First Day of School 2021 had a little extra shine on it. COVID protocols require classrooms, buses, tables, playground equipment and high-touch surfaces be cleaned and sanitized several times per day.
On Wednesday, Savannah-Chatham County's students, teachers and staff arrived at their respective schools in person for the first time in more than a year.
The only virtual students are those enrolled in Savannah-Chatham E-learning Academy.
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Parents experiencing issues with transportation should call the transportation hotline at 912-395-6055.
Socialization, communication, sharing, taking turns, being kind, and learning from each other is a big part of what happens at school each day. Because of the COVID pandemic, all those activities are now combined with sanitizing, frequent hand washing, refilling individual water bottles, and wearing a face mask indoors.
Mask mandate:Savannah-Chatham schools will require students, staff to wear face masks
Ann Levett, district superintendent, did her annual First Day of School tour at several schools on Wednesday. Levett was scheduled to make stops at Hodge and Pulaski elementary schools, Godley Station/New Hampstead K-8, and the athletic complex at Islands High School.
"We're excited that they all have this opportunity to do schooling," Levett said during her visit to Hodge. "It's a human enterprise and it's really about learning to get along, learning about how to manage your space and your time. All those those things, they may not have had experience to doin the past 18 months."
The schools are not able to do the social distancing, she added, because the goal is to get all the students into school. Meal times will be staggered and recess times will be staggered so staff can clean between groups of kids.
While many parents waited in the drop-off line in the front of the schools, a few students and parents walked and entered the school at a side entrance. For those walkers, school district student resource officers and crossing guards were on hand to help them navigate their way to school.
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Willie Burgess is a crossing guard at the corner of 52nd and Bullock, less than a quarter mile from the school. On this first day, Burgess said she had about 10 children crossing the street. She added, "These cars are going way to fast."
School District Police Chief Terry Enoch was also at the corner and said, "Trust me, [the Savannah Police Department] traffic people are all over right now." He mentioned the city's pending installation of speed cameras near some schools, adding, "[It] is definitely going to slow a lot of people down. They're going to be paying someheavy fines."
In front of the entrance to Hodge Elementary, two people representing the Port City Bar Association were there to welcome the students. They were standing outside Hodge with poster signs and air-high-fiving the students, telling them to have a good year.
Association PresidentDiane McLeod said they wanted to tell the students representation matters, and, "They can grow up to be whatever they want to be," she said.
Sherry McLean, parent of three students at Hodge waiting in the car line, said, "Sometimes I'm more excited than they are. I was up early.
"Last year was tough with everybody being at home trying to figure out how this [virtual school] works," she said. "This year it's really great to be in-person with all the teachers. They are really looking forward to it. I love that the school is taking precautions, even during open house.I saw them cleaning, wiping down everything. I'm not worried about them keeping my kids safe."
'Both excited and nervous':Savannah-Chatham students, parents prepare for first day of school
In anticipation
On the day before school started, school staff offered their perspectives.
"The school has come alive," said Jim Roszkowiak, principal of Gould Elementary School. "The teachers coming back and the students coming back. The teachers are just chomping at the bit to get their kids back in the classrooms."
“I am very excited to be back in the classroom and to see my students face to face,” said Ernie Lee, a history/social studies teacher at Savannah Arts Academy, on Tuesday. “While virtual learning has its place, there is nothing like being back in the schoolhouse, building rapport with students in the hallway and cafeteria. From our Open House, students seemed to be excited to be back as well.”
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Lee is a past district and state Teacher of the Year (2016), and transferred to Savannah Arts Academy from Windsor Forest High School for 2021-22.
“I am super excited to welcome students back into the classroom this week,” said Kathy Whitney from Marshpoint Elementary School on the day before school started.“I hope to spend the week getting to know my students and making sure all my first graders feel safe and ready to learn.” Whitney was the district’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.
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“The pandemic has created opportunities for collaboration and innovation beyond what we have ever experienced,” said Rachel Hurst, principal and Georgetown K-8 School, the day before school started. “Having our students and teachers all together again is very exciting as it allows for us to expand what we've learned over the past months and continue to grow our students.”
For 2021-22, Hurst transferred to be the principal at Georgetown K-8 from Largo-Tibet where she lead the school to its Leader in Me Lighthouse designation in 2020-21.
Barbara Augsdorfer is the education and nonprofits reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Reach her at BAugsdorfer@gannett.com or on Twitter @Babs7983.
