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The Impact of a Global Pandemic on

Teaching: A Narrative of Two Veteran

Middle School Teachers in Hawaii

By Carli Miyashiro

The 2019–2020 school year started traditionally with the majority of students learning in a
face-to-face model. However, by the end of March 2020, all schools in the United States would
shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Decker et al., 2020). Teachers needed to switch
quickly from traditional teaching to a new model of online, distance education. This qualitative
narrative study shares stories on how COVID-19 impacted the teaching of two veteran middle
school teachers in the Campbell-Kapolei Complex in the Leeward District on the island of Oahu.
Through a series of four interviews, two teachers provided data about how to survive through a
pandemic: human connection, use of technology, and stakeholder support.

he 2019–2020 school year started the same as others; students across the United
TStates showed up in the fall to their traditional, face-to-face classes. However,
public kindergarten through high school (K–12) education quickly changed because
of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Decker et al. (2020) reported that, by March 25,
2020, all schools in the United States were closed, with the Hawaii Department of
Education (HIDOE) closing schools after the third quarter, which ended on March
13, 2020 (HIDOE, 2020a). School closures in Hawaii caused teachers to close their
grade books and only provide enrichment activities for their students to complete
through the rest of the school year (HIDOE, 2020a). This quick transition to distance
education from face-to-face education took teachers by surprise. Many had to switch
gears quickly and find new ways to support students when grades did not count but
students still needed to learn to be prepared for the next grade level.
Throughout the summer, little direction evolved regarding how the 2020–
2021 school year would start. Then, a few days before the official August start
date, the HIDOE and the Board of Education postponed the first day of school
by 2 weeks (HIDOE, 2020b). During those 2 weeks without students, teachers
received professional development on technology programs and time to complete a
mandatory seven-module lesson on teaching effectively online (Hawaii State Teacher
Association, 2020). These lessons were required to be completed by the new start of
school but still left teachers feeling uncertain and underprepared.
In May 2021, the superintendent announced all HIDOE schools would return
to full face-to-face learning for the next school year (HIDOE, 2021). Each public
school in the state followed five core essential strategies for the upcoming 2021–2022
school year: (a) promotion of vaccinations, (b) wellness checks, (c) staying home if
sick, (d) correct mask-wearing both indoors and outdoors, and (e) hand hygiene. In
addition, the HIDOE recommended keeping students 3 feet apart, keeping students
in cohorts or bubbles, opening doors and windows to increase ventilation, and using
air filtration systems for rooms and offices without windows (HIDOE, 2022b). As
the COVID-19 numbers eventually decreased, the HIDOE announced that, effective
March 9, 2022, mask-wearing would be optional outside but mandatory inside
buildings, classrooms, and offices (HIDOE, 2022a).

52 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators