First Clark County districts go back to school: What the first day was like

Jackilyn Mckinster, who has a kindergarten and fourth grader at Lagonda Elementary in the Springfield City School District, said they are excited.

“We’re glad classes are back in person and the kids are excited to go and see their friends, so I think it’s going to be really good,” Mckinster said.

Mckinster said she has no worries about her two children going back to school.

“We didn’t have a whole lot of issues last year,” she said. “They did the hybrid thing for a little while, and then of course went home, but no, I don’t think so.”

At Clark-Shawnee, Superintendent Brian Kuhn said the beginning of the first day at the elementary “went exceedingly smoothly.”

“We were able to unload parent drop off in record time because we have more parking space than we did in our previous elementaries, and students, with the help of our teachers and staff, made their way to their classrooms,” he said.

“The first part of the day is devoted to learning the new routines, locations of things, whether it’s the lunchroom, the restrooms, special classes like gym, music and art. We want students to feel comfortable in their building, so knowing things helps them feel comfortable... We also do a lot of first day things, so going over classroom rules and expectations, building procedures, and they start to unpack their things and meet their teachers,” Kuhn added.

The administration decided to have staggered start dates with the new elementary, Kuhn said. Students in grades first through sixth with last names A-L started Wednesday; Students with the last names M-Z will start today; and all students in grades first through sixth will attend Friday.

“The administration decided with the new building and the consolidating, we wanted teachers to have the ability to orient students to the building in small groups,” he said.

Kuhn said the district is excited to start the new school year and they are doing everything they can to have a safe and healthy year.

Other schools that start over the next few weeks include:

Northeastern, Mechanicsburg, Springfield grades 10-12, Triad - Aug. 19

Urbana - Aug. 23 to 26

Graham - Aug. 25

Southeastern - Aug. 26

Greenon - Sept. 7.

School district officials say they will continue to make safety the priority throughout the year and help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“Our priority at Northeastern Local School District will continue to be the safety of all of our students, families and staff, and we will continue to monitor the guidelines from the CDC, the Ohio Department of Health, and will work with the Clark County Combined Health District to determine COVID-related safety protocols throughout the school year,” said Superintendent John Kronour.