Masked Students Return to Classrooms
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GLEN DALE -- John Marshall High School was abuzz with more activity than it has seen in six months Tuesday morning, but it was quiet compared to the first day back in previous years.
Roughly half of the approximately 1,100 students who attend JMHS entered through its doors for the first day back to school Tuesday, with students whose last names began with A-K attending.
Today, all students will conduct their learning remotely, from home, while the building is cleaned.
Thursday and Friday, the L-Z students will return to have their first day back, a pattern which will continue for the foreseeable future.
Students were spaced out in their classrooms and, in some cases, separated by plastic dividers.
They ate their lunches while spread out, too -- underclassmen utilized half of the cafeteria tables, while juniors and seniors took their trays of food to separate rooms to further distance students from one another.
JMHS Principal Cassie Porter said around lunchtime that the first day had gone smoothly, with a few hiccups.
"The kids are diving into the technology right away," Porter said. "We've had a few little snags, we've had to do some adjustments on our tech. I feel like they're a little bit apprehensive, like they're going to be on the first day, since it's new."
Porter said that unloading buses went smoothly in the morning. Bus routes normally come in on a staggered schedule, and they came in on time and with a minimum of backup for the first day.
"With half the students on the bus, it went very quickly. It ran very smoothly. Our buses run staggered anyway, so the most we had waiting was maybe two, but it took less than a minute for the buses to unload."
Ohio County Schools similarly reported a smooth first day back, with communications coordinator Gabe Wells reporting no issues for the Tuesday classes.
"It went really smoothly. The kids seemed to be engaged and happy to be there," he said. "The bus drivers did a great job, and we took all the safety precautions that are necessary. Everything seemed to go as we had planned."
Wells particularly thanked innovation coordinator JoJo Shay, who worked through the summer to get the district's remote learning online and coordinating professional development for the county's educators, as well as the rest of the county's faculty who strove to make the return to school a successful one.
"She did a tremendous job, paving the way in terms of at-home learning. Our teachers did a phenomenal job to be prepared for in-class and at-home learning, today and going forward. Everyone was willing to do whatever's necessary to make this school year a success. We got the first day down, and it was well done."