01: 25: 56]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. Everybody, teachers and kids included, became experts at technology really quickly. Well, I don't want to keep you --\n\n[01: 26: 05]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. If you have time, I would actually really love to do a second interview because I think that --\n\n[01: 26: 11]\t\nDamien LaRock: Definitely!\n\n[01: 26: 11]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Okay. Cool!\n\n[01: 26: 12]\t\nDamien LaRock: Yeah, I have more I'd like to share, particularly about some experiences of people in our community who were personally affected by the virus.\n\n[01: 26: 22]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. All right. That would be wonderful.\n\n[01: 26: 25]\t\nDamien LaRock: I think that that's important.\n\n[01: 26: 25]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. Thanks, Damien. Is there anything you'd like to add before we wrap up this interview?\n\n[01: 26: 32]\t\nDamien LaRock: Uh, no, not right now.\n\n[01: 26: 33]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Okay.\n\n[01: 26: 34]\t\nDamien LaRock: But I'll save more for part two [laughs].\n\n[01: 26: 36]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Yes! We'll talk more soon.\n\n[01: 26: 37]\t\nDamien LaRock: You got it.\n\n[01: 26: 39]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Thank you so much.\n\n[01: 26: 40]\t\nDamien LaRock: You're welcome. Bye Bridget.\n\n[01: 26: 44]\t\nBridget Bartolini: Talk to you soon! Bye.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061#t=0.0,5207.104"}]},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061/annotation_set/567","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Notes from the interviewee [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061/annotation_set/567/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eAfter speaking with my parents about their recollections regarding the reasons why P.S. 98 bused students in from Jamaica, they informed me that due to low enrollment numbers, P.S. 98 was in jeopardy of closing. So, this initiative was put in place to boost numbers and help keep the school open.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061#t=0.0,5207.104"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061/annotation_set/567/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eAfter speaking with my parents, it seems there may or may not have been an intentional plan to promote integration as much as there was an effort to boost enrollment at the school. I am unclear about how it was determined that those spots would be offered to students in Jamaica.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061#t=0.0,5207.104"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061/annotation_set/567/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eMore specifically, the Black students who attended P.S. 98 did not tend to live close-by.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061#t=0.0,5207.104"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061/annotation_set/567/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cp\u003eAgain, after speaking with my parents about their recollections, it seems that the intention behind busing may have been more about increasing enrollment at P.S. 148 and perhaps less about a coordinated integration program – although the specifics are unclear to me.\u003c/p\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120061#t=0.0,5207.104"}]}]},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 2 of 2 - Damien-LaRock_QM_7_27_20.m4a"]},"duration":5101.312,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/120/060/small/Screenshot_%28167%29.png?1632218491","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/content/2/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/120/060/original/Damien-LaRock_QM_7_27_20.m4a?1626967237","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":5101.312,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript - July 27, 2020 [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: All right. Damien, do you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the Queens Memory Informed Consent and Copyright Permission form that I shared with you over email?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3.0,12.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: I do.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=12.0,13.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Wonderful. So, this is\nBridget Bartolini with Damien LaRock. We are recording on Monday, July 27th, 2020. It's about 8:05 PM. And we are recording for the Queens Memory COVID-19 Project. Could you please say your full name and spell it?\t\t\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=13.0,34.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yes. My full name is Damien LaRock, D - A - M - I - E - N, L - A - capital R - O - C - K.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=34.0,45.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Thank you. And you're 38 years old?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=45.0,49.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Correct.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=49.0,50.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: You live in Douglaston --\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=50.0,52.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yes --\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=52.0,52.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: And your preferred pronouns are he and him?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=52.0,55.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Correct.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=55.0,57.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Alright! So thank you for doing this second interview. In the first interview that we did -- so, we ran out of time after you had given me an overview, basically, of the very chaotic weeks in March from when you expected that they were going to close the schools, and then they did close the schools, and then transitioning into working remotely -- and the way that you detailed this, day by day, you know, you're like, \"Friday, March 13th\" --\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=57.0,91.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah [laughs].\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=91.0,91.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Which is just so perfect that it was Friday the 13th. And you remember Sunday, March 15th, Monday, March 16th. And clearly this has made such an impression on you.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=91.0,107.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. To the point where I can name the dates.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=107.0,111.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=111.0,113.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yup, absolutely. Yeah, it was -- there were lots of big events happening all at once, in terms of the whole transition from, like, knowing that there was a disease out there to realizing that this was impacting the schools. So then the abrupt announcement of school shutting down, to preparing all of the technology and then, Monday, March 23rd, which yeah, that date is definitely seared in my memory cause that was our first day of remote learning and it was a very memorable day.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=113.0,156.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. There were so many logistics. It just, it sounded so overwhelming. You had to coordinate so many things.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=156.0,167.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yes.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=167.0,173.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: So I wonder if you can give just some brief background information to give more of a sense of what your classroom is like in normal times. So, like, how many students you have, what the students are like, and your co-teacher, and you also mentioned you teach a special ed class? So that was a lot in one question [laughs].\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=173.0,202.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. So, in the school building, in PS 148, my main class is a third grade integrated co-teaching class. An integrated co-teaching is one of the different class types that are offered at PS 148 and at many schools throughout the city. Integrated co-teaching essentially means that it's an inclusion class. There are students with disabilities and without disabilities in the same classroom. And it's co-taught by one general education teacher and one special education teacher. So, my main class is a third grade integrated co-teaching class. We abbreviate that as, we say it's an ICT class. So whenever you hear the term ICT, that's what it's referring to. And I'm the special education teacher in the classroom. I work with probably one of the most amazing teachers in my school, if not like the entire city. Can I say her name, or, should I say her name?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=202.0,281.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=281.0,283.