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SCS better prepared for new school year after full year of COVID-19 protocols

Shelbyville Central Schools superintendent Mary Harper believes the school system is in a better place following one of the toughest school years in many decades.

“We are in a really good place because we opened on time last year,” said Harper. “We were on site and I think we worked out a lot of the bugs in terms of COVID protocols.

“I think our students and staff were very diligent about following those protocols and making sure we were able to stay on site.”

Shelbyville elementary and middle school students were in the classroom the entire 2020-2021 school year, with the exception of a COVID-19 diagnosis or close contact tracing.

Shelbyville High School students endured a mid-year, three-week hybrid period that helped remind staff and students about the diligence of wearing masks and social distancing.

The 2021-2022 school year will appear more normal on the surface. Masks will be optional in school for staff and students, but may be required for smaller group settings.

“Our cleaning protocols will remain the same,” said Harper. “Our class sizes at the elementary school are being kept low. Students can hopefully social distance by the three feet (required). But if people feel more comfortable in masks, we will have them available for both students and staff.”

New this school year will be visitors, such as parents eating lunch with elementary students, returning to the buildings.

“We are excited to start letting visitors back in our buildings,” she said. “We will do Back to School Night. People need to take whatever precautions they feel they need to take individually. We will have masks available if people feel more comfortable with that.”

Students will still be required to wear masks on school buses until mid-September when a federal mandate either expires or is renewed.

Virtual learning is still an option. In fact, SCS will open its own virtual school next month for students wanting to continue that educational track.

“When we decided to do the virtual school, we looked at our numbers and saw how many were successful in that program,” said Harper. “It wasn’t the virtual program we did in the spring (of 2020). It is a quality virtual program.

“And if that was going to be an option for people living in Shelbyville and Shelby County, if they didn’t have to drive to Indianapolis or Columbus, and we could offer that program here, we felt like we could do it just as good as anyone else could do it.”

The virtual option was not looked upon as a viable model nearly 18 months ago when a pandemic swept the globe. Every school system was forced to reevaluate how to successfully educate students.

“Surprisingly, it went as smooth as it could go,” said Harper of the transition to virtual learning in March of 2020. “There were challenges for every district in the nation. No one had prepared to do an extended period of virtual instruction. Teachers got right on board right away.

“More of the challenges came from the homefront where parents and guardians and relatives and babysitters were having to help with the instruction, especially with the preschoolers and elementary students. “And that was time intensive for them, especially if they were an essential worker and had to go to work and come home and work with the kids.”

 

Shelbyville Middle School

 

SCS opened its building doors in August of 2020 with no idea what the school year would entail.

“It was an anxious time for students, parents and staff,” said Harper. “I have to compliment our staff because they wanted to be on site, they knew it was in the best interest of the students but I also knew they were going to be sitting in a classroom with 20 kids.

“I think once we got going, things went really well. We were very transparent when we had positive (COVID-19) cases in the buildings. We didn’t try to hide it. We notified staff. We notified parents. I don’t think we had as many positive cases as people were expecting.”

Harper admits the bigger issue was close contact tracing that kept students at home.

“We had a lot of students identified as close contacts, but the vast majority of those were from a family member at home,” she said. “And I know that was difficult for students to have to quarantine and try and stay current with what’s happening in the classroom, but our teachers were good about connecting with those kids. I think it went well. Once we got through that (hybrid period) at the high school, we tried as much to be at our new normal.”

Like the other school systems in Shelby County, SCS is monitoring post-COVID testing data to see how virtual learning has affected local students.

“There was a slight drop off, probably more in the language arts area than the math,” said Harper. “I think that students came back ready to learn. We put some interventions in place right away and will continue those interventions.

“I think the gains we saw from August until December were good gains. I think kids learn so much faster and it’s easier when they are at school and focused.”

With contact tracing and constant protocol shifting, teachers were put through a very difficult school year.

“I really tried to stay in communication with them. We have a great relationship with the (teachers) association,” said Harper. “We heard on the news how many students were not in session all year, and there is even talk of some schools not opening on sight for this upcoming school year. Our teachers were really supportive that knowing that the best learning for the majority of our students is in person.”

The end of the school year meant teachers could finally relax. The summer of 2020 was filled with uncertainty. The summer of 2021 came with more defined protocols in place for teachers to follow.

“We do lots of professional development in the summer with teachers and I told assistant superintendent Kathleen Miltz that this might be the summer people want to back off a little bit, and that wasn’t the case,” said Harper. “We have teachers that still wanted to participate in professional development that was on site.”

With only days left until the start of the 2021-2022 school year, Harper hopes teachers feel renewed as they return to the classroom.

“I hope that teachers, all of our staff, took some time to decompress,” she said. “It was a stressful year.”

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