Super Cool

MY DAUGHTER KEEVA'S first experience on Zoom preschool last April was pretty telling: She wandered off every few minutes, technical difficulties occurred on both sides, and she refused to wear clothes. Virtual learning was off the table before it was ever on the table. At the time, Keeva was only three and a half, so the decision to pull her out of pre-K felt like an easy one—after all, I’d recently been laid off, so I would be home, plus everything would be back to normal by the fall (it had to be, right?!).

As weeks and eventually months passed, as the days lost all structure, we knew we had to come up with another plan. We reached out to my mother-in-law, Rosanne Skinner (a University of Portland grad, Class of 1968, recently retired), who had been an elementary school teacher and reading specialist for over 40 years. Rosanne and I had many conversations about what the solution might be for Keeva’s schooling. Maybe she could just set us up and give me a crash course in teaching. Instead, when cases started to decline in late summer, she booked a one-way flight from Vancouver, WA, to New Jersey.

On Keeva’s first day of school, she put on her backpack and best outfit and proudly marched up the stairs to her “super cool” new classroom. Over the next six months, Keeva impressed us with her ability to adapt, her incredible memory, and her natural affinity for science and reading—but she was only half of the equation.

Rosanne was the other half. She had never taught children as young as Keeva before—so she saw it as a challenge, one she embarked upon with gusto. Day by day, as cheers and giggles began to erupt from the classroom upstairs, it became clear why Rosanne was often referred to as “the best teacher ever” by her past students. Besides navigating the role of being both Keeva’s teacher and her grandmother with ease, she poured immense energy and enthusiasm into this “job” on a daily basis. We were floored.

At a time where some children don’t have access to any education at all, we consider ourselves incredibly lucky that Keeva has a grandparent who was willing and able to move across the country during a pandemic to ensure her education was taken care of. The other day Rosanne reminded me how lucky she has felt throughout this whole journey too. As she described it, teaching Keeva was her “happy place”—something that allowed her to escape the anxieties of the pandemic and focus on something she truly loved (and still loves) doing.

There really aren’t adequate words to describe what Rosanne did for Keeva these past six months. Yes, she taught Keeva reading, math, geography, and science, but Rosanne did something else completely immeasurable. She grew Keeva’s confidence, she nurtured her curiosity, and she gave her structure when there was very little of that to be found elsewhere. In the end, education became a salve for our whole family during this crazy year—the teacher, the student, and those of us lucky enough to witness the unadulterated joy that learning something new can bring.

DANIELA ZANGARA knows she hit the mother-in-law jackpot. It is worth noting that both Pat Moran ’70, Keeva’s grandfather, and Daniela (unbeknownst to each other) submitted an essay about Rosanne for the Portland contest. Unfortunately, we only had room for one!