WINSTON-SALEM — Within a week of schools shifting to online learning in March, St. Leo School’s remote teaching protocols were up and running, and Principal Gary Callus said that smooth transition was due in large part to one of its teachers: Callie Moore.
“Ms. Moore is very adept with technology and had used Zoom for video calls before,” Callus said. “She worked with the middle school staff on how to use the digital platforms and set up schedules. She was in constant contact with parents as well.”
Moore, who teaches sixth through eighth grade history and sixth-grade language arts, is being honored as the school’s teacher of the year for 2019-2020.
Moore is completing her sixth year teaching, the last five of which have been at St. Leo School.
“Ms. Moore is a great teacher,” Callus said. “During this pandemic, her leadership skills have shown. She didn’t have to be asked. She stepped up and took the lead to help a lot of teachers and even the parents who were not as knowledgeable with the technology.
“She spearheaded the initiative online – that kind of leadership is invaluable.”
Moore said her teaching strengths are technology and creativity. Most of her lessons were already Google-based prior to the changes put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it was easy to switch to virtual classwork, she said. And she added ways to make the lessons more interactive at home.
“The digital world comes easy for me,” Moore said. “I’m glad I could help make the other teachers’ lives a little bit easier.”
Callus said all of the teachers do a tremendous job at St. Leo School.
“We had great feedback from our parents on how the teachers adapted and how the students continued learning when schools were closed (to in-person classes),” he noted.
Students relate well to Moore, Callus said.
“Students love Ms. Moore,” he said. “She’s as adept as many of the students are with technology. She has a very good bond with both the students who enjoy technology and those who need more help with the technology.”
Students adapted quickly to learning at home, Moore said, discovering “to communicate with each other in a whole different way.”
But even with all the technology, Moore echoed the sentiments of every teacher in saying that she missed interacting with her students in the classroom and hearing their stories.
— Kimberly Bender, Online reporter