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Her name is Dorinda Mapp. An absolutely fantastic teacher, a great partner. She and I co-teach together. She's the general ed teacher, I'm the special ed teacher. We also have a third member of our team, Mrs. Nora Quintero. And she's a paraprofessional that works with our classroom, specifically because we have several children who are English language learners, and she provides English language support. Because these are students who primarily speak Spanish at home, they are bilingual, but at this point have not mastered the NYSESLAT [New York State English as a Second Language Achievement] test and have not tested out of the English language learner services. So they get support from her. She specifically works with two students, but we have lots of kids in the class who benefit from her support and assistance.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=283.0,348.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So there's a team of three adults, and we have 25 students, of which nine of them have individualized education programs for a variety of different disabilities, ranging from speech and language disorders to autism. In addition to that, I also push in to provide special education supports to a fifth grade ICT class. At PS 148, our fourth grade and fifth grades have departmentalized. So we have certain teachers who - they're general education teachers - who either focus primarily on math and science or ELA and social studies. And so for one period a day, I would push into a fifth grade math class and provide special education supports for students who are in a similar type of ICT setting. I would work with, again, a very seasoned, great teacher named Julie Spreckels.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=348.0,430.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So my typical day -- oh, and in that class we had, I believe, 29 children. I specifically was there to support the students with IEPs. So my typical day was, first period, I would work with Julie in this fifth grade integrated math class. And then after that first period, I would go down to my main classroom. I was in class 313, and I would work with Mrs. Mapp and Mrs. Quintero. And that was my main classroom for the whole rest of the day. Then once this all transitioned to remote learning, the big question was how do we balance scheduling all the things that we need to teach when we had no idea, you know, whether or not kids would be able to get online for live lessons at particular times.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=430.0,506.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: There was a lot of coordination and collaboration that had to happen between teachers and families to try to set up some kind of remote schedule. Cause we couldn't really expect that the schedule as it existed in the school would translate directly to online learning for a whole variety of reasons. One is, there were families that we knew that had multiple kids, but only one computer. So you can't have two kids on the computer at the same time attending their two different classes when you have just one computer. We had to think about related services. So I have a lot of students who get pull-out services or push-in services for speech and language, for occupational therapy -- this year in particular, I didn't have any kids who got physical therapy, but there are children in the building who get that -- counseling services.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=506.0,571.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: It took some time to reorganize groups, cause a lot of the kids get these services in groups, and the therapists would go around to classrooms and pick up their kids, bring them to the therapy room, provide their services, and then bring the kids back. Or they would push in to provide their services while we were teaching different things. So for example, the occupational therapist would often push in during my writing lessons to provide OT services integrated into the writing lesson. So, how are we going to figure that all out on remote learning? So it took a while to iron out all of those wrinkles. But I would say that the biggest obstacle initially in terms of transitioning to remote learning was just making sure that parents and families could get online, get connected, that they actually had the technology to do that, and had enough for each child in the house.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=571.0,638.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And then once we worked all of that out, then it was a matter of actually making sure that the kids signed on for their live lessons. We tried to do a variety of live teaching, which became -- at first I think we were using the terms \"live\" and \"prerecorded.\" But then the jargon, or the lingo that was used was \"asynchronous\" versus \"synchronous.\" So our live teaching was the synchronous teaching and then the prerecorded lessons that we would post would be the asynchronous lessons. And so, yeah, we were trying to figure out which lessons to do live, which lessons to prerecord. And then when we did schedule a live lesson, like, how to ensure that all of the kids would actually show up because it may or may not follow the schedule of the day in the school building.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=638.0,703.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And then the other thing that many teachers were really concerned about was if we were teaching all of the things that we would - as we did according to our regular schedule - that would mean that these elementary age kids would be sitting in front of a computer for many hours straight. And nobody thought that was a good idea. So we all had to think about how we wanted to adapt things, to make sure that kids weren't just like staring at a screen all day. So, yeah, this is all the stuff that we went through during the early transition, along with hearing stories about family members and other school community members who were directly impacted by the virus. So I can talk about that more if you'd like.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=703.0,764.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah, I would love to hear those stories.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=764.0,769.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: I think most of our mental energy was really focused on trying to make sure that kids were getting some semblance of a regular education once we transitioned to online learning. But one of the things that was really quite difficult was realizing that our school was near to what became the epicenter of the pandemic in New York. So PS 148 is located in East Elmhurst, Queens. And the epicenter was really centered around the Corona/Elmhurst area, which is our neighboring neighborhoods. So being so close to that epicenter, we started hearing more and more about families who were specifically affected by the virus. I think the first -- you know, we had heard that people within our community were testing positive, but it wasn't always clear. I think many people were not sharing information out of respect for people's privacy. So we would hear that there were positive cases, but it wasn't always clear who was being affected, who they were, whose classes they were in. There was quite a bit of care taken to not divulge private information, given that this is medical information. So if someone knew of a case, they might say, like, \"Oh yeah, we know there are positive cases popping up,\" but for the most part there was respect in terms of not saying, like, it was this person or that person. So I think that that was the first thing, was just hearing that families and staff members were being affected.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=769.0,926.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: One of my good friends and fellow teachers, he decided that when he found out that he tested positive to share that information directly with the staff and school community, because he felt that personally, it was important to let the staff know and let his students know that he tested positive. Because at that point it was becoming clear that contact tracing was an important factor in controlling the spread of the disease. So once he found out he was positive, he said, \"Okay, well, you know what, this could happen to anyone. I'm not ashamed of it.\" And he shared his story. I think I can share his name, right, cause he basically shared publicly and he even created a YouTube video about it. It was my good friend and the science teacher in our school, David Shwide. He fell ill. He went to go get tested at the Jones Beach testing center that was set up there. He found out that he was positive and he shared that information very openly with the staff and with his students. He wanted people to know, like, \"Okay, if you had contact with me, you need to know I'm positive.\"\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=926.0,1018.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And so he was among the first people that I knew by name who tested positive for COVID-19. And yeah, he was making prerecorded videos, pre-recorded science videos out of his backyard, and posting them for his students. And then he did a video all about testing positive and what it was like, you know, the symptoms and his experience with it. And then when he recovered, he went to donate blood because at that point there was a call for blood donations from people who had recovered because antibody therapy was something that everybody was interested in looking into. So yeah, he went and donated his blood. He recorded that as a video. He posted that for his kids. So he was very open about the whole situation. I was grateful as a colleague that he was open. I think it set a tone that this is not something that anyone needed to be ashamed of. And in fact it was important for people to share this information so that others could know like, \"Hey, if you've had contact with me, you might want to take care.