45: Leah Quay

Teacher, Elwyn opportunity School

Leah is a Teacher at the Elwyn Opportunity School. Her household consists of herself, her husband, and 4 children, one of which has Epilepsy and was a freshman in the 2020 year at Kutztown University. Leah continued to work through the pandemic. Her husband was out of work for a few months due to the shutdown. All the children were home and simultaneously virtually taking school classes, while Leah was teaching (mainly virtually) and working with her own students.

Elwyn Opportunity School deals primarily with children who are emotionally challenged. These special children needed additional care during this time as they best learn and respond to in-person, hands-on experiences. She and her fellow teachers would make arrangements to have parental meetings, direct the students to fun/learning websites, put together project bags of art, cooking and other activities. They themselves would drive and deliver them to the homes of their students. The goal was to keep the kids engaged and active. This continued for 14 months, until in-school classes were once again started.

She expressed that she saw teachers and staff “step up” to help all of their students, especially the lower income students.

In the future, she hopes (without discounting all the tragedies that have happened) that we as a people learn to live with this virus, as it may not go away entirely, as some viruses don’t. And, she hopes that we rise above the fears and come back strong.