The sun hadn’t even crawled over the horizon when 18-year-old Izaiah Jimenez approached Briggs High School for the first time in a year.
This time last spring, Jimenez and his classmates had no idea that most of their senior year would be spent on computers studying online from home.
COVID-19:A year ago, Ohio closed all of its schools to help contain COVID. When will they be back to normal?
“It feels crazy to be back and finishing our senior year,” said Jimenez. “Some of us thought we wouldn’t have it at all.”
On Monday, after months of anticipation, Columbus City Schools has resumed some personal classes for middle and high school students. Grade 6, 11, and 12 students are returning this week while Grade 7, 8, 9, and 10 students are returning next week.
When the transition is complete, all of the district’s nearly 47,000 students will take a few face-to-face classes each week on a hybrid schedule.
Columbus students return to campus
Monday was a cool, dark morning on the hill, just after the weekend turned into summer time.
At the back of Briggs High School, where the parents dropped the students off and some students parked their vehicles, they quietly lined up and stood 6 feet apart at the entrance to the building. They tried their best not to mingle with friends. But it was tough.
On March 16, 2020 exactly one year ago, Governor Mike DeWine has closed all schools in Ohio to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading. Just five days earlier, the World Health Organization had declared a global pandemic.
“Everyone was hoping for a two-week break,” recalled Jimenez. But COVID-19 had other plans.
It looks a lot better these days. Several school districts in central Ohio resumed face-to-face classes five days a week Monday, including Hilliard, Dublin and Olentangy.
Meanwhile, Columbus students will attend classes in person twice a week and attend the other three days from home. Students are divided into two groups in order to reduce the number of people in a building at the same time.
Monday was the first day for students from Cohort A who are personally present on Mondays and Tuesdays. Cohort B starts on Thursday with personal courses on Thursdays and Fridays.
“I’m happy to be back with my friends,” said Jimenez. “Well, half of them.”
Brian Hill, an environmental science teacher, seemed just as excited to be back in the classroom on Monday morning.
“It will be great to finally see the kids in person,” said Hill. “Names have been on screens for a long time.”
Students bring a problem to school
Making sure the district had enough bus drivers and routes to transport all of its students was a huge hurdle. Superintendent of Columbus City Schools Talisa Dixon said.
The district currently operates 540 bus routes with 584 drivers, said spokeswoman Jacqueline Bryant. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, only one student is allowed per seat, which limits capacity.
Ohio law requires public schools to provide transportation to all students living within their boundaries, even if they attend public or private schools. Columbus City Schools employed more than 42,000 students daily for the 2019-20 school year. About a third, or 13,000, were not enrolled in the district.
The district has been working with these schools to adjust timetables and make buses available to everyone, Dixon said.
Ohio education:Columbus High School students receive COTA passes to enable personal tuition in the event of a bus driver shortage
All district students have also received free Central Ohio Transit Authority IDs to ease some of the burden. They do not replace transport with the yellow bus, but can be used as an alternative.
The district spent $ 216,000 in federal grants on the passports.
Jeff Pullin, COTA spokesman, said data should be available in a few weeks on how many students are using the passports. He anticipates that the number of drivers will gradually increase as students learn more about how COTA works and the access it provides.
COTA virtually trains some seniors to use the service so they can share the information with other students. A new website cota.com/ccsis also available.
“This is where learning really takes place …”
As she greeted students on Monday, Dixon said she was grateful that COVID-19 cases in Ohio are declining so students can enjoy these final weeks of the school year, which ends June 10.
All Columbus City schools Employees who wanted COVID-19 vaccines have also received themwhich gives the district another layer of trust, Dixon said.
“This is where learning really happens – face-to-face,” she said.
Some students agreed.
“I love being able to work with my teachers,” said Gabby Quintanilla, 18, a senior citizen. Her excited smile puckered her daisy print face mask. “I’m so grateful to come back and see her.”
She drove to school with her two 17-year-old brothers Adan and Armando, who also said it felt good to finally be back.
“I’m ready to learn,” said Adan, a junior.
@AlissaWidman