\"\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1018.0,1111.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: I also sadly heard from my co-teacher Julie Spreckels from our fifth grade class that one of our students had lost his mom. His mom had fallen ill with COVID and, you know, I don't know the details of her experience, but it seemed like pretty rapidly, she suffered some pretty difficult effects of the virus and unfortunately passed away. So that was a big, um, it was a big shock, and I remember thinking like, \"Okay, we're putting all of this energy into trying to create these lessons and figure out scheduling, and what is it all for when kids are losing parents?\"\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1111.0,1174.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And, you know, it seemed like, gosh, we shouldn't be so worried about, like, the quality of our lessons. We should be worried about taking care of our families. And as a school, we started to have more and more conversations about social and emotional health of our students and what we could be doing to support our families, who in many cases probably weren't all that worried quite honestly about math lessons and writing lessons. They were worried about the effects of the virus and the ancillary effects of unemployment due to everything shutting down because of the virus.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1174.0,1227.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So I think when this particular student, when we found out that he had lost his mom, it made us start to realize, like, okay, this is really hitting home in a big way. We need to be thinking about more and doing more than just transitioning the educational piece. But we need to really be thinking about what we can do as a school to support our kids, to support our families. And then sadly after that, we heard about more and more people who were testing positive in our school community. Family members, students, fellow teachers. And then, one of our staff members shared with us that she had lost her son. And again, that was like a devastating blow cause it's one thing to hear that somebody had tested positive, but then it's another thing to hear that someone has lost a family member. So our focus at that point really shifted to making sure that our kids were supported in a variety of ways.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1227.0,1321.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: One thing that became clear during this period was that there were kids who either were not coming onto our lessons because they were just dealing with a lot at home, or in some cases their parents were trying to do whatever they could to stay employed or find other employment and were just preoccupied with that and couldn't focus on making sure their kids were logged in to Google Classroom. And then it also became very clear that in addition to families struggling with employment issues, families were starting to express food security issues. I had kids at certain points who would just announce very innocently in the middle of a lesson or when they initially logged into a lesson, how hungry they were, or that they were sick or that they had family members who were sick.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1321.0,1410.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So as a school community, we started to think about what we can do to support our families above and beyond just creating and posting lessons. Our parent coordinator was really key in terms of sharing information about food resources. We tried to do as much as we could as a staff to share anything that we found out about any resource, anywhere in Western Queens that was providing food assistance. We shared that with her so that she could share that with families. ClassDojo became a really important app for us. A lot of teachers had been using that to share announcements prior to remote learning, but it became our main mode of communication with our school community. So, like, ClassDojo was the thing.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1410.0,1487.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: We would share lots of posts about any place where we heard that organizations were giving assistance, whether it be financial or food assistance. And then, thankfully, PS 148 as a school stayed open to provide meals. So we tried to really spread the word that if families were in need of food, go to the school, they were giving out breakfast and lunch. And I think initially it was just to students and their families, but then quickly Mayor de Blasio announced that it opened up to all New Yorkers. So as soon as that announcement was made, we were like, \"Alright, tell everybody you know! Go get food at the school.\" And so I say this all to say that our jobs were, you know, they shifted very much from being academically focused to being just as much, if not more, focused around helping our kids with issues around food security and just emotional and social wellness.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1487.0,1572.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: I told you the story, but one of the most amazing stories and experiences that I had was, I had a student who was having some difficulty logging on, but eventually was able to successfully get on to Google Classroom. And there were some issues working out the, you know, getting his camera to work so that he could participate in our Google Meet meetings. But we were working with him and I realized that part of why he was having a bit of a struggle was that he was doing much of this on his own. He was navigating all of these things on his own because his father, he came down with COVID-19 and was quarantining in their apartment. So the father was quarantined in the bedroom and this particular student was, I think, in the living room or dining room, somewhere else in the apartment, trying to get on to Google Classroom.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1572.0,1643.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And we would post for the parents, like, here's our link, these are all the times that we're going to do different lessons. And we would always get responses from this particular father, like, \"I'm trying, yes, I'm trying to help my son. But can you please let me know if he got on? I'm not sure because I can't check on him because I'm in the other room with COVID.\" And once I realized that that was the dynamic in the household, I was like, \"Oh my gosh. Don't even worry about it. Just take care of yourself!\" You know? I was so impressed and so amazed that despite fighting COVID-19, this particular parent was communicating with us on ClassDojo, checking in to see if his son was getting onto his lessons and doing his work.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1643.0,1695.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: I just thought that was, that's like the definition of a good father, right? Someone who cares about his child so much that despite fighting this virus, he was still concerned about making sure that his son was doing everything he needed to do to get his full education. That father in particular just really amazed me and, you know, despite quarantining, unfortunately, his son caught it too. And he had great spirits throughout the whole process. You know, certainly his attendance was spotty while he himself was fighting the virus, but he got over it and he came back onto class, and he was like, \"Oh yeah, I had COVID,\" and he was happy. And we were all really thankful that he and his father got through it successfully.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1695.0,1761.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: But yeah, this just sort of became the normal situation, that we would hear about other students who either came down with the virus themselves, or had family members who did. In some cases it was, you know, parents would say, like, \"Oh yeah, we had COVID,\" or in other cases, parents would just say, like, \"Oh yeah, we've been sick.\" So I'm not sure if they necessarily definitely tested positive, or just assumed that the symptoms fit and they had it and just quarantined together. But that scenario was much of March and April. I would say once we got through April, we didn't hear so much about positive cases within our school community to such a large degree, but late March and I would say through much of April, we were hearing about students, their family members and staff members who were directly affected by the virus.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1761.0,1844.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: So it really hit close to home.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1844.0,1850.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yes.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1850.0,1850.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Yes. And your role as a teacher changed so much.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1850.0,1858.