(Atlantic) Monday marked the first day of school for many districts across Iowa. Students exiting their cars, walking, and biking to school is a sight not seen since the Middle of March when schools abruptly closed their doors due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Atlantic Schools Superintendent Steve Barber says the first two days of school went well. He says they made a few adjustments on Tuesday and corrected some things, but overall, things are going well. “Hats off to all the people that worked hard preparing for this, “said Barber. “The preparation paid off, and it was exciting Monday morning as I walked through the buildings. The students had a lot of positive energy and happy to see their teachers and classmates. And the teachers reciprocated that as well. So it felt good.”
Barber says in many cases, students are learning from two separate classrooms as the district continues to work through social distancing. “The biggest change and challenge for our staff is technology, and we serve students in two different rooms and remotely at the same time, and that’s going to take some time,” stated Barber. “We’re grateful for the amount of infrastructure with all of our technology, and the ability to do all this either remotely or on-site is a blessing for us.”
Social distancing has also changed the transportation format for students transported by bus to and from school. “We have route buses and added a couple of transfer buses to keep our social distancing,” said Barber. “Family members are kept close together on route buses and separated apart from others.”
Barber says there are currently 60 students within the district learning remotely.
