Virtual burnout.

We’re all feeling it.

This time last year we were starting to learn about COVID-19 but had no real understanding of the impact it would have.

On March 12, 2020 we all said, “Oh we’ll be back at the office in a few weeks.”

Well. One year later here we are. Still working and living almost completely in the virtual space.

When we first all had to quickly “pivot” to virtual work last year, the entire GEAR UP community quickly jumped into action. Programs were finding and implementing innovative ways to hold tutoring online, to conduct family engagement workshops virtually, and establishing ways to  stay connected to their students, families, and communities.

We were right there with you. We wanted to make sure we were supporting you through this incredibly challenging time, and most importantly, staying connected.

Perhaps perfectly coincidental, one of the GEAR UP code words at the 2019 NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference was CONNECTION. This past year has shown us how important connection is and how we can still find connection despite not being in-person.

All of this led us to the NCCEP Community Engagement Initiative.

Link to the video on Twitter here. 

So, here we are, nearly a year later. We know sitting in front of big screens, medium screens, small screens at home every day over the past year has been fatiguing. Sometimes it’s hard to think about how can we innovate further and be more creative … can we really one-up everything we have all accomplished over the past year? We can. And this is why we want to hear from you!

Please contact any one of us on the Community Engagement Initiative committee to share your story in an upcoming Quad Blog or social media campaign. Share your successes (and resources!) with your GEAR UP family!

We know that if we keep to the GEAR UP Code and support CONNECTION within our community, we will continue to get through this together.