With masks and music, smiles and social distancing, Modesto schoolkids return to class
Back in August, Modesto City Schools students had their first day of instruction this academic year. Thursday, many of the youngest of them had their first day at school.
Children got quite the welcome, with cheers, the waving of pompoms, noisemakers, mascots and music — including Sonoma Elementary’s piano-playing principal.
Parents pulled down their masks to kiss their little ones goodbye. Children patiently posed for photos at school signs, though clearly eager to go see friends. The occasional little sibling bawled as the big brother or sister who’s been a constant companion at home walked off to class.
Under waivers approved by health officials, MCS and other school districts in Stanislaus County are returning transitional-kindergarten through sixth-grade children to in-person learning at least a couple of days a week. The waivers allow on-campus TK-6 instruction while counties are in the red, or widespread risk, tier of the state’s COVID-19 monitoring system.
In the learning model of the Modesto district’s TK-6 Safe Reopening Plan, children are divided into A and B groups. Group A students will attend school on Mondays and Tuesdays, while Group B is home getting the same instruction online. Thursdays and Fridays, Group B will have in-person instruction at school while Group A is at home. On Wednesdays, all students will be home, doing distance learning.
So it was Group B students who returned Thursday, and only those in TK through second grade. Group A students will have their first day back Monday. And the first group of third- through sixth-graders is set to return Nov. 30.
Home study can’t match classroom
Parents Rico and Sirina Minors dropped off their kindergartner, Kylillah, and first-grader, Rahime, at Orville Wright Elementary. Mom Sirina said distance learning went OK — “We did have a little bit of a struggle at first, but we caught onto it a little bit” — but they’re happy to have schools open again.
Connectivity wasn’t the issue, it was not having teachers right there at the kids’ side, she said.
“Sometimes we don’t know what’s really going on until we get an email or something stating that they have to do this and that,” Rico added. “So it’s good that they’re back because they can learn with the teacher and do what they need to do and have the professionalism from the teacher that they need.”
The kids also have missed being around other kids, their parents said. “They were so happy, they were up at 7 a.m.,” eager to get to school nearly 90 minutes later, Sirina said.
Mom Crystal Porter and big brother Byron walked second-grader Brighton to school. Porter said home study has been “pretty good” beyond the occasional hiccup, and the boys were keeping on top of their schoolwork. “They just didn’t like the whole being at home and not being able to go to school.”
Byron said he’s looking forward to his own return in a couple of weeks so he can be around “a lot more people. When you’re distance learning, you can only see the people in your class. So I’m excited to see more people.”
Principal Ernesto Calderon said the majority of Orville Wright parents tell staff they’re excited to bring kids back to classrooms. Some have been anxious, he said, but that’s been eased once they learn about all the health and safety protocols in place.
Across the district, those protocols include floor and ground markings showing where children must stand to remain 6 feet apart, as well as floor arrows and signage directing the flow of traffic in corridors, on playgrounds, etc. Desks have plexiglass shields on three sides, there are hand sanitizers in classrooms, and everyone is masked.
‘Everyone wants to be safe, first and foremost’
Aryan Kashefi, dropping off kindergartner Cruz at Lakewood Elementary, said distance learning was an adjustment at first but became second nature.
Cruz has been “doing all right” being away from classmates because they connect on camera sometimes and they talk during breaks. He also has been able to play with his brother, cousin and neighborhood kids.
Still, it’s a happy return to school. “I think it’s just the interaction and the emotional connection with his peers,” Aryan said. Another plus is “the discipline he gets from his teacher, somebody other than his parents.”
Reflecting on her fifth-grader’s kindergarten year compared to daughter Reagan’s current experience, mom Jillian Price said, “I think she will flourish more in person.” Price said her expectations for this academic year were low, but Reagan has a fantastic teacher in Lori Wallace. “She’s been amazing, really great at engaging the kids online.”
Classmates don’t get to interact much one-on-one over Zoom, though, Price said. And while there are small-group, in-person sessions, “my daughter is excited to actually meet friends. She’s a social butterfly and this is very exciting for her.”
Lakewood Principal Denise Powell said she, too, is thrilled to have children at school. “We have all the safety measures in place, we’ve been working really hard. I can’t thank my staff enough for their hard work and for the parents for trusting us and bringing the students back.”
She gave a tour of campus, showing such things as markers on the ground because small children can’t be expected to know what a 6-foot distance is. Teachers have three extra cloth masks for each child, to be handed out in cases like when a mask breaks or is forgotten at home.
Carts hold plastic-covered foam cushions labeled for each child to sit on when outside. After each use, the cushion is cleaned. The drinking fountains are turned off, and cases of bottled water are in various spots around the school.
“I think everyone wants to be safe, first and foremost,” Powell said. But the schools also need and want to provide the best instruction, as well as social and emotional support, she said. “Although we do build relationships with our students throughout distance learning, bringing them back just brings in that human connection.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 2:27 PM.
