And from now through early September, other public and private schools in Butler County will start of the new school year under the continued threat of the pandemic.
Some school systems will hold in-person classes five days a week, others will try hybrid schedules combining in-person and home remote learning on alternating days, while some K-12 districts such as Middletown - which also begins Monday - and Talawanda Schools will begin their years with remote learning.
“A lot of students are anxious because we didn’t know what to expect,” said Butler Tech high school junior Ella Staggs. “But this is our new normal.”
New school days, new school ways
School experts are alerting families and students there is a coming onslaught of challenges waiting for those who are returning to in-person classes for the first time since all public and private schools were ordered shuttered in March.
And the new normal begins on school day mornings even before students leave their homes.
Some, but not all, of the new daily school procedures include:
Most schools require school families to take their children’s temperatures and note any possible coronavirus symptoms.
Besides their usual textbooks, laptops and school supplies, students also have to pack at least one protective mask, a refillable bottle of water – water fountains at schools are turned off as a health safety measure – and many more are packing their lunches given the newly limited offerings at school cafeterias.
Student social distancing begins with fellow masked classmates at the bus stop. Once on the buses students may have assigned seats or be limited to two per seat. The bus windows will be open – weather permitting – to enhance air circulation to lessen the chances of any airborne coronavirus spread.
Entering school buildings will be more controlled and monitored than in the past as staffers will be making sure all students are masked.
New signage will remind them to wear their masks and maintain social distancing. Every school teacher and staffer they encounter will also be wearing a mask.
They may or may not have access to school lockers as determined by each school.
Even walking through hallways is different, as some schools are designating one-way hallways and stairs to lessen the pedestrian density between class bells.
Classrooms will have fewer desks and spaced farther apart. They may be required to disinfect their desks before they move on to another class. Students will have assigned desks and will be discouraged from moving near classmates.
Class periods have been changed – some lengthened - to help lessen the frequency of hallway traffic between bells.
Lunch time may see students eating their packed lunches at their desks. And in the cafeteria, more assigned and spaced seating with restricted capacity limits.
Throughout the school, students will find recently installed barriers and plastic sheets designed to block air droplet transmission of coronavirus.
Specially designated rooms – separate from other classes - will be used to temporarily place students who report symptoms while they wait for parents to pick them up for a trip home.
Some classes, weather permitting, will be held outside including at some schools band and choir practices.
Recess times will be closely monitored to assure students – especially younger students – play at safe distance.
Dispenser bottles of hand sanitizer with signs encouraging students to use them often will be placed throughout the buildings. After just two days of classes at Butler Tech’s Bioscience Center, Staggs said “my hands are already getting dried out.”
Experts: Treat these precautions as the new normal
This year’s back-to-school is an extraordinary and potentially fearful time for students and their parents, said University of Cincinnati’s Laura Dell, associate dean for the school’s College of Education.
The key, said Dell, who is also a parent of a school-age child, is for parents to show the way for their children.
“If we (parents) don’t get stressed, the children won’t get stressed. If we treat this as normal, they will treat it as normal,” she said.
But the challenges are still daunting, said the 25-veteran of public schools, adding “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The preparations go beyond meeting the physical safety needs of students to also addressing their mental health, said area school officials. Betsy Fuller, spokeswoman for Lakota Schools said “we know that some of our students will have concerns about returning to our buildings.”
“Our counselors are prepared to help our students navigate through this. We also have mental health therapists at each of our buildings through our partnership with MindPeace (mental health counselors),” said Fuller. “And, of course, our teachers will support our students through this time of adjustment.”
Fairfield Schools Superintendent Billy Smith has long advocated for more mental health counselors for his 10,000-student district and recently announced additional counselors in his schools.
“We recognize that this school year will be unlike any other school year we’ve experienced. There will be lots of changes and we are prepared to meet our students where they are and provide them with the supports they need,” said Smith
After a few days in classes at Butler Tech, which was the first in the area to open, it was clear there will be mental challenges for some students, said Staggs.
Meeting new teachers and peers can already be tough for teenagers without the adding physical burdens of masks and social distancing, she said.
“It’s little bit challenging to meet new people when you can’t sit face to face or be next to each other. And it’s hard to build a real connection with your teacher when you only see them twice a week (under hybrid, alternate-day scheduling),” she said.
Everyone needs to keep in mind there’s never been a back-to-school like this and give the new school strategies a chance to work, said Edgewood Schools Superintendent Russ Fussnecker.
“I strongly believe flexibility, patience, and understanding will be key elements to a successful reopening of our schools,” said Fussnecker.
Fuller, whose Lakota district is the largest suburban system in southwest Ohio, advises both students and parents to remain mindful some of the new school procedures may change if the rate of local coronavirus infections increase.
“The district has worked, and continues to work, very closely with the Butler County health commissioner. We look to them, as well as other health experts, for guidance as the safety of our staff and students is always our top priority,” said Fuller.
But, she added, “this remains a fluid situation and we will make adjustments as needed.”
University of Cincinnati College of Education Associate Dean Laura Dell says it’s important for families to approach mask-wearing to protect from the coronavirus in “a positive way.”
“Talk to children about keeping people healthy rather than keeping people from getting sick,” said Dell.
Some tips from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center include: Practice at home before school year begins; be a role model by wearing a mask too; give kids incentives for wearing masks correctly and give them masks break times as they adjust.
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