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. I mean, we definitely, as a school community, we started to have more and more conversations in our staff meetings about doing all these other things that were not traditionally part of our role as teachers, but just out of necessity needed to be. I would say our big two new jobs became, like, IT person -- a lot of teachers became really good at supporting parents with setting up their technology, so that became a new role -- and then also finder and communicator of community resources. Which I think is generally a part of a teacher's role, but for a period that was our main job, was really trying to share information as much as, as widely as we could about programs and organizations that would support our families with any kind of financial or food assistance. Because it became clear that we had many families who were out of work, and now starting to struggle with food issues. So how could you even think about teaching when you know your kids are hungry?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1858.0,1951.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. When it's literally a life and death situation.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1951.0,1954.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. Yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1954.0,1956.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: So how much did you interact with parents and families before the pandemic? Cause it sounds like during the pandemic, you were interacting with them quite a bit, but did you have that much contact before?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1956.0,1972.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Um, so I would say through the use of our ClassDojo app, we did have regular contact with parents. It was mostly through the message feature in ClassDojo and by posting different announcements related to classroom activities. The frequency that we were using Class Dojo to share information definitely increased once we were fully virtual. So yeah, we were on that app all the time, sharing information with our families and directly messaging parents. Beyond that, I would say the frequency with which we were on the phone with them also increased. Prior to remote learning, we did make phone calls, but most things we could communicate pretty easily using the ClassDojo app. But yeah, like, walking parents through IT issues, sometimes we just needed to be right on the phone with them and talking them through that. So yeah, the frequency with which we were talking over the phone and also once we got the technology working, doing like video conferences, yeah, that -- like, we had never done video conferences before this -- so that was something that was brand new and we were starting to use more and more for communication.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=1972.0,2075.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: How would you compare your relationship to the families before and after the pandemic?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2075.0,2089.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Before the pandemic, I mean, I would say that we had strong relationships with a core group of families who I would say -- the families that we communicated the most with were those that picked up their kids at the end of the day, as opposed to some families who sent their kids on the bus. So parents that we would see at dismissal time all the time, we had a good relationship with them, cause we would always be chatting at dismissal time. That was a feature that went away with the pandemic. So we no longer had that daily chit-chat that we had during regular schooling. But I would say in general, parents who would come to pick up their kids in person, we had good daily contact with them.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2089.0,2147.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: The parents who we were the closest with were the ones who tended to volunteer for trips. So we had a small group of parents -- I don't know, I would say maybe around six of them -- who were really active in terms of chaperoning field trips. So we got to know them really closely because we tried to do one trip a month, and we would have this set of parents who would come with us. And then we were with them all day long. So, you know, while we were on the trip, while we were riding the bus to the trip, back to school, we were often chatting with these parents and we got to know them pretty well through those experiences.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2147.0,2200.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: We had conducted three out of the four of our parent teacher conferences before going fully remote. So we had those connections through our parent teacher conferences. So I would say there was a lot that kept us pretty connected to most of our families pre-remote learning. But the families that we didn't have as much contact with were those who sent their kids on the bus just because we wouldn't see them at dismissal time. And so our contact with them was very much constricted to just the parent teacher conferences. So yeah, there was a set of parents that we had sort of limited contact with. And then when remote learning came, all of those live interactions that we would've had at dismissal time or on field trips, that vanished. So in a sense, our parent communication, in a very natural, organic way, decreased. But the frequency with which we were sharing information, sharing posts, texting, using the message feature on ClassDojo, that increased.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2200.0,2292.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So I would say the mode of communication changed a lot. And the frequency with which we were texting about things and also calling about things increased a lot, but all those live interactions that you would have, you know, at the end of the day, when we would send the kids home, we would often hang out on the sidewalk and talk to parents about this or that, or the other thing. And so those little conversations were not happening anymore. But that small group of parents who we didn't tend to see that often, once remote learning started, we had better communication with them just out of necessity.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2292.0,2337.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2337.0,2343.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: The other thing I would say is, when remote learning started, there were several parents who became really, really involved in making sure that their children were focused online and would sit with their children through a lot of our lessons. And so those family members, I think they got a better sense of what we were doing in terms of the content of our lessons. And I think they appreciated knowing, like, \"Oh, this is what my kid does in school. They're learning about this, or they're learning about that.\" So I think from their perspective, I think they got a better sense of what schooling was like. Oftentimes they were all really respectful. Like they would often sit to the side of the computer so as not to, you know, to not be on camera. But sometimes after lessons they would poke their head over and chat with us a little bit.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2343.0,2405.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So there were a core group of family members who, like, we could tell they were always right there with their child, making sure that their child was attending to the live lessons. And oftentimes we would find ourselves chatting with them for quite a while over Google Meet, particularly if we were setting up any kind of reading assessment or small group thing, or one-on-one conference with their child. Then the parents got directly involved with all of that, which they wouldn't have if we were doing a reading assessment in the classroom. So, yeah, I would say we had like four -- three mothers and one grandmother in particular -- who became really, really active, cause they were just supporting their kids through online learning every single day, sitting with them, helping them through their lessons.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2405.0,2467.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And what's really interesting is my co-teacher Mrs. Mapp and I, we would have these conversations where we would say, like, \"Oh, you know, in the classroom we had this child and that child, and that child who always seemed to be doing really well, participated in lessons, turned in their work, but now with remote learning didn't seem to be engaged quite as much.\" And it seemed like maybe -- I don't really know, like I don't have the data on this, but it seemed like in those cases, their parents were either just like working remotely as well and preoccupied with working at home, or maybe still were going out and working and weren't able to supervise their kids so much.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2467.0,2527.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And so we had a couple of kids who were doing really well in the classroom, and then once we moved to remote learning, did not do as well at all. And it seemed like the amount of guidance and supervision that their family members were giving them played a role in that. But then we had the opposite which was true. We had kids who were strugglers in the classroom, who now had a grandmother sitting with them one-on-one all day long and started to do really well. And we were like, \"Wow, this is great. It's like they have a one-on-one paraprofessional working with them all throughout the day.