Students return to a classroom at Courtney Elementary School.
Yadkin students have returned to the classroom for the most unusual school year in recent history. Yadkin Schools Superintendent Dr. Todd Martin said despite the unusual nature of the 2020-21 school year, “things have gone very well.”
“Our students came in last week in their cohorts and everyone went to work. I visited every school last week and everywhere I went students and teachers told me how happy they were to be back,” Martin said.
Students returned to the classroom in cohort groups A and B with A group students in the classroom on Monday and Tuesday and B group students on campus Thursday and Friday. All students complete online learning assignments on Wednesday and the days they are not assigned to be in the classrooms in person. A number of safety precautions are being taken to keep students and staff safe while on campus.
“Another thing that stood out was the procedures every school has put in place to screen students, employees and visitors. It is evident our school leaders have put a great deal of thought and planning into how things will run on a daily basis. Everything has been planned out from checking temperatures in the car line to feeding students lunch to restroom breaks to dismissal at the end of the day. It was rewarding to see students back in our classrooms interacting with their teachers,” said Martin.
School leaders noted their excitement at seeing their students again and offered praise for staff and parents who have helped make the most of the difficult changes facing in-person learning this year.
“Thanks to our parents and staff working together, we were able to successfully overcome the challenges presented,” said Fall Creek Elementary Principal Lavonne Fortner. “We were thrilled to welcome our students back!”
Starmount Middle School Principal Zachary Becker added, “school started very smoothly.”
“Students were happy to be back on campus and eager to get back into their routines,” said Becker. “Our smooth start was due to careful planning and our dedicated staff who were committed to making our first days as normal as possible.”
Many students in all grade levels, around 20 percent of the student body for the county, opted for all virtual learning this year with expanded offerings for the Yadkin Virtual Academy.
“Our Virtual Academy is up and running with over a thousand students,” said Martin. “While we offered a few high school courses through the Virtual Academy for the past several years, this is a new thing for our elementary and middle school students. Expanding the Virtual Academy has almost been like opening a brand new school. Everything had to be worked out for the first time from creating student schedules to the daily instructional schedule to procedures for distributing instructional materials. This has definitely been challenging for everyone. Despite the challenges we have been able to reopen. I am proud of our students and employees.”
Kitsey Burns Harrison may be reached at 336-679-2341 or on Twitter and Instagram @RippleReporterK.