An unexpected goodbye 

On the beautiful Wednesday morning of March 11, 2020, the day before our school dismissed for a four-day weekend, a hard-working, well-respected veteran teacher named Beth (a pseudonym) came rushing toward me with a worried look on her face. With no greeting or smile, she launched into her concern. “I know you’re not behind this decision, but I have to let you know that I am really upset about the email we received this morning.” 

Honestly, it took me a moment to realize what Beth was talking about. Then I remembered. That morning an email had come out from the central office to let us know that while we were home for the scheduled four-day weekend, our building would be thoroughly cleaned as a preventative measure against the COVID-19 virus we had been hearing so much about in the news.  

It was only my second year as Beth’s principal, but it would also be my last. Due to a planned consolidation, we were scheduled to close at the end of the school year, and staff and students would be dispersed among the district’s three remaining elementary schools.