Unclear
Unclear. This word has fallen out of my mouth more often during the past four months (has it really only been four months??) than at any other time in my life. With each passing week the questions get more intense surrounding school. The answers I have for parent and teachers? Unclear.
Putnam City will publish its Return to Learn plan next week, hopefully alleviating lots of anxiety that I know many parents and students feel. But it won’t answer all the questions. No plan can do that. Many things across our nation’s educational system remain unclear.
The reality is that we must continue to be flexible. We must continue to review the malleable reality in front of us and make decisions based on that. Sure, there was a time not so long ago when we could review a set of facts and make decisions about events to take place months in the future. Those days are gone for now. I can barely muster a plan for three days ahead, much less a few months ahead.
Because of the lack of clarity, the Putnam City Schools Foundation has decided to cancel our 2020 Wall of Fame event, originally scheduled for April, rescheduled for August, and now cancelled. We intended to honor Dr. Greg Walton, a fine surgeon and Putnam City High School graduate. But we were unclear on how the pandemic would affect our guests, what situation schools might be facing at that time, and how we could safely protect 300 people from COVID-19.
This is a real setback for our Foundation’s finances, as you might imagine. It is our largest fundraiser and provides an opportunity for us to earmark funds for things that grants and other donations rarely cover. It is unclear exactly how we will recoup these funds. We are in the same position as several nonprofits of course, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.
The good news is that we are moving forward in hope that April 2021 will be normal enough for us to honor Dr. Walton’s accomplishments and celebrate our district together once again. It is unclear whether that will happen, but we have to try.
In other good news, we do intend to host our 24th Annual Golf Tournament September 21st, and do hope you can help us make it the most successful one to date. There are plenty of ways to ensure player safety, so we feel confident about this event actually being held. I hope you can join us. Register today at www.pcf4kids.org/events/golf-tournament.
Some days I feel hopeful that a new word will fill my mouth more often than “unclear.”
“Vaccine” is my top choice.
posted by Jennifer Seal
July 9, 2020