The Coshocton County Beacon September 17, 2020 | Page 4

4 • The Beacon September 17, 2020
School year getting off to smooth start
The first day of school is always
filled with excitement and
nervousness. This year, thanks to
COVID-19, the students and staff
had an extended break and many
new regulations that had to be followed
when the schools opened
up. Local schools report few problems,
and students and staff are
happy to be back together.
Ridgewood Local School District
superintendent Mike Masloski
said about 20% of their students
chose remote learning to start the
year, but that number has dropped
to about 14%, and students in his
district can return to their classrooms
at any time.
“I am very proud of our students
and staff with the new protocols
and transitions with face
masks, social distancing, and sanitizing
and disinfecting,” he said.
Masloski said the district is
adjusting and adapting every day
to improve their students’ learning
environment. Ridgewood students
are attending five days a week.
About 30% of River View
Local Schools students chose
remote learning to start their school
year. “We have face-to-face learning
taking place four days a week
with Monday being remote for all
students,” superintendent Dalton
Summers said.
Summers said the district
doesn’t have enough staff to designate
some teachers for remote
only. Mondays give staff time to
assess students’ work, plan for the
week and meet in required team
meetings.
“The new regulations are difficult,
but they are manageable,”
Summers said. “Students are doing
an excellent job with masks. Surprisingly,
that’s students of all ages.
This doesn’t mean they are always
comfortable, and I am certain they
would love to get rid of them.”
Summers said in-person school
has changed a lot with elementary
students staying with the same
group all day and desk barriers
between students. “When I am
speaking to the students, they all
tell me they are glad to be back,”
he said. “Kids need socialization.
Socialization is healthy and necessary
for development.”
River View has had a few technical
issues with remote learning,
and an order of Chromebooks for
students was delayed. The students
that chose remote learning
can return to face-to-face learning
at the end of the first quarter if
they want.
“
If there is one
thing this entire
process has taught
us is that the value
of public instruction
cannot be overstated.
We are thrilled to
have students back
and engaged in
learning.
”
Dalton Summers
“We had to determine different
cut-offs so that we could safely and
efficiently plan accordingly,” Summers
said. “If there is one thing this
entire process has taught us is that
the value of public instruction cannot
be overstated. We are thrilled
to have students back and engaged
in learning. We just want to thank
this entire community for continuing
to support us and work with us
through this time.”
Coshocton Elementary School
has 269 online students working
remotely.
“We are asking that students
not transfer from one learning
option to another except at the
end of the semester,” principal
Dave Skelton said. “However, any
student who may be experiencing
extenuating circumstances will be
permitted to transfer.”
The first few days of school
went very well for those who
chose the face-to-face option.
“The first few days have been
highly successful,” Skelton said.
“Students are having almost no
problems wearing a face mask,
they are maintaining a 6-foot
distance from others, and they are
regularly washing their hands or
using hand sanitizer. Our youngest
students are learning how to
effectively wash their hands with
the help of their teachers. Students
are learning many things under
the guidance of their classroom
teachers; that is impressive considering
we have been apart for
six months. For example, (Sept.
10) I personally watched great
lessons being taught in English,
math, science and social studies.
The students were actively
involved and learning. It has been
a great week, and we expect this to
only get better.”
Skelton encourages parents to
talk to their children at home and
reinforce the work their children
see at school each day. “Together
we will help our students improve
and become better students and
outstanding young people,” he
said.
Coshocton High School principal
Grant Fauver said his building,
which is grade 7-12, has
approximately 62% of its students
attending face to face while 38%
chose the remote-learning option.
“The percentages for the
elementary building are similar
(57% to 43%),” Fauver said.
“This was as of last Wednesday
(Sept. 2) when our parent survey
closed. We are all very proud of
our staff and students for adjusting
to all of the changes. We basically
had to reinvent the way we
do everything at CHS, from how
we enter/exit the building, to how
we walk in the hallways and stairwells,
to how we eat, most importantly,
how we instruct. We will be
patient yet firm with our students,
especially when it comes to social
distancing. It is a difficult time for
everyone, and we will continue to
make adjustments to ensure our
staff and students are safe.”
Like Skelton, Fauver encourages
parents to work with the school.
“Parent support at a time
like this is very helpful for us at
school,” Fauver said. “Many of us
are anxious about school starting
because of all the new rules and
regulations across the state and
entire nation. That is OK. They are
being implemented to help keep
me, you and everyone around us
safe. Everything we do is in the
name of safety. We hope families
respect that and help us accomplish
our goal of being COVIDfree
at CHS.”
The private schools in the community
also are off to a great start
for the 2020-21 school year. Both
Sacred Heart Catholic School
and Coshocton Christian School
have students attending five days
a week.
“We have four who chose to do
remote, but they can come back
at any point,” said Mary Kobel,
principal at Sacred Heart. “The
kids wear face masks during transition
times like when they are in
line, heading to the bathroom or
sharpening pencils. When they are
sitting in class, they have threesided
pieces of Plexiglas on each
desk, and the desks are separated
for social distancing.”
So far the students are doing
great with the changes.
“The kids are awesome,”
Kobel said. “They are so excited
to be back in school. Parents who
thought their kids would have
trouble with masks aren’t. They
do it because everyone else is
doing it. You can see the smiles in
their eyes. Even the older students
are excited to be back.”
There are 106 students at the
school this year in preschool
through seventh grade, which is a
new addition to the school.
“It’s great to see growth here,”
Kobel said.
Kobel also is proud of her
staff. “None of the teachers even
hesitated when it was time to
come back,” she said. “I’m proud
of all of our staff and students.”
Amanda Hamilton, principal
at the Coshocton Christian
Josie Sellers
Brycen Samson, a kindergartner at Conesville Elementary School, is pictured
working on a project in his special place in the classroom. Teachers and staff
have been working hard to keep children safe and as comfortable as possible
while learning.
School, said her school also experienced
growth this year. They
went from 130 students to 148,
preschool through high school,
and everyone is coming to school
for face-to-face instruction.
“We are definitely glad for
the opportunity to come back,”
Hamilton said. “We’ve had to do
a little bit of extra catch-up time
with routines and review, though,
because we were out so long.”
Like other students in the community,
the Coshocton Christian
School kids also are getting used
to some new policies.
“They have to wear masks,
and we are trying to social distance
as much as possible,” Hamilton
said. “We are doing extra
sanitizing, and we’ve made extra
recess time too, so we only have
so many kids out there at a time.
We are doing lunch in our rooms.
I feel everyone is doing really
well, though, and during school
time it all seems normal.”
Editor’s note: Writers
Jen Jones and Josie Sellers
contributed to this story.