Students, staff say good-byes

By Donnie A. Lucas

What may well go down as the most unusual school year ever came to an end this week, with students saying their good-byes to teachers from a distance while turning in the final batch of weekly instructional packets.

The nine-week odyssey that started with school closures across the state, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, concluded about as abruptly as it began.

Students at the secondary campus followed a tight schedule in five-minute segments to clean out lockers and return school property, including the computer laptop that became the lifeline for instruction for grades 7-12 since the closure.

At the elementary school, students drove through the front circle last Friday to turn in work packets and catch one last glimpse of teachers socially distanced on the sidewalks waving their final greetings of the 2019-2020 school year.

“It has been unusual,” superintendent Jonathan Scott said. “We all hope things will get back to normal over the summer, and we can start the next school in August with students at school.”

First-year elementary principal John Gallagher said that despite the challenges, the year ended well.

“This was definitely a very unique school year,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it and look forward to the excitement of next year.”

The principal said that students came with their parents to drive through the circle one last time to wave to teachers.

“I think they got some closure to the year that way,” Gallagher said.

He reported that participation in remote learning went well, with just a few students who still needed to turn in work as of Tuesday.

Report cards for the campus will be mailed to parents on Friday.

While in-person summer school seemed to get the green light from the governor on Monday, plans were still in the works locally for the campus.

“We are still working on the final details, but we will have a lot to report next week,” he said. “We will be teaming up with ResourceCare and their summer program for some of our instruction.”

At the secondary campus, counselor Jenny Scott said that most students completed their work and turned in everything as scheduled.

“It took a lot of work to complete all of the credits the seniors needed, with over 10 in danger of not graduating a few weeks ago,” she said. “As of this week, all 41 seniors have the credits to graduate, so I am proud of them for getting it done.”

She stated that wasn’t the case for all underclassmen.

“We had a few students who struggled with completing their work, so now they will need to regain credits in summer school or take those courses over in the fall,” the counselor said. “We will be offering online summer school through our Edgenuity program starting in June.”

Principal Edward Morales said that students and parents will be notified next week if they need to regain credits in summer school.

Students will report to the school on Monday, June 8 to be issued a computer and the necessary login information. They must complete the work at home by June 26.

Morales described the last few weeks as unusual as well.

“We had to change everything on the fly, and it turned out better than was expected for the most part,” he said. “Most of our students and the staff adjusted well to the changes. The teachers really adapted well to a completely different teaching format and style.”

The secondary campus will also be mailing report cards to parents by Friday, with letters going out May 29 to the parents of students who need to recover credit during summer school.

Teachers will be at school for workdays on Thursday and until noon on Friday. 

Graduation is set for Saturday, May 23 at 10:00 a.m. at the football field.