Teachers Preparing For Back To School

Fall 2020 will be an uncharted semester for local teachers. Not only are teachers preparing for classroom safety for themselves and students, but also lesson planning to ensure consistent education.

And the final days of preparation have arrived.

Putnam County fourth grade teacher Ashley Reeves said she’s working on equalizing quality between in-person classes and online learning.

“I’m just trying to wrap my mind around the way I can best teach so that all students no matter where they are are getting the curriculum,” Reeves said. “By doing that as I’m trying to create many lessons that I can teach to my students.”

Reeves said she’s nervous students could be exposed to the virus and return home to family members with underlying health issues.

“It seems as though our children are pretty resilient, but there’s an age group that is not as resilient as the children,” Reeves said. “A lot of our teachers and staff fall into that age group. I’m not necessarily so concerned about our kids because they recover very well it seems, unless they have underlying issues.”

Van Buren County Teaching Assistant Leah Baker said it might be a challenge to teach children to social distance and keep their masks on.

“We’re just trying to help get the word out to all the kids in the area that they need to learn and be mindful of these rules,” Baker said. “I know it’s going to be very different from last year, but I think once we practice it and get into the routine of things they’ll be very good at it and will help to keep it under control.”

Baker said this year she’ll ride the morning school bus to take temperatures and guide students to their assigned seats.

Although there will always be a risk of catching the virus, Baker said she believes school officials are doing the best they can.

“We’ve got some very brave and hard working teachers and staff at this school,” Baker said. “I think while it’ll always be in the back of their minds, helping these kids is going to be more of a priority. That will be our main concern.”