\" So we had some kids who were struggling in traditional school who now were starting to do quite well with remote learning. And it seemed like they were in families where there was someone available who could be with them, checking in with them, you know, making sure that they were attending to the lessons, making sure that they were submitting their work. So it was a really interesting dichotomy that we saw.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2527.0,2600.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. How did it make you feel, and what did you think aboutk seeing the different situations that your students were in -- the different environments that they were in, the different amounts of support they were getting from their families?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2600.0,2615.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: It made me feel like, moving forward with education, there is a place for blended learning to be more common in terms of providing another option for students.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2615.0,2638.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: What does blended learning mean?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2638.0,2641.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: A combination of in-school live learning, like in person one-on-one, and then virtual learning over a computer. Because yeah, I think there are students who respond, who definitely respond better to in-person live instruction in the building, and that really works for them. I mean, I still definitely hold the opinion after going through all of this, that that's the best form of education, but I think there is a place for this online component because it gives family members who want to be supportive more access to what kids are doing. I think of several students who I could tell their family members would watch the lessons and then clearly support them through it. And maybe there's a place for that moving forward, so that families can be more engaged in supporting their kids. That really very much depends on the amount of time and availability that family members have to do that. And I think most seem to be pretty busy. So it was really just, like, four kids who had that level of intensive support. And I know in one case it was a grandmother. So, you know, mom was working remotely, but grandma stepped in to be a big support for the child, and that was really helpful for him.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2641.0,2740.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Um, so yeah, I guess I would say I have mixed feelings about how this all turned out, because I did see kids who started to suffer with remote learning either because this mode of education did not fit their style, or they had difficulty either attending the live lessons or submitting their assignments. I think there's some group of kids who really need the support of an adult to make sure that they're actually turning in their work and completing all of their assignments. If you're in the classroom, that person is the teacher. We're always roving around, prompting kids, coaching them. So for some kids, that's all they need to get their work done. And if that's not so present, because family members are busy doing other things and they're left to take care of that all on their own, we did see that there are some kids that struggled quite a bit.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2740.0,2817.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: On the other hand, right in the school building -- so we had a team of three adults for 25 kids. That's a pretty good ratio. But even with that team, we can't be with all kids all the time. So, you know, we're splitting our attention. And now with remote learning, we had some students who had grandma there all day long, sitting with them, coaching them through lesson, after lesson, after lesson. And they're getting one-on-one attention all throughout their school day. So for them, it worked really well.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2817.0,2851.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So yeah, I've got mixed feelings about it all, but I leave the experience thinking that now that we've experimented with this virtual education world, it's sticking around. I don't think it's gonna go away. It will continue. It seems to me to be some part of what education is, moving into the future. Whether that means teachers are starting to record things that they do in the classroom and posting videos for parents to see, or teachers posting prerecorded lessons, or just assignments online so that when kids are absent from school they have things that they can be doing at home over the computer. It seems to me that some level of virtual learning will be blended into what we know as traditional schooling.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2851.0,2916.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: What do you think --\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2916.0,2916.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Cause we all got really good at it. We were forced to. So now teachers have these skills. Cause like, nobody can say we can't do this anymore, because everybody did it. So, yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2916.0,2932.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: How do you feel about that?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2932.0,2936.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: I don't think it should replace in person learning. I definitely don't think so. But in terms of supporting kids who are absent, right? To be able to say to a child, you know, if you're gonna be absent from school for whatever reason, well, if you can -- you know, a lot of it still depends on access to technology and stuff -- but if you can, log onto Google Classroom and there's some work that's available for you to do so you don't fall behind. I think that's a good thing. I don't want full virtual learning to become the norm, particularly for elementary school because it does not compare in terms of social interaction. You know, there are a lot of things that can happen in a classroom that are really hard over a computer screen. I would say the number one thing is collaboration amongst students in a classroom, with and without their teachers. It's much harder to do collaborative work virtually. And that's such a big component of any lesson that elementary teachers prepare. I would say the younger you go in age, the more important collaboration and group work is. But it's really important across the board. So you know, that's a big component that really can't be replicated online.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=2936.0,3050.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Another thing is, all of the social skills that kids learn from being together in a school building and interacting with one another in that way. I'm not quite sure how this all affected our kids' friendships, and their ability to have just like normal childhood interactions with their friends. I would say from what I saw, that suffered in terms of, you know, really not having quite as much of an opportunity to have, like, lunchroom conversations and all of those friendly conversations that you would have over the course of the school day. We tried to give our kids some amount of social time, but it was tough because we had to use a lot of our time as teachers to either present lessons or prepare lessons. So we were limited in the amount of time we had to supervise free social time for the kids.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3050.0,3132.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: What we saw happen was that kids became very savvy at hijacking our links. And so, like, we would post a link for a live lesson, and we'd present our lesson and then we'd say goodbye. But then we started to learn that if the teachers didn't either watch all of the children individually leave the meeting, or kick them out by clicking the button that removes the participant from the meeting, if any kids were left over, then they would stay on that meeting and hang out with each other as long as they could. So once we realized that that was happening, we sometimes we would go back into a meeting later, and realize like, \"Oh, there are three kids who are still here at one o'clock and that meeting ended like an hour ago.\" And they were just chatting with each other.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3132.0,3197.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And so it wasn't a bad thing at all, but we started hearing from parents that their kids were having these social groups on our lesson links. And we had to be careful about making sure that they weren't just open, unsupervised links. But once we figured out how to manage that, then what the kids would do -- part of the suite of apps that they had access to included Google Hangouts, so they started group chats on Google Hangouts. And they were free to do that. The only option that was not available to them was the video conferencing option or the telephone option, but they were free to chat with each other.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3197.0,3250.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So they created a bunch of chat groups. They would invite me and Mrs. Mapp to their chat groups. So there was a lot of chatting that was going on on Google Hangouts, and then beyond that they all would friend each other and play Roblox.