Wyoming Education Association

Spring 2020

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Like so many education support professionals across the nation, Tom Bushyhead no longer serves his students inside their regular classrooms. Bushyhead is a special education paraprofessional at Arapahoe Middle School on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Fremont County. So far, Fremont County has been the hardest hit in Wyoming, in terms of confirmed COVID-19 cases. These days, you'll find Bushyhead wo rking with his 17 students virtually, or doing home visits, talking with families from the driver's seat of his Suburban. "I collaborate with parents and sometimes students while making sure that we keep our distance and follow social distancing protocols," Bushyhead told WEA News. "I'm pretty safe, and I'm pretty positive about everything," said Bushyhead. "But, it's hard because you want to get out and s ee the kids." In March, Bushyhead began doing food deliveries, bringing students meals at home. "These deliveries are critical," said Bushyhead. "It's always hard on the reservation because we don't always know exactly where these students are coming from." By April, Bushyhead was shifted from meal deliveries back into serving his special education students under a head teacher. "I'm just here trying to ser ve our students to ensure that they get the best quality education possible," said Bushyhead. "I want to make sure that we're following the guidelines of their IEPs." Continued learning for special education students in a virtual environment has proven to be challenging for some families. The district was able to provide students with Wi-Fi hotspots and Chromebooks. Teachers are able to monitor students' online activity in their virtual learning environment. But, engagement in online learning has varied greatly across the student body. Serving Tom Bushyhead holds a Certificate of Recognition, standing in front of photos of the sports teams that he coaches at Arapahoe Middle School. By: Amanda Turner 14

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