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www.FredericksburgParent.NET 15 Lessons From 2020/2021 "Last year taught us how to be more creative and flexible, adjust more quickly, and communicate more," says Eberhardt. "This year, we have to be equally agile in order to try to address both interrupted and unfinished learning." Last year was a time of uncertainly and ever- changing guidelines that kept everyone on their toes. The schools, like the public, rarely had time to adjust to one change before another one came along. "Not everyone liked all that uncertainty and constantly changing advice, but it did teach us to be flexible and creative," says the Deputy Superintendent. One example of how city schools demonstrated their ability to be creative and flexible last year was in how students took their lunch. Instead of everyone crowding together in the cafeteria, some ate on blankets picnic-style outside, some in their classrooms, while others ate in the cafeteria. Eberhardt emphasizes the need for creative prob- lem solving and not just practical solutions going forward as they continue to navigate a still-fluid situation. He says students' involvement is the key. "Children are really good at it which means we need to rely on getting them involved." With new variants cropping up and cases on the rise in differ- ent parts of the country, the public school system isn't out of the woods yet. Eberhardt and the FCPS system acknowledge the "great pressure" their teachers and students are under as they try to catch up on unfinished learning while still forging ahead in an atmosphere that remains under stress. "There seems to be more needs for social, emotional, and aca- demic support across the board," he says. "Our division wants to do what we can to reduce those stressors to keep people employed and students in school." Keeping Their Eyes on the Prize Repairing the unprecedented impact of COVID will take a lot of time and some trial-and-error. Mostly it will require thoughtful leadership who value the children in their community. "Children are our greatest gifts and our futures. Our FCPS employees are privileged in our noble profession to be able to work with students," says Eberhardt. "We need to do whatever it takes to stay focused on each person, everyone's needs, and every single success we can realize." A brief note to our readers: As we are all well-aware by now, the situa on surrounding COVID-19 is a fl uid one. When we spoke with the Deputy Superintendent, he shared with us his perspec ve based on the past and the present at the me of our conversa on. Circumstances in terms of posi ve cases and protocols maybe have changed from the me the interview took place to when this story was published.