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3250.0,3265.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: What's that?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3265.0,3265.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So, it's like an online video game where -- so on Roblox people can go and like create their own video games and then invite other players to play, or you could play other games that other creators have made. So they would create an avatar and then go into these virtual games and play with each other. So, yeah --\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3265.0,3297.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/78","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Is it like the new Minecraft?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3297.0,3298.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yes. Very similar to Minecraft. Yeah. Yeah. So a lot of the kids would do that. And then we would hear more and more from parents that they thought their kids were online during a lesson, but what they actually were doing was playing Roblox with each other. So, you know, these are all the things that started to happen, which of course in school, supervision would prevent all that. We could certainly control their ability to go on the computer and stuff like that in the school building. But I did see that there were quite a few kids who seem to get pretty engrossed in, from what I heard from their parents, in playing Roblox with each other, when they should have been watching our lessons or should have been turning in their work. So we had to compete with online video games quite a bit for our students' attention.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3298.0,3362.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: That's funny.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3362.0,3363.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: But you know, it's not all a bad thing because that was also their social time. They figured out how to get their social time in there. But I can't imagine that it's as good quality as, you know, hanging out with your friends in person, whether it be in school, or at the park, or in the real world. The virtual world is okay for some things, but it doesn't replace others.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3363.0,3394.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. I remember friends being such a huge part of my life in elementary school. Damien, I'd like to pause for a second to get a drink.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3394.0,3405.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/83","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. Go for it.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3405.0,3408.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/84","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Okay. We're back. Um, yeah, I made a bunch of notes.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3408.0,3417.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/85","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3417.0,3420.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/86","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: So it sounds like early on after remote learning started, when the first student's mother passed away, that sounds like it was a turning point for you that must've been very emotionally difficult.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3420.0,3440.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/87","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. Yeah. That was particularly difficult because, you know, this was all happening during the period of time when Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo were doing their daily briefings, and like every day you would hear on the news about the number of new positive cases, but even worse, the number of deaths. And those numbers very quickly became staggering. But hearing about one of my own students having lost his mother was particularly difficult because it was the first person that I knew directly who had died from COVID. I knew of people who were testing positive, but you know, of course you always hope that everyone will recover fully. And for the most part, everyone that I've heard that did test positive did. You know, and the statistics are, right, that, you know, 99% of the time, you'll survive. But one out of a hundred times, you may not. And yeah, so this was the first time that I had some kind of a direct link to someone who died from COVID. So yeah. You know, it was tough because it was not just a statistic.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3440.0,3553.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/88","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: I would say also, my fifth-grade co-teacher, Mrs. Sprekels and I, we could only think about how this was all affecting our student. He did not return to online learning for quite a long time. It was about six weeks before he finally got back. And the day that he came back on, oh, we were like, everybody was so happy. We were like, \"Oh my God, you're here! Welcome back!\" And the whole class was cheering, and so happy to see him back. And he seemed happy to be back. I think it was good to get him back because it provided some kind of a routine and a sense of normalcy. And, you know, even though he was seeing his classmates and his teachers virtually, it did provide some sense of normalcy for him. And I certainly hope he felt supported by all of us. I don't know, it was just very spontaneous when he came back. Like everybody was like, \"Oh my God!\" Everybody just, you know, just started smiling and cheering. That was a really good moment.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3553.0,3650.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/89","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: But it was hard talking with my co-teacher and like, \"Oh, you know, it's been this many weeks, have you heard anything? Is he coming back?\" And his father, he had requested that he only wanted to communicate with one point person at the school regarding the whole situation. And that point person was our parent coordinator. So as the students' teachers, we felt very, very much like we didn't know what was going on and we didn't know whether everything was okay with him. I think that was the hardest part, just knowing he had suffered this trauma, but not really knowing how he was doing through it all. But yeah, you're right. That was a turning point in the sense that it directly affected one of our students in such a grave way.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3650.0,3725.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/90","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: And then it was after that, that the school started having conversations about how to support students in their families beyond, you know, providing education?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3725.0,3736.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/91","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. All of that was pretty quick. I would say, yeah, before the month of March was through, it became really clear that our focus as a school needed to include a very significant discussion around what we could be doing as a school community to help with all these other things, aside from, you know, just getting the kids onto their lessons and to do their assignments. So, yeah, things moved so quickly. I mean, the transition to online learning happened so immediately. And then once we were on Google Classroom, I think there was just this big scramble to figure out how to get all the kids connected and figure out what we should be doing, like how to post a lesson, how to make a lesson video, figuring out all the scheduling issues. That was our big focus immediately, just getting it all up and running.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3736.0,3808.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/92","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: But then, I don't know, maybe after that first week, everybody was like, \"Wait a minute. Why does this even matter?\" Like, you know, to what degree we're posting math lessons or writing lessons when we know we have kids who are losing family members, or we know that we have families who are struggling with food issues? So then, yeah, that's when the conversation started to focus more on doing more besides just getting our Google Classrooms running smoothly. It was like, well, that's good, yes, we need to do that. But as a school community, we have more of a responsibility to take care of our kids from all of these other perspectives.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3808.0,3871.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/93","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: What were those conversations about providing support like?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3871.0,3878.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/94","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Um, well, so, from our administrators' perspective, it was very much about, like, how do we get the word out to as many families as possible? So we --\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3878.0,3896.