Back-to-Normal Means Being Together

By Scott Conrad, MVMS Principal

After a difficult couple of years for schools everywhere, things are finally starting to look up, especially here at Mountain Vista Middle School in Kelseyville. Our first full year back on campus since 2018-2019 is off to a wonderful start. Kids are excited to be back on campus, compete in sports, and participate in extracurricular activities again. Our staff, which is full of new faces, is working together as a tight-knit team — all to the benefit of our students. You can’t help but feel an energy at MVMS that makes everyone excited to come to school.

That’s not to say we haven’t had to overcome some challenges, the biggest being the transition back to normalcy, or more accurately, to our new, post-COVID normal. A couple years ago, when the virus first spread, educators across the country feared that keeping kids out of school for an extended period of time, however necessary, would negatively impact their learning and socialization. Turns out, we were right and now we have the test scores to prove it.

Unfortunately, test scores are not the only data showing the impact of long-term isolation. As students were suddenly thrust back together with peers, teachers, and other staff, behavioral problems followed. I’ve talked to many educators in our district and across the state facing similar issues, so I know they are not unique to our school.

To help students reengage in school, both academically and socially, we decided to focus on making MVMS a safe and positive place for students. That meant dedicating classroom time to helping students learn skills that helped them manage themselves and get along better with others, called social-emotional learning, things like conflict resolution to curb fighting and bullying. The Positive Behavioral Intervention Support (PBIS) program has been key to those efforts. We have Dr. Nicki Thomas and our counselors to thank for putting a lot of this curriculum in place for our educators.

Getting back our sports and extracurricular activities has been huge, too, especially for boosting morale. We even added ultimate frisbee this fall, which was a big hit. We recently had a winter band concert that was outstanding and a lot of fun. The kids put on a great show. There’s a dance coming up soon. I could go on and on, but I can’t overstate the importance of getting our students involved with these activities and events. They give kids and parents something to feel good about. More importantly, they foster a sense of community and are a huge part of getting an education.

Kelseyville Unified School District is reinforcing all these themes at the district level, with initiatives like our kindness campaign. We’re invested in the culture that’s always been part of life in Kelseyville. The foundation we have in this community is really positive for our kids; we’re just trying to build on that.

To do this well requires enough teachers, and like schools throughout California–especially in rural communities like ours–we’ve struggled to overcome the severe teacher shortage. In November 2021 when I started at MVMS, we lost a few educators, which put us in a bind. It forced us to have larger class sizes than we wanted, which is stressful fonr teachers and less-than-ideal for students. We even had educators using their prep periods to help out and cover for one another, which is commendable but not sustainable.

This year, I’m pleased to say that we’re fully staffed, having filled all open positions, including campus monitors. And most importantly, I’m grateful that our staff is full of quality people.

Even with seven new teachers starting this year, everyone has bonded together to work as a team. It’s amazing to watch them support each other for the betterment of our students and community. To a person, if you asked any of our staff members about the support they get from each other, I have a feeling they’d say it’s second to none.

It’s tempting to mention a few folks and thank them for their work, but I’d be leaving too many important people out. Our work here has been a true team effort. We have a blend of really good veteran teachers with some brand new educators. They’re all doing an outstanding job, along with our staff and counselors. Everyone’s bringing a clean slate and fresh perspective to the year, which is exactly what we needed.

Last but certainly not least, I have to mention our students. They’ve been put through the ringer the last few years, forced to endure gaps in their learning and socialization. But they’re so resilient. They’re doing a great job. They continue to show up and do their part to spread positivity and a love for learning. It puts a big smile on my face each and every day. And it reminds me that our students will always be the best thing about MVMS and the number one reason that it’s such a great place to go to school.