New school year, new reality

Steve Cordle
ECB Publishing, Inc.

It has been nearly six months since Jefferson- Somerset- students and teachers entered the school grounds. On Friday, March 13, they left for spring break, expecting to return Monday, March 23. News was just breaking about a new virus that was starting to make its way around the country and health officials were starting to get nervous. A staff meeting on Thursday, March 12 informed teachers and other staff that there was a chance classes would not resume as scheduled due to the newly arrived COVID-19 virus. To prepare for the possibility of students and staff being kept at home passed spring break, Principal Cory Oliver asked teachers to prepare packets with at least two weeks' worth of work in them to send home to students. Spring break had barely started before the State of Florida ordered schools closed for a week passed spring break, a closure that eventually stretched into the rest of the 2019-2020 school year.

Aug. 10 was the scheduled start of the 2020-2021 school year, but it was delayed to for Aug 31. There are many new procedures in place for students and staff returning to school in an Aug. 24 Facebook video, principle Cory Oliver recognized the concerns many parents have about the COVID-19 virus and school reopening. He cited professional literature that suggests COVID-19 is not as easily transmitted from children to adults as originally thought and that the American Pediatrics Association suggests that it is better for “children to be in school, be amongst their peers, be in a structured settings so that they can do what they need to do in their growth and development pattern.”

Somerset finally opened for classes on Monday, Aug. 31. Some changes were apparent at the opening gate, where no one is admitted prior to 7:30 a.m. This year, parents will drop off students in the front where they will go through Pavilion 1 for temperature checks. Bus riders have temperatures checked before getting on the bus and then once at school, are dropped off at the back, at the cafeteria entrance.

This year’s first day brought many changes in procedures and, like all new procedures, there were some rough spots, but over all, according to administration, the day went pretty well. The biggest problem seemed to be with iPads that were issued to students. All aspects of connecting the iPads’ to the internet were tested except for the level where the student had to “tap on the teacher’s Zoom link.” “We didn’t test that” said Principle Cory Oliver, but “we tested everything else.” While Somerset thinks that getting the iPad issue resolved is feasible, it was determined a more efficient solution would be to have students exchange the iPads for laptops. Over the course of the first day an estimated 300 phone calls came in about IT related problems, which office staff did a very good job handling. For families that continue to have problems, an IT Zoom night is in the works so they can get online with Somerset’s IT staff to get questions answered. One of the problems faced by students wanting the remote learning option is, according to Vice Principal Andre Gainey, that 27 percent of Somerset students have consistent access to the internet at home, a challenge for which Principal Oliver is diligently working to find a solution.
For the first day, it was hoped that classroom devices would be turned on, but, as administration went through the classrooms, teachers were conducting lessons and taking questions from students at home who joined the class remotely. According to Gainey, administrators were excited that first day expectations were exceeded.

For the first day, social distancing guidelines were followed as were mask wearing guidelines, “we didn’t have any problems with anybody with masks”, remarked Vice Principal Gainey. “The only issue with masks seemed to be some teachers forgot to give students “mask breaks” wherein the students are taken outside and, with proper social distancing, can briefly remove their masks.

The smooth running delivery of cafeteria staff got food to the students for lunch while breakfast was picked up on their way in from the busses. A very efficient custodial staff has kept up with the procedures for cleaning surfaces.

The overall smooth start seems to have helped instill confidence for the coming year. As the year progresses adjustments will have to be made, but to paraphrase the school motto from a few years ago, they can rise to the challenge.