The usual first day jitters in schools in and around Longmont are compounded by the mystery surrounding the COVID-19 virus, according to teachers and officials.
But school officials are making adjustments to educate the thousands of students filtering into local and virtual classrooms this week and the next.
“It really is trial and error in many ways,” said Jessica Flannery, sixth-year kindergarten teacher at Longmont Estates Elementary School. “But the kids are excited. The parents are really gracious and understanding and happy we will be adding a little structure in their kids’ lives.
“Our principal has been great and as a staff we are supporting each other as we go,” Flannery added.
She admits this school year is not like any other in big ways and small.
“It’s very strange for us because usually we are putting name tags on tables so the kids know where to sit,” Flannery said. “Not this year.”
Most of the more than 32,000 students in the St. Vrain Valley School District reported to online classes Tuesday to start the fall semester. Remote learning was deemed the safest way to begin the school year at least through September.
By Oct. 1, the district expects to revert to a hybrid model of online and in-person instruction.
Superintendent Don Haddad applauded the work of district personnel in pulling off a successful first day of school.
"St. Vrain Valley School's teachers and staff did a great job today and their energy and enthusiasm was at very high levels as they welcomed our students to the 20-21 school year," Haddad said on Twitter.
Almost 3,000 students in St. Vrain also have registered for the district’s LaunchED Virtual Academy, said school district spokeswoman Kerri McDermid. But there were glitches with the program.
"It has been a strong start to the year for all students, however, just as we experience at the start of any traditional school year, there are always logistics to work through in the first few days of classes -particularly when students are transitioning to a new school environment," district spokeswoman Kerri McDermid said in an email Wednesday.
Enrollment for LaunchED opened on July 20, however many families waited until the last few days of the enrollment window on Aug. 12 to register their students, McDermid said. "The team has been working quickly to onboard those students and families into the program and our teachers and staff have done an incredible job working with students and families to ensure they have any changes to their schedules finalized and technology access," she said.
Jessica Flannery, in her kindergarten classsroom at Longmont Estates Elementary. (Photo by Eunice Peinado/Courtesy of St. Vrain Valley School District)Flannery said she and other teachers will instruct squirming kindergartners in synchronous, interactive learning for about 15 minutes at a time and frequently break for movement.
“We do a lot of movement breaks and that’s what we would do typically in person as well,” she said. “I understand kids get fidgety. I do as well.”
Michelle Phelan has two sons in St. Vrain Valley School District — Aiden, who is a freshman at Skyline High, and Caleb, a sixth grader at Westview Middle School. The first day went well for both from a technology standpoint, she said, praising Skyline staff for helping new high schoolers navigate their new world, and Westview for helping new sixth graders learn how to switch classes and allowing them time to do so.
And the first day of online learning came with a bonus for their mom, too.
“One of the perks is I got to have lunch with both my boys,” she said.
Aiden Phelan and Chip Tuesday, his first day as a freshman at Skyline High School in Longmont. (Photo courtesy of Michelle Phelan)“They are really missing their friends,” she said.
“One of the highlights of returning to school is reconnecting and making new connections,” which was a missing piece of the boys’ start at new schools, she said.
All K-8 students at Dawson School in Lafayette reported for in-person classes today. High school students will report Monday, said Head of School George Moore.
Students will get health screenings in the morning and adhere to public health guidelines, including wearing masks and social distancing, Moore said.
Dawson’s plan to go ahead with in-person learning this semester prompted some St. Vrain Valley parents to enroll their children at the 520-student private school, Moore said.
Dawson School Lower School Director David D'Ercole gives an air fist bump to a student on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of Dawson School)“The district’s decision to take the hybrid approach certainly generated some interest by local parents when they learned we were doing in-person education,” Moore said. “We lost some enrollment like we usually do but gained that back through our in-person approach.”
At Desiderata School in Longmont, each student will get packets of supplies including hand sanitizers, tissues and masks if they need one, said director Abbi Reese.
The school, which opened in 1989, will open Monday with a hybrid approach of online learning and in-person instruction to start the school year, Reese said.
“We did it that way so we can implement new sanitation requirements and health protocols to make sure our students stay safe,” she said.
“People lose track sometimes that we are a small business and we have to take measures to make sure people are comfortable with sending their children here. You can only have so many backup plans. You have to make sure things go right.”