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/95","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Get the word out about resources, you mean?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3896.0,3898.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/96","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: About resources. Yeah. So, well, it'll take me a minute here, but I could actually pull up some of the posts, if that would be helpful.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3898.0,3913.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/97","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Oh, you don't have to go through all that. I was just wondering about, like, was everyone pretty much on board? Were people thinking the same thing?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3913.0,3927.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/98","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: I might have to go in about 15 minutes if that's okay.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3927.0,3930.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/99","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Okay.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3930.0,3932.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/100","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Sorry about that.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3932.0,3933.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/101","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: We can move on. I also was wondering about the end of the year. So when you started remote learning, you didn't know how long it was going to last, and you ended up having the school year end without ever getting to see each other in person again. What was that like?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3933.0,3949.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/102","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. Um, anticlimactic [laughs]. Yeah, it was different. I would say, yeah, it definitely didn't have the celebratory feeling that the last day of school would have in person. We tried to have, you know, a big, fun, live meeting at the end and say our goodbyes and all of that. Interestingly, so our -- by the end of the school year, we had all of our systems set up pretty well and things were running pretty smoothly. And a handful of our kids had the opportunity to enroll in virtual summer school. So we knew that we would have some kids who would continue to get some academic support through that, but our Google Classrooms didn't shut down. They're still there. And in some cases, teachers have archived their classrooms, but my co-teacher and I have kept ours open. And we had our last day, but then we ended up kind of saying, like, \"You know, this is our last day. It's officially the end of school, but our virtual classrooms not going anywhere. So like, you know, maybe we'll post stuff every once in a while.\" And so that has happened. We've been posting other little videos here and there throughout the summer.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=3949.0,4085.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/103","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So on a personal level, I canceled all my trips to see family members over the summer. One of whom is my niece who lives in Massachusetts, and another of whom is my Godson, who lives in New Jersey. And so we had made some plans to figure out how to get together over Zoom or Google Meet. And one of the things that we planned to do was to read Alice in Wonderland. And my niece Callie and my Godson Langston both happen to be nine, which is the same age as my students. So, once I figured like, \"Oh, I'm getting together with my niece and my Godson anyway,\" I was like, \"Oh, if any of you want to come and read Alice in Wonderland, it's not any problem to just like log on to Zoom and join a read aloud.\" So I have, I don't know, maybe six of my kids from my class who still come on on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an Alice in Wonderland read aloud.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4085.0,4158.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/104","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And my co-teacher, her daughter comes on. My co-teacher and I, she's joined me for like -- once we started a little schedule where we were like, okay, well, we'll do Alice in Wonderland on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And then on Wednesdays, we decided to do a word study group because a lot of our kids are transitioning to chapter books, but need support with tackling multisyllabic words. So we've got a word study group on Wednesday. It's all optional. But I wanted to do this for Callie and Langston, so I talked to my co-teacher about it and she was like, \"Yeah.\" And I sent an email to my principal, like, \"Is it okay if we just keep our Google classroom open?\" And so, I guess that's another positive thing about virtual learning. Like, you don't have to shut the door and say goodbye. The Google Classroom's there, and if we want to have a meeting, we can just have a meeting. So yeah, now we meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and, you know, kids pop in and out.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4158.0,4229.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/105","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And one really interesting thing. So I have several students who, as a result of the pandemic, have had to move. One of my students, I would say at the end of May, early June, left Queens and moved out to Oregon to be with family out there. To her credit, in the process of moving to the West Coast, she stayed involved and logged into the classes. She didn't even miss a day, like they moved over the weekend, and then that next Monday she logged into her live lessons, which were now three hours earlier because she was on the West Coast. So we had our live meeting at like 9:30, and she logged in to what was her 6:30 in the morning in Portland, Oregon, and stayed with us, which was really cool. We had another student who just recently moved to Sacramento, California. But now given that we have this online community, we do these groups on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and they come, they join us from Portland, Oregon, and Sacramento, California. And they're like, \"Hey, we're here!\" So that's kinda cool. Cause we haven't had to actually say goodbye. Like we said goodbye, but we're like, \"But! We're still here.\" And, you know, we'll do things every once in a while.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4229.0,4328.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/106","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And we have, you know, we don't have a whole class showing up, but we've got basically six kids who come back, including the one with his grandmother, who was like, grandma's there sitting next to him and like, yup, you're going to read Alice in Wonderland. And so it's good. I think for those kids, this is a silver lining that's come out of it, is a continued relationship that we wouldn't have if we didn't have this virtual platform for it.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4328.0,4364.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/107","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: That's really sweet. I love that you're doing that.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4364.0,4368.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/108","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's easy to do because we had all the infrastructure\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4368.0,4377.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/109","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. And that was really like, you all were thrown into that situation and it's like sink or swim.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4377.0,4382.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/110","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4382.0,4383.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/111","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Okay. So I'm just going to check my notes and see if I have any final questions, and while I'm doing that, can you take a moment and think about if there's anything that you would like to add that we didn't get to yet?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4383.0,4395.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/112","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yes, I will do that.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4395.0,4397.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/113","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Okay.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4397.0,4423.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/114","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Okay. So yeah, you were asking before we got a little interrupted, you had asked about the communications around, like, food resources and other things. One thing that I'd like to add to that is, when our conversations started to include more about that, we -- so our principal would share things through the \"school story\" portion of ClassDojo. So ClassDojo became like our main mode of communication to parents. So we tried to really encourage parents to sign up for this app. And through ClassDojo, school administrators and teachers can communicate with either the whole entire school community or their individual class. And so our principal and parent coordinator would share a lot through the school story, which got messages out to the whole, basically all parents and teachers who had signed up.