Phillip Woods needs no alarm clock.
“I just automatically wake up at 4 a.m. every day, because I have so much on my mind,” said Woods, principal of Woodland Hills High School in Churchill. “I am continuously thinking about our students and their families and our teachers and our staff and our community. This is a time like we’ve never seen before.”
When the state ordered all schools to close for two weeks, starting March 16, Woods formulated a plan. That changed on March 30, when Gov. Tom Wolf extended the closures indefinitely. Then, on April 9, Wolf announced the closure of all schools in Pennsylvania until the end of the academic year.
“Everything’s been changing so quickly, you have to be ready to adapt,” he said. “You have to make sure the students have all the tools they need to learn.”
Woods, an Aliquippa native, in late March started an initiative to get laptops to all of his students.
“My initial concern was for the seniors, and I was worried they might not get enough days of instruction to graduate on time,” he said. “So, we started issuing laptops from the library, but the supply got low.”
He devised a fundraiser for Chromebooks as schools transitioned to virtual instruction.
In addition to the fundraising campaign, Woods involved the nonprofit Woodland Hills Foundation.
With financial assistance, the district purchased 650 Chromebooks.
The next step was getting the laptops to all the students in the district as well as assisting them with internet access. There were opportunities for free and low-cost Wi-Fi options, Woods said.
He discovered families that needed multiple devices, so that fueled a second stage of acquiring laptops.
“We have never had to prepare for this long of a closure,” said Woods, who is in his second year as the high school’s principal. “We are always prepared for things like snow days and water main breaks, temporary closures. Every school in the country is re-evaluating the virtual teaching and learning process.”
Woods has been hosting a lot of virtual meetings to keep staff and administration informed.
“We never wanted to panic,” he said. “We just wanted to stay focused on the goal of getting the laptops to the students so they can learn and finish the school year. I am so thankful for everyone in this community who has helped make this happen. And we will be prepared for whatever the future will bring. I will continue to wake up early to stay on top of all of it.”
