While school buildings are closed throughout the rest of the academic year, Western New York teachers are still hard at work.
A few of them spoke to 2 on Your Side about their experiences with distance learning so far.
"We have very heavy hearts knowing we're trying to provide materials for the kids that we wish we could just provide first hand but given the situation, we can't," said Sarah Budney, a kindergarten teacher at Windom Elementary.
Connor Baer, a fourth-grade teacher at Olean Intermediate Middle School, said, "I hope that the general public understands that we really care about our kids and it's really hard for us that we don't get to see them every day and check in with them."
During the last several weeks, teachers have taken on the new challenge of serving their students remotely.
"We're able to use the technology in a positive way to continue the learning," said Carissa Stuart, a first-grade teacher at St. Gregory the Great.
Jim and Robin Charles and their daughter, Connor Baer, are all fourth-grade teachers at Olean Intermediate Middle School.
Throughout this process, they've been able to lean on each other.
Robin explained, "We're trying to keep our lessons consistent to what the kids were used to in school so we are Zoom videotaping ourselves teaching together."
They told 2 on Your Side a main challenge has been restructuring their lesson plans for virtual platforms.
"We were starting from scratch pretty much," Robin said.
Baer added, "The parents and students might see a 15-minute video, but there were two to four hours that went in before we got to that video."
And for many teachers, the new workflow calls for much longer days.
"You're on duty from 8, 8:30 in the morning, and sometimes until 9, 10 at night," Jim said.
Budney said, "You do feel like it's sort of a 24/7, on-call kind of career but so many of us are us are passionate and go into teaching to help kids so I think all teachers feel like we're in this together and we want to try to help the kids and the families the best that we can."
Stuart told 2 on Your Side, "And just seeing their faces, their facial reactions when they see my classroom, and when I'm teaching a lesson and when they see their friends, it totally makes all this planning and preparation worth it."
But they know this isn't easy for anyone, including parents.
"My advice for parents is to have open and clear communication with your child's teacher," Stuart said.
Budney shared her advice for parents as well. She said, "Try to do the most you can but providing your child with a safe, happy home and a loving atmosphere is more important than anything right now. They need to feel that security."
Added Jim Charles: "We are here for the families, not just for the children that we teach, but if they need anything, if they contact a teacher, we will do our best to get them whatever they need during this time."
