(Geronimo) — Welcome back Panthers! Today marks the first day of school for students in the Navarro ISD. District officials say today marks the start of a nontraditional school year for students who will be engaged both in the classroom or at home.
Superintendent Wendi Russell says despite launching the school year amid a pandemic, the Navarro ISD is still very excited about returning to learning. She says yes, there are going to be anxieties and there will be bumps along the way but believes that together, the district will stand as one.
“Don’t get me wrong, we are all worried. We are all scared about what this is going to look like and how to do it because it’s new for everyone. As I addressed our staff, I told them that this was going to be their hardest year if they were brand new if not as hard if they had at least a year under the belt because they know what it traditionally should look like and I t’s not a traditional year.
There’s nothing traditional about this and we are all still working through what it should look like. So, the first couple of weeks are going to bumpy and we want parents to understand that it’s going to be a bumpy ride at first. Technology wise, you can never depend on technology 100 percent. I told the staff to expect the unexpected and to be able to be flexible and go with it as we move forward. So, we are just excited to be able to see our students whether it’s remote through a computer or face to face. We are excited to get school started again,” said Russell.
With the option of face to face or remote learning, a majority of families in the Navarro ISD will be choosing to send their kids into the classroom today. Russell says any final enrollment numbers aren’t anticipated until at least the next couple of weeks.
“Today, looking at numbers, we have about 70 percent on campus face to face. That’s from parents that have responded. Across the board, we probably have about 20-25 percent of parents that have not responded – that looking at number wise, this is what our expectation is to be 70 percent face to face and then 30 percent remote learning,” said Russell.
Since Aug. 8, the Navarro ISD has reported a total of 20 positive COVID-19 cases within the district. This total includes 10 staff members and 10 students. These cases have since been traced back to those taking part in extra-curricular activities on campus.
Although the district has been transparent about each of these cases, Russell says it’s still very difficult to have to deliver the news to families and to the community. Nonetheless, she believes the district’s effort to mitigate the problem as soon as possible warrants plenty of credit.
“When we get a positive, we have to let them know that we’ve had this positive case without giving too much information and I think that’s where some of the uneasiness comes from too because they are not getting the full information like what sport it was or when it comes out in the classroom, what exact classroom it is because we can’t give that identifying piece of information so we are doing the best we can to contact parents, let them know, to keep them aware that we do have this. We are expecting cases. Every school district is expecting cases and realistically, you have to look at it that way. We are doing everything we can with hand sanitizers, taking temperatures, wearing masks and sanitizing around the clock. We are doing all of that but we know that we are not a boarding school so we don’t keep kids here in a bubble and we don’t keep our faculty here in a bubble so when they go out in the evening to eat or stand in line at the grocery store, they could potentially come into contact with someone that has that positive COVID case so we have to just screen everyday and use our best practices to catch it as it comes through,” said Russell.
The start of a brand-new school year is especially exciting for Russell as this will be her first year to serve as the superintendent of schools for the Navarro ISD. Russell says this school year was already going to be challenging as she works to maintain Navarro’s history of excellence.
“For me, I want parents to know that Navarro has a history of excellence and a history of setting very high expectations and I plan to carry through with those expectations and have that high excellence expectation of our staff and of our students and parents. I do believe that it is important to work together as a community — parents, students and staff to make sure that we are educating our students and that we are making sure that all of our students are well rounded (and) not just focusing on academics or just focusing on athletics but being fully well-rounded, being involved in a maybe an afterschool activity for our younger kids and making sure that we are offering things for all students to participate in,” said Russell.
At least during these next couple of weeks, parents are reminded of a few things. First, kids’ temperatures will be taken at each of the campuses and at each bus stop. This means ensuring that someone will remain with the smaller kids at the bus stop until they have been cleared to load. It also means practicing a little patience as kids are being dropped off and screened upon entry. Second, with more kids expected to be car riders, parents should still expect a little more congestion with traffic. District officials say they do hope the new drive coming off of Link Road into the elementary school will help alleviate some of those issues. Third, parents are asked to exercise a bit of patience and to allow for some little wiggle room as the district works through normal first day of school issues.
Russell adds that while it’s no doubt going to be a different year, it’s still going to be an exciting one.