By Kristina Torress | Head of School
Project Close Out Report
There is a Norfolk Island Pine tree that stands just beyond our front porch, with half of the branches stretching 3 feet long, and the other half, lighter green and tender, measuring about 7 inches. It is impossible to miss. Whether I am standing looking out on the porch, readying my son for school, walking the dog back into our home, or looking up from my laptop - there is the pine.
Following the nearly two years since Hurricanes Irma and Maria, you often hear families reflecting on the power of nature – the raw ways it can uproot and disrupt every aspect of our community – as well as the resiliency, beauty, and hope the regrowth inspires in us.
This tree in my yard has been a consistent visualization of what it is like for a community, and our school, to experience the disaster of two Category 5 hurricanes, and then to persevere through rebuilding, to set our efforts on long-term recovery, and also maintain a degree of “normalcy” for our children.
The Joy of A Learning Community
As the director of St. Croix Montessori, I have had the intense joy of seeing children discover that they are capable and appreciated.
While preparing for end-of-year presentations, a group of students ages 6 to 12 practiced presenting research projects to peers. A parent observing kept on marveling that each student had created a project on their own, based on their interest. While the format varied – from games to poster boards to giving a mini-lesson or writing a book – the collaboration was consistent. As one student practiced Jawperdy – a quiz on sharks, complete with points from 200 to 1000 - his peers advised him: “Remember to speak up when someone gets the correct answer. We get excited by that.”
A younger student was advised by an older student during practice, “It’s okay – just read your notes to us so you can help yourself memorize what you want to say. We know you can do it.”
Yet another student, who took weeks to speak to the teachers following his family’s relocation back to the island, transformed when asked to help the class raise an orphaned chick. “Here,” he told us. “At night, you wrap the chick in a towel, like a chickburrito, and it just quiets and sleeps.” He called a veterinarian to confirm the chick’s health and create a care plan, and developed guidelines for classmates to safely care for our adoptee.
Two alumni, who began middle school this year, presented to families about what they learned from their 12 years in St. Croix Montessori, including how to prepare for the transition into middle school. “Don’t give up,” one stated. “You will make mistakes, and that’s okay. Because then you need to learn from them and figure out what works best for you. Then try it out and keep going.”
She added: “And parents, have patience.”
Restoring Balance
There are times where the fear, stress, and anxiety of parents takes on a feverish pitch, and they come to the school riddled with insecurity about parenting, their child’s friendships, and their child’s chances for future success. Even the best of our school’s team members have had those moments of doubt, whether it is about helping guide a child or family through a challenging time or trying to find the phrase or lesson that unlocks a child’s imagination and interest.
Aside from the trauma of the hurricanes, there are roughly 55% of families surveyed that acknowledged having personally experienced trauma in the past year (i.e. violence, loss of home, family separation). A recent study of the post-disaster impacts on children and families in the USVI reported that 60% of our children have depressive symptoms and there is a severe shortage of behavioral health professionals.
Which brings me back to our Norfolk Pine.
These pines are across the island. You will see many that look like the one outside my door. Many others are stripped bare, and only their dried trunks remain.
The pine has been a sort of measure – and reminder - of how lives progress after the hurricane.
Half of our lives are like those 3-foot branches: we have persisted. We continue to go on with the routines, rituals, and daily nuances of our families’ lives and life in a school.
The other half of our lives is like the newer portion of the Norfolk pine. It is flexible, growing, may never “catchup.” It gives us a new perspective on just how much we’ve accomplished, and what is needed and important in order to restore balance.
Overall, we are the entirety of this picture – aware that the world continues ahead, aware of our fragility, aware of our strength. The work to restore balance – in our schools, our homes, and our community – is the next phase.
So while we are closing out this project, because our most immediate and critical hurricane recovery efforts have been completed, we trust that the GlobalGiving community is engaged in our long-term efforts to restore balance to the St. Croix community by providing families sustained security for their children and ensuring equitable access to a quality education for St. Croix’s children exists for many generations and hurricane seasons to come.
https://globalgiving.org/projects/hurricane-recovery-educating-for-equity-in-stx
Thank you for helping us restore the school!
To learn more about the long-term recovery and how we are building an equitable learning community across every area, policy, and practice of our school – from classroom to leadership – please follow our new project. We look forward to sharing the journey with you!
https://globalgiving.org/projects/hurricane-recovery-educating-for-equity-in-stx
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By Kristina Torres | Head of School
By Kristina Torres | Head of School
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