{"id":11087,"date":"2020-12-03T14:47:05","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T22:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11087"},"modified":"2020-12-03T14:47:05","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T22:47:05","slug":"midland-boarding-schools-covid-advantage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11087","title":{"rendered":"Midland Boarding School\u2019s COVID Advantage"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Midland<\/a>

Midland Boarding School\u2019s COVID Advantage, originally published in Santa Barbara Independent on November 19, 2020.<\/p><\/div>\n

Historic S.Y.V. Outdoor School\u00a0Is Great Fit for Today\u2019s Teens<\/strong><\/p>\n

While every school struggles with\u00a0COVID restrictions, Midland School<\/a>\u2019s\u00a02,860-acre campus and nine\u00a0decades of outdoor-minded, college preparatory\u00a0education lends itself to an easier\u00a0pivot than most. Students returned to the\u00a0boarding school for grades 9-12 in late\u00a0October.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen a senior class that\u2019s\u00a0more vested in our collective good,\u201d said\u00a0Head of School Christopher Barnes<\/a>,\u00a0who\u2019s been working round the clock for\u00a0months to make their return to the Los\u00a0Olivos campus possible. \u201cThe seniors are\u00a0like, \u2018Yeah, we\u2019re going to make sure everybody\u00a0wears their mask.\u2019 Inside of these\u00a0challenging moments are\u00a0also these incredible opportunities\u00a0for students to learn\u00a0how to tolerate adversity,\u00a0to find the grit and really\u00a0evaluate what the needs are\u00a0versus the wants, and really\u00a0discover the very best version\u00a0of themselves. That is\u00a0profoundly exciting as an\u00a0educator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly Midland\u2019s experiential,\u00a0place-based curriculum is more\u00a0desirable than ever right now. With health\u00a0guidelines in place, students will still be\u00a0able to work on the farm and in the garden,\u00a0ride horses, go hiking and camping, and all\u00a0of the other special things they normally\u00a0do.<\/p>\n

Enrollment is up at least 10 percent\u00a0from last year. \u201cThe phone was ringing\u00a0through the summer, and we definitely\u00a0had to tell some people no,\u201d said Barnes.\u00a0\u201cAs much as I would love to welcome even\u00a0more kids, we\u2019re sort of at capacity relative\u00a0to the situation we find ourselves in now. It\u00a0leaves us with a few spare cabins for isolation\u00a0or quarantine if needed; we need to\u00a0reserve some of that bandwidth for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve gone \u201cvery deep into the\u00a0four Ws,\u201d said Barnes. \u201cWear your\u00a0mask, watch your distance, wash\u00a0your hands, and, finally, we are in this\u00a0together.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s excited to be an educator at such a\u00a0pivotal time. \u201cWe are living through some\u00a0major inflection points in history, and at\u00a0the same time we\u2019re not just dealing with\u00a0a global health pandemic,\u201d said Barnes.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re dealing with Black Lives Matter\u00a0and a profound shift in perspectives with\u00a0regard to social justice issues \u2014 and we are\u00a0and want to continue to be a participant in\u00a0that. We are in the midst of a straight-up\u00a0economic depression, and we\u2019ve had to\u00a0dole out lots more financial aid and double\u00a0down in terms of supporting our families
\nand make sure that we can honor our\u00a0promise for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SB<\/a>

SB Independent Cover, Schools of Thought, November 19, 2020.<\/p><\/div>\n

Originally published in the Santa Barbara Independent<\/em> <\/a>on November 19, 2020. To read the section as it appeared in print, please click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

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