BY TONY LOCKHART

Senior Zach Ye stood on the stage of the Fregeau Auditorium ready to be a part of a beloved Hilltopper tradition - Winter Frolic. But like everything in this pandemic-affected year, it would be different. He and his partner, Mady Friese ’21, would compete in the Karaoke Contest on opposite sides of the stage. Instead of a crowded lunchroom, only the seniors—masked and sitting at least three seats and two rows apart—would watch live. This final event in the weeklong competition would be live-streamed for the upper school students gathered in individual classrooms with their small advisory groups. “It was different,” Zach recalled.

“The Hilltopper Council wasn’t sure we were going to be able to pull off Winter Frolic this year, but we did.” While the activities were modified, they still served the purpose of bringing the student body together in the middle of the long Duluth winter. In many ways the decisions the Hilltopper Council had to make around Winter Frolic week were a microcosm of the entire school year. Almost everything had to be adapted in the interest of safety. Some of the changes were hard, even as they were temporary. But other changes became an opportunity for improvement that will continue even when “things return to normal.”

Brandon Hieb, Marshall’s Facilities Director, was in charge of preparing the building for the return of students this fall. “We spent three months planning and modifying the building to ensure we had a safe environment for students and teachers.” Classrooms were stripped of nonessentials, desks were removed so that each room would only hold 50% occupancy with desks spaced about six feet apart. An entirely new cleaning and sanitizing protocol was developed and practiced. The HVAC system was fine tuned to increase the circulation of fresh air. Hallways were modified for one way traffic, and direction and safety signs hung throughout the building. “We created places that could be used as outdoor classrooms, and even erected a 40x80 tent in the front of the school for classes to use,” Brandon said.

Marshall’s independence, relatively small size, and experienced and talented faculty allowed the school to quickly pivot online in March 2020, so Hilltoppers spent the entire spring in an online learning mode. Almost unbelievably, there were no instructional days lost in the spring. But as successful as the shift was, there was no question that if students could be back in person— even for part of the week—there would be strong advantages for both academic and social-emotional learning. What emerged, after weeks of planning, was a daily schedule that would work whether the school was completely in-person, or all online, and a “dial” approach to bring students back on campus in a variety of hybrid formats depending on the spread of the virus.

“I had a feeling of gratitude the first day of school,” senior Oscar Timm remembered. “It was great to be back.” Sydney Cummins ’21 recalled that it was hard to adapt at first to the new year, since “we had to learn a whole new way of doing things.” Fellow Class of 2021 member Charlie Prior noted how “difficult it was to recognize and get to know new students wearing masks.” In addition to the new safety protocols, students had to become familiar with the strategies teachers had developed to teach both in-person and online.

Learning in a hybrid classroom has different opportunities and challenges. Students were introduced to several techniques to ensure success. One key element was the use of “drop folders” in the middle of the week to preview and make available the work for the upcoming week. Another strategy was choosing and implementing a “core four” of technology tools for students to use. Math teacher Paul Pearson has been impressed by the attitude he has seen in the student body: “In a difficult situation, I hear very little complaining; they seem to understand everyone is facing the same challenges.”

There have been significant modifications to the schedule of the school day to ensure a safe environment. Students are screened before they enter the building, and those who need to arrive early or stay late are required to stay in their assigned locations on campus. As athletics were allowed to resume, a strict COVID-19 protocol was developed for every team. Class periods have been lengthened and passing times shortened to reduce congregating. In a similar vein, there have not been all-school gatherings and the middle and upper schools stay in their own wings. At the end of the day, students are dismissed in waves. One of the biggest challenges was how to provide a physically distanced lunchtime and the solution has been surprisingly successful: advisory groups eating together in the classrooms of their advisors. For teachers, it has been a year of constant adaptation: Teaching simultaneously to students in-person as well as students learning online from home. It has also meant, when the spread of the virus required it, moving quickly online for all students. Marshall was able to spend the first ten weeks of the 2020-2021 school year in a hybrid instructional format, with students on campus four days a week. The steep increase in regional case counts around the holidays required a transition to online learning for all grades in mid- November. But by January, students were able to return to campus.

History teacher Sorrel Kaspszak remarked, “[I was] most surprised about the continuous change that is needed to keep everything running. It has been heartening to see how agile human beings are. We started with what curriculum and classes might look like in August and all of that has morphed and pulsed throughout this whole year. We learned that more was possible than we thought.”

A point of emphasis this year has been to use the outdoors as both a place and an opportunity with students, as the reduced risk of transmission outdoors can create a sense of safety for both kids and adults. Even in the winter, Marshall’s 40-acre campus has been an advantage that was amplified when the operations team created an outdoor skating rink on the tennis courts.

Upper school grades have had “class days” full of skiing, skating and sliding to build community and provide the social interactions many students have missed. Middle school classes have made outdoor activities a part of the weekly rotation. According to Assistant Principal Matt Whittaker ’02, “The amount of learning that occurs when kids are outside is amazing. Not only are they learning in the moment how to be attentive to an entirely different set of stimuli than indoors, but the activity enhances the ability to focus inside. I was blown away in an afternoon discussion with 4th graders following a cross-country ski class; the level of engagement and wonder was amazing.”

There has also been a significant effort to adjust the pacing of the year. Knowing that there were likely going to be shifts throughout the year in the calendar, grading periods were reduced to six weeks. There has been a focus on grading and assessment to help ensure equity as a result of the impacts of COVID-19 on individual students and families. The weekly schedule also was modified, with Wednesdays becoming a hybrid day that embraced more flexible instruction and individual student support. While it is difficult to predict exactly what the next school year will look like, science teacher Dave “Mr. DJ” Johnson wants everyone to continue “to be all in and pulling in the same direction. We were flexible, resilient, and helped support wonderfully independent student learners.”

Associate Head of School Karen Snyder summed up the possibilities: “Against the odds this year we found a way to continue our traditions of excellent teaching and learning and building strong relationships. Next year we hope that there will be fewer limitations and less restrictions on being together. We found success in the hardest time, and it is exciting to think of the opportunities ahead.”