Dear FolioCollaborative Members,
I know you are consumed with planning and managing your school’s response to COVID-19. Please know that we at Folio are here to help and support you however we can.
Here is what we are doing for you, your faculty and staff, and your community.
Our team is meeting daily to develop ways that we can provide leadership guidance and tools you can leverage during this rapidly changing time.
To start, we have added a page to our website with a list of practical, actionable tips and resources for leading faculty and staff remotely; you can find it at: www.foliocollaborative.
We will also be offering additional insights on our blog, drawn from best practices we have seen work around the country. You can find it at: www.foliocollaborative.
In addition, we are hosting two online Town Hall discussions this coming Tuesday, March 17 at 7:30 am (Eastern) and 10:30 am (Eastern; 7:30 am Pacific) where you can connect with other school leaders to problem-solve together and to learn about tools for supporting teachers. As a community, we can leverage our collective experience.
For the 7:30 am (Eastern) session, you can register here.
For the 10:30 am (Eastern; 7:30 am Pacific) session, you can register here.
For the coming weeks, we are planning a series of webinars and forums to help you guide your staff through the anxious time ahead. We are also looking into how we can quickly adjust some of the features on our platform to make it more responsive to an online school environment.
As you work with your faculty and staff — including their adjustment to teaching remotely, collaborating with their peers beyond the school building, and meeting with supervisors online — I hope you will let us know how we can help. Our goal remains (and is even more important now) to provide timely and practical guidance for navigating that process.
As moving to online teaching has become a reality, I am reminded of my own experience as a classroom teacher transitioning to remote work as the Executive Director of Folio. This is shaping Folio’s current approach. There were so many things I didn’t anticipate. I didn’t have a clear structure to my day, I needed to develop new routines, and the lines between life and work were unclear. Most importantly, I felt alone.
What I never realized or appreciated at the time was that working in a school creates an automatic community and network of people. When it’s you and your computer screen, it takes a lot more effort to create that same level of connection.
I know from talking with school leaders this week that you are worried about everything – from how to get the mail to what happens to sports teams to how to motivate a teacher who is tech-averse and may lose their “superpower” in front of a classroom of students. You have the complex job of rescheduling events, deciding if learning is synchronous or asynchronous and planning for a future that remains uncertain.
Through it all, remember that Folio is ready and eager to help you. Please let me know how we can.
Be well,
Meredith Monk Ford
Executive Director