Ridgecrest stays in touch

Since March 25, every weekday morning finds the Ridgecrest Academy “family” gathering around a Zoom meeting for a virtual check-in. “The uncertainty in today’s situation has been overwhelming for all of us at times,” said Special Education teacher Kate Bulmahn. “It’s important to connect with students on both a social and emotional level to help them find healthy ways to cope.”

The teachers and social workers take turns leading the meetings. The seventh- and eighth-grade students and staff play games, discuss life and participate in mindfulness activities. “Students have become more comfortable with the format as time goes by,” said Bulmahn. “At first very few students showed their face or shared. Now we have four or five students who participate daily. We’ve seen almost all of the students at least once.”
In addition to these meetings, several staff members have set up google voice numbers so that they can easily talk and text with students and families.

“This has been a difficult time for everyone, but this how we stay connected,” said Bulmahn. “It’s definitely better than nothing, but we’d all rather be at Ridgecrest.”