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4423.0,4497.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/115","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: That became the main place for posting resources, whether it be, like, just reminders that the school was still open, if parents needed to go there to pick up food, or there were a variety of organizations that became really active in the Elmhurst, Corona, Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Astoria neighborhoods. Whenever we heard about any kind of organization that was doing something, we would share that on school story. And then beyond that, I think individual teachers would try to share whatever they could with their families, you know, either by posting information on Google Classroom, where the kids could see it and share it with their families, or through email or any other meetings that they were having virtually. But I would say ClassDojo became our main mode of communicating all this stuff. And yeah, we mostly tried to communicate about any kind of organization that was helping out with food or financial assistance. Because it was clear that for some of our families the need really increased as a result of the pandemic.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4497.0,4610.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/116","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: And do you know where families were getting food from?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4610.0,4616.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/117","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So aside from the school, New York City Food Advocates, I believe, was one organization that was helping a lot in terms of helping with just reaching out to the families that might have the greatest level of need. Um, I don't remember all the names of the different organizations that we referred them to, but I would say New York City Food Advocates was the most involved from what I recall. Yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4616.0,4665.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/118","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: And what was the food that the school provided like? What were those meals like?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4665.0,4672.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/119","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: As far as I know, it was all the same stuff that they would get in school. So, the breakfasts were typically like cereal, low fat milk, fresh fruit, muffins, I think. The breakfasts were typically pre-prepackaged meals, cause we would always do breakfast in the classroom. So when we were going to school, kids would pick up their breakfast and bring it into the classroom and eat their breakfast as we did our morning routines. So they were already eating breakfast in the classroom. And then the lunches, I don't really know how that changed, but I know that they needed to be portable. I'm not entirely sure that they were giving exactly the same kind of food that they'd be serving out of the kitchens. But the school was definitely open for parents, for families to pick up breakfast and lunch. And then at some point I believe that became three meals a day, that parents could pick up all three meals, should they need it. So, yeah, I don't exactly know what type of food was served, but, um, yeah.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4672.0,4762.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/120","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: So at this point it's already almost the end of July, and we don't know what's going to happen in September. What do you think about the possibility of schools reopening?\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4762.0,4776.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/121","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Well, I think New York is thinking through things pretty well, in terms of the fact that, you know, Governor Cuomo continues to say, which I think is the right thing, that all of our decisions need to be based on data. So if we're using data and science to drive the decision making, I think that's the right way to go. It's such a difficult question because it doesn't appear that full in-person learning with all the kids back five days a week is the best thing, because we don't want to just throw the doors open and see what happens. But I also am not so sure that saying that school should remain fully closed is the right thing for all kids because, you know, clearly there are some kids who were not doing well during remote learning.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4776.0,4858.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/122","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: And you know, there are a whole set of services that schools provide that can't be replicated virtually. Schools provide a safe place for kids to be, and I think the best learning environment. So I think it is important for kids who need those resources to be able to get back to school. If their parents believe it's the best thing for their children and their families, what's really important is that we need good plans and protocols to be in place. And my personal opinion is that parents, and to whatever degree possible staff, should be given the choice to evaluate their own situations and decide whether or not they would like to continue with a remote situation or go back in person.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4858.0,4926.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/123","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: I think from what I'm hearing, there are some families who absolutely do not want to send their kids back. They want a fully remote option for their kid for the next school year. And that should be offered. There are families that really want their kids to go back. It doesn't seem reasonable that that could be offered full-time for all kids, all at once. But if there are families who really need that in-school learning, that should be available for them. And then the other thing to consider is teachers and staff members. There are a fair number of teachers who have underlying conditions and may not feel comfortable going back. And I think to whatever degree possible, they should be given the choice to work remotely, if they can. There are other teachers who are sick of this and definitely want to go back.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4926.0,4984.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/124","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: So, if we could figure out a way to have a combination of in-school learning and remote learning, guided by the data, it seems like that would be the best thing. And from what I see, New York State is trying to do that. I know PS 148, we sent out a parent survey and parents will have the option to either keep their kids fully remote if they so choose, or send their kids back in one of three cohorts. None of those cohorts, I believe, at this point is a full five-days-a-week situation. I could be wrong about that. I'm not sure if our school has finalized our options, but there may be a cohort that provides that. But I think at this point those cohorts are splitting up the week, basically evenly. And any kid could get somewhere from two to two-and-a-half days of in-person learning, but then the rest would be remote. Yeah. Um, Bridget, I'm sorry, I have to go.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=4984.0,5061.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/125","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Damien, thank you so much.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=5061.0,5062.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/126","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: You're welcome!\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=5062.0,5064.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/127","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: Yeah. Thank you for sharing your experiences and stories of your students and their parents. And it sounds like you're a really wonderful teacher, and I really appreciated you sharing all of this in the interview.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=5064.0,5080.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/128","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: Yeah. No, I'm glad to do it. And thank you so much for giving me the opportunity. I appreciate it.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=5080.0,5088.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/129","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nBridget Bartolini: All right. Have a good night.\n\n","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=5088.0,5091.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060/transcript/31130/annotation/130","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\nDamien LaRock: All right. You too. Bye. I'll see you. See you next time on our friends call. Bye.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/46728/file/120060#t=5091.0,5101.312"}]}]}]}