Erin Dawson was nervous. On her first day at Armstrong Junior High School, the ninth-grader stalled in the hallway and wondered which classroom she would go to.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused some things to look different from what she was accustomed to. Students wore masks all the time and dined in their own classrooms. Everyone followed one direction on each side of the hallway. Only three people were allowed in the bathroom at one time.
But differences like this made her feel safe and comfortable, Dawson said. Teachers guided her to her room and walked her through classroom rules, she said, and she soon made new friends.
“Even though you are away (from your classmates), they just wanted to make sure you are safe,” she said. “The whole day was good.”
Dawson was among the more than 4,600 students across 10 schools at the Starkville-Oktibbeha County School District who began their first school day Monday amid the pandemic — a new experience for their parents, teachers and principals alike.
The district offers in-person, virtual and, for grades 8-12, “hybrid” learning models — a combination of in-person and virtual learning. Dawson is among the almost 300 students who chose a hybrid model, meaning she will go to school two days a week and learn online three days. More than 2,600 students have chosen to attend school in person during the fall semester, and more than 1,700 students opted for all-virtual learning, The Dispatch previously reported.
While many students and teachers soon adjusted to the new norm on their first day, others shared challenges of in-person learning, as well as confusion and frustration about the hardship accessing coursework online. Some parents, although understanding, feared technological difficulties could hinder their children’s learning process.
Virtual learning brings efficiency, challenges
Erin’s first-day experience went smoothly, but her siblings, 11-year-old Candice and 6-year-old Jayden,– both of whom opted for virtual learning — could not access the online learning platforms all day.
Their mother, Tishawna Dawson, said she had to put off work until 12:30 p.m. to help her three children through their trouble Monday. She visited three campuses Monday morning waiting to receive her kids’ virtual learning packets, she said, only to find out that Candice and Jayden were misregistered as in-person “traditional” students.
“(Jayden) said, ‘Where’s my stuff?'” Tishawna said.
“They were having technical issues within the school,” she added. “The phone lines weren’t ringing, their fax wasn’t working. … The door to lock the office wasn’t working. It was just a lot.”
Tishawna wanted her children to hang out with friends in person. But Candice has a history of epilepsy and Type I diabetes, she said, and she wouldn’t risk exposing her to the deadly virus. While she understands first schooldays can be chaotic, she said it frustrated her that her two younger kids could not learn.
“I just reach out to one of my friends — she’s a teacher,” she said. “I will just get her to send me (materials) so I can still be on track with Jayden. … I just don’t want him to be any further behind.”
Makeetha Crain experienced similar problems with her 11-year-old son, Tylan Paty, and her 5-year-old nephew, Kameron Atkinson. Although she wants Kameron to have a normal first experience with school, Crain said his epilepsy makes it too risky for in-person contact. The school did not have Kameron’s information quite ready Monday, she said, but she was told it will be ready Tuesday.
“I know it’s the beginning of a new program that the school is trying to start off on,” she said. “I know it’s going to have some up-and-downs with it.”
Tech outages, glitches
Three virtual learning tools — Canvas, Zoom and Clever — experienced nationwide outages Monday, said Leanne Long, SOCSD’s director of instructional technology and distance learning.
In July, SOCSD delayed its start date from Aug. 6 to Monday in order to prepare for more virtual learning students than originally expected. The extra time gave teachers the opportunity to “practice and develop materials” for virtual learning and help train each other, Long said.
She believes the district was “prepared locally,” but no one could have expected the nationwide glitches, she said.
“Some of the outages gave us a lot of errors that we had to go back and fix,” Long said. “That has caused some delay with students seeing courses, especially in Canvas.”
She said the glitches should be repaired overnight and the second day of school should run more smoothly. The district receives its internet service from Mississippi State University.
Monday was not an accurate gauge of the district’s capacity for internet service, and Long said there is “room to grow” but expects the district to be able to handle the expected amount of internet usage.
“We’re just going to monitor the network over the next week and see what the usage is,” Long said.
For some others, the hiccup did not affect their experience Monday.
As a virtual fourth-grade teacher at Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School, Rosemary Napier sat in an empty classroom all day Monday and taught 13 familiar faces remotely.
Napier said her tech-savviness makes virtual teaching easy to navigate. She used Canvas while she was in graduate school, she said, so she is already familiar with the system.
Jane Strawderman, a 10th-grader at Starkville High School, said she enjoys the virtual learning process, which allows her the autonomy to finish her school work faster.
“When she is done with her work for that class, she doesn’t have to wait for ending bells so she can start on her other courses right away,” said Jane’s mother, Lesley Strawderman.
In-person learning
Most students at Sudduth Elementary were glad to be back in school, said Principal Morgan Abraham.
“One student this morning, I heard he exclaimed, ‘This is the best day ever,'” she said. “We did not have a single student that was crying as they came in.”
Amelia Rogers, a seventh-grader at the Partnership School, was also thrilled to return. Her classroom featured TV screens, rolling chairs and big windows, she said, which allowed ample sunlight in.
Rogers said she opted for the in-person learning model because that’s the best way she learns. But all the precautionary measures at school amid the pandemic made her a little anxious.
“I feel like it would be really scary to know that someone had COVID-19 in school,” she said. “I think if we keep our masks on and stay safe, we can prevent that from happening.”
Stella Turman, third-grade teacher at Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary School, said she opted to be an in-person teacher this semester to leave virtual teaching for her colleagues with underlying health conditions.
Turman said she understands some of her students’ concerns as they stepped into a brand new environment amid the pandemic, but that encouraged her to “think outside the box” as she held outdoor picnics for her students while practicing social distancing.
Despite the fear of falling sick, Turman said she is taking all the precautions she can to teach the children in person.
“I don’t think it hit me till this morning. I was getting ready and I realized, ‘This is kind of risky, what we are doing here,'” she said. “But I think it’s just been so long. … We are all, at a teacher’s heart, longing to be back with their kids and back in the classroom teaching. I think that’s what we were made to do.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.