We sat down with School Principal, Shannon Ochal (often referred to as Ms. O by our students) to talk about Gateway Longview’s amazing staff and to recognize School Teacher and Staff Appreciation week! Ms. O is impressed by staff’s abilities to create a unique and supportive environment for students. “All these content experts come together to collaborate, and they find common ground to create the best plan for our students,” said Ms. O, “I think they deserve so much credit.”
With over 150 staff between two sites, Gateway Longview had its work cut out to accommodate and adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. After a roller coaster of a year, it is important to take a step back and recognize all that was accomplished, and all of the adaptions staff made to ensure the safety and education of our students. Not only did teachers and aides learn on the fly, our administration team worked long hours to follow the ever-changing reopening guidelines.
“I am amazed by our staff’s resilience. It was a huge learning curve and it was not easy, but they did it,” said Ms. O, referencing Gateway Longview’s transition to virtual learning with Google Classroom. “There was so much uncertainty in the world, and despite that our teachers and staff came together to support our students.”
One of Ms. O’s favorite parts of her new job as Principal? “It is wonderful to see the pre-K kids I‘ve had make progress and grow, and to see the benefits of their early interventions. The best part is the staff, they are truly invested in our kids, and at of the end of the day, they all want what is best for our kids. It takes a special person to work here.”
We could not agree more Ms. O! Thank you to all our school staff, you are #GatewayGreat!