Tracey: A Special Needs Assistant Teacher Adjusting to Remote School

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Tracey, a teacher’s assistant, and her team to learn how to teach their students—high schoolers with autism—via remote schooling. 

“Our district wasn’t prepared,” Tracey said. "I mean who could have been fully prepared for this?"

The week that it was announced schools in her town

The week that it was announced schools in her town of Union, New Jersey would be shut down due to the pandemic, the teachers rushed to make copies of schoolwork to send home. “Teachers were trying to grab as many things as they needed, figuring we wouldn’t be back. March was madness.” 

Tracey lives at home, but pays rent to her parents. Both her and her parents have been able to keep their job throughout the pandemic, assuring her some financial stability. 

One of the hardest parts of working remotely for Tracey, has been trying to maintain consistency for her students. 

“They need physical assistance,” she said. “Doing remote school is difficult. One of the things we work with them on is learning how to engage with their peers and adults, how to maintain proper communication, and go on trips into the community. All of that was disrupted. Stay at home is the opposite of what we try to prepare them for.” 

Despite the difficulties, Tracey and the other teachers did their best to keep the kids engaged with activities and extracurriculars. 

Although Tracey was able to keep her full time job, her hours at her part time job were cut. After school she worked for Bricks 4 Kidz, a program that teaches kids STEM skills using LEGOs. Her hours for the summer were cut in half compared to the summer of 2019. 

“It was through Bricks 4 Kids that I found out about SaverLife,” Tracey said. Her boss, Tara—who lost her husband to COVID-19 and is fighting to keep her small business afloat—shared the opportunity with her and the whole Brickz 4 Kidz team. 

Tracey used 10% of her $500 grant from SaverLife and Prudential as a tithe to her church and used the rest to help pay the bills at her parent’s house. 

Tracey and her students went back to remote school in the fall. 

“We’re still working out the class schedule. We’ve had technical difficulties,” Tracey said. “We’re not full-blown teaching class. We’re just making sure that they’re able to get online and getting them into the routine.”

Tracey on a Zoom class with her students

Remote school continues to be difficult for Tracey’s students. She’s seeing many of her students regress. After spending a long time working with a student so he could say hello and hold simple conversations, now he won’t even stay at the computer. The one positive thing Tracey sees, is that the students’ awareness of technology will improve. 

Tracey has also seen the effects of COVID-19 in her family. 

“Unfortunately, I knew quite a few people who got sick,” Tracey said. Her family lives across the street from a funeral home, and she was a firsthand witness to the uptick in activity in April and May. 

In spite of these difficulties, Tracey says she is grateful to God and making the most of each day. She is looking forward to the day schools can resume meeting in person, and is hoping she will soon be able to see people like her grandfather who lives in Canada.