The sudden transition to Lincoln Way North left our teachers to adapt to new circumstances in under 48 hours. After the physical transition from Central to North in one day, teachers had to focus on adjusting the curriculum to fit the shorter amount of instruction just in time for students to enter the building the very next day. Some teachers have to travel even farther to Lincoln Way North making it an even longer day for our hard-working teachers. Additionally, there are teachers who travel between the two schools who have an even longer commute to teach upperclassmen. All of these things were big obstacles in moving to North but it was something they have overcome and is now a normal routine.
Remember the first day of high school? You don’t know a lot of people, there’s new teachers, and overall you’re still figuring out who you are in the midst of a thousand other kids doing the same thing. Now add an entire building, time, and new bus schedule but do your best to remain calm. It’s crazy to think about, but for our class of 2027, it’s a reality. Our freshmen are resilient because they have overcome the challenges by coming together and learning to navigate North well.
Our wonderful principal, staff, and custodial workers have also been doing amazing! They have worked hard and supported each other throughout this whole experience and are still working on bringing back the welcoming atmosphere of Central for the freshmen. They have done numerous things to remind the class of 2027 what it means to be a Porter. One of the coolest things they did to the building is put up posters to remind them that even though they’re at a different school, they’re still a porter. There’s a sign that says, “Class of 2027” when you walk in the door surrounded by balloons. Every teacher was given a “You don’t have to be in Lockport to be a Porter” sticker, and overall the kindness and joy shown everyday is enough to see the love and care our staff has for our school and it’s students.
All of these combined reasons are why Lockport has the phrase, “Porter Pivot.” Porter Pivot is the term they use to describe the transition the students had to endure, but one they can say with pride as it has helped bring them closer together. This was a scary and a hard time for Lockport, but we did what Lockport does best: come together. Porter Pivot isn’t just the students or the staff, it’s the every day effort our Porters put into those changes, despite these hard circumstances, and has an impact on them and the community. The love, generosity, kindness, and overall gratitude that Porters have for this school has been shown tremendously over the last few weeks. Like they said, you don’t have to be in Lockport to be a porter!
