People in Sam Bauer's life
Support system
Sam Bauer
Southhaven, Mississippi
Age: 16 / Grade: 11
Disability Type: Emotional disturbance
scene 1
Home
Sam takes their classes online, alongside their parents who are also working from home.
Evidence: (beginning of the year) Needs Mapper screener to assess in and out of school needs. Online Fall benchmark exam (PSAT/P-ACT) Lightweight formative assessments, e.g. Edulastic, in math course and her ELA course.
Sam's school begins offering an A/B schedule, but Sam opts into taking classes remotely.
Sam
School has always been my safe space- the place where I can be myself. But now...
Older Sibling
I’m the only one in my family that knows that Sam is nonbinary. They confide in me, so I think with me being away at school, it’s especially hard for them...
Parent
Having all of us work from home in such tight quarters is really hard. We’re irritable a lot of the time, it’s hard to focus, and it’s hard while Sam is practicing...
October; Capstone project from Art related to the election, and the teacher is surprised that they are not engaged or self-driven--engagement and self-expression. Notice a change in creativity and engagement. Sam misses the deadline and turns in work they are not proud of. Someone who used to be a safe space recognizes that things aren't ok and I need to lean in.
Response:
Group meetings via Zoom for students struggling with isolation--lifeline for struggling students.
scene 2
Politicals club
Sam attends virtual meetings for the school politics club, which they are an active member of.
Sam
I’ve been working on voter advocacy at school for the past year. We live in a conservative area... My parents themselves are very religious, and we don't agree about political issues, so with the election coming up, it’s more important than ever...
Trusted adult/head of club
I’ve found that even as unmotivated as students are right now, clubs like these are what have kept their fire lit...
Nearing the end of first quarter, a few weeks before the election
The presidential election is occurring on November 3rd, 2020
Trusted adult/head of club
The ability for students to be poll workers before they turn 18 is a very unique opportunity here that has helped us create a more politically engaged student body
Sam
I was registered to volunteer at my local polling place since I am not of age to vote, but now with the pandemic, I don't know that I'll be allowed to...
scene 3
Music
Sam's teacher has to deliver instruments to all of her students taking classes remotely so that they are able to practice and participate in band class
Start of second quarter
At the start of the school year, the app Sam always used to make music becomes a private paid subscription that they can't afford.
Sam
For all of first quarter, I wasn't able to practice my instrument or make music at all, which was tough for me since I want to pursue a career in music. My teacher was finally able to get us instruments at home, but it means I have to learn a new instrument and share it with a peer...
Band teacher
I fundraised all summer and all of first quarter to get enough instruments for our students taking classes from home. I’m currently teaching in person and doing one-on-one lessons with a handful of students. My workload has pretty much tripled...
Principal
With having to provide appropriate technology to all of our students, instuments are just bottom priority for the district...
scene 4
Therapy
Sam does therapy over Zoom with their parents in the next room
Having therapy online creates its own privacy compliancy issues
Sam
Therapy has always been a good release. However, with my parents in the next room, I definitely can't be as candid as I would want to be...
Therapist
I’ve had to create new systems with a lot of my students in order to ensure honesty and privacy without being an enclosed space. Sometimes that involves writing...
