LIVERPOOL, N.Y. (NCC News) – It’s the first day of school all over again for schools in the Liverpool Central School District.
Starting this week, all 13 schools in the district are converting to full-time, in-person learning for a typical five day week.
This week marks the first time many students in the school system stepped back into the halls since the start of the pandemic according to principal of Nate Perry Elementary Dana Ziegler.
“You have students who have been online since the start of this whole thing,” Ziegler said. “Some of our newest learners, like our kindergartners, haven’t ever stepped into the building before.”
Great day to be a Warrior????The energy of school and togetherness is abound! pic.twitter.com/TvFJWTcLNv
— Dana Ziegler (@dziegler15) April 5, 2021
The decision to convert to a full in-person schedule for the district was based on a variety of factors ranging from low transmission rates among students and staff to the CDC shortening social distancing requirements from six feet to three feet in schools.
With regulation changes and minimal documented exposure to COVID-19 inside schools, it was enough for superintendent Dr. Mark Potter to make the decision to bring students back.
“We looked at all of our data ranging all the way back to the first day of school in September to all the way to mid to late March,” Potter said. “We felt reasonably confident to make the switch and it is something we are going to continue to keep looking at as well.”
One step closer to normalcy! Buses leaving Nate Perry Elementary to end the school day. #bdj4642 pic.twitter.com/o0BbmBrvma
— Bryan Hudnell (@BryanHudnell) April 8, 2021
In addition to adhering to CDC guidelines, the district will continue to implement certain safety procedures that was working when students were attending part time.
“Hand washing, mask wearing, and social distancing,” Potter said. “In additional to those, we do temperature checks and health screenings that are sent out to families every day.”
The willingness to go the extra mile to keep students safe gave confidence to parents like Jennifer Smith in sending their students back.
“With all of the staff here, they’re coming together to keep students safe,” Smith said.
About 6,000 of the nearly 7,000 students across the 13 schools in the district choose to return for the full five days. Even though it’s early, Ziegler is optimistic for the road ahead.
“We are really lucky as a community because we’re all on the same page,” Ziegler said. “We all understand the priority right now. We want to build relationships and connect again and really support our students and families.”