COVID-19 has hit school districts hard all over the country.
Teachers have had to figure out new ways to teach.
Principals have had to figure out new ways to lead.
Educators nationwide have had to fill gaps and cover duties for others stuck in quarantine.
Everyone has had to step up.
North East ISD isn’t immune.
Recently, the boys head soccer coach at Churchill High School had to quarantine.
That gave the JV coach, Phillip Bartlett, a chance to step up.
“Our coaches never complain, they just do their job,” said Churchill Principal Todd Bloomer.
That move left Bartlett without an assistant coach. Seeing a need to be filled, Assistant Principal Jennifer Aguilar, joined Bartlett on the sidelines.
“At first they seemed puzzled. Why would a Curriculum AP be on the soccer sideline,” said Aguilar. “As I gave advice to players individually, I think they saw I actually know a little about soccer. And I was not completely new at coaching boys—as a Club soccer coach, I often covered for boys teams.”
As it turns out, before becoming an Assistant Principal at Churchill, Aguilar coached soccer. In 2012, her team made it all the way to state.
“I promised myself I would sit quietly and be there just for any emergency that arose,” said Aguilar.
“But, as the games got more competitive, I found myself doing more coaching than I had planned. I even apologized to the coaches and promised I would be quieter the next time. Both Coach L and Coach Bartlett were gracious and continued to allow me to help out.“
Churchill won the first game with Aguilar’s help on the sidelines.
“As a leadership team, and as a campus, we know that we are stronger together—whether in athletics, academics, extracurriculars, anything,” said Aguilar. “Hopefully I can sit on the sidelines again some time (quietly, of course) because watching this team was such a great experience for me and helped me connect back to WC in a familiar way.”
Assistant Principal Aguilar, who can now add Coach as a title, is showing how #NEISDcares.
