The sentiment painted on the rock at Riverside Intermediate School seems to capture the attitude of staff and students alike as school begins: “We’ve Got This!”

The start to the new school year on Tuesday will be quite unlike any “first day of school” anyone–parents, students, teachers, staff, or administrators–has ever experienced.

With COVID-19 still spreading in Michigan, Manchester has opted to provide both traditional in-person schooling in the classroom and is synchronizing that experience with real-time, virtual, online classes for those students who are not able or willing to attend school in person. This “hybrid” approach will likely present both challenges and opportunities for Manchester Community Schools.

From Aug. 31-Sept. 3, the district asked both virtual and in-person students to log on starting at 8 am each morning, for two class periods per day. This allowed everyone to meet their teachers, understand the expectations for the upcoming year, and also gave virtual families the opportunity to determine how well their internet service will meet the needs of online learning.

Dr. Brad Bezeau, MCS superintendent, was enthusiastic about the kickoff to the new school year. “From our Curbside Open Houses to our Opening Week this week, the victory has been the rekindling of relationships,” he said. “It’s been beautiful to watch our students reconnect with their teachers and remember what ‘school’ looked like. You could see the fear and apprehension melt away as students and their families re-entered the buildings this week to meet their teachers, to reconnect with former teachers, and to see that it was okay to come back to school. Watching sixth grade students talk with the third and fourth grade students before meeting their new teacher was everything. This continuum of relationships and people that care about you is what school is all about. It was great to watch.”

He added that the ability to have the first week of school as an “orientation and support opportunity” was priceless.

“We were able to scaffold many of our students with their technology, conduct trial runs with their Google Classroom links, and test the bulkiness of our building and individual family internet access and make adjustments as needed. These adjustments will continue this coming week as we fine tune with our in-person and remote learning students, but using the Google Classroom platform and having the ability to connect directly with our teachers several times a day, our virtual learning students should be positioned well for success this year,” he said.

The ratio of virtual students to in-person is relatively low, he added. For each class of 25 students, he estimates that five or six students are virtual and the remainder are in the classroom.

“(That) has been a nice ratio in terms of the physical distancing that can take place in each classroom,” he said, “and also providing a balance the teacher can bring in incorporating all students at one time.”

Asked if he anticipates the ratio of in-person to virtual students changing as the year progresses, he believes that some students and families might change and become more comfortable in re-entering the building and learning in person once again.

“Again, all of this depends on the status of the virus, and that is something that we don’t get to control,” he said. “We can only implement the required protocols and mitigation factors to provide a safe and productive learning environment for all of our students.”

Bezeau also credited the district’s teachers for the success of this past orientation week. “They have risen to the occasion to implement and develop an approach to learning that we have never done in the past,” he says. “We ask so much of them, and time and again, they answer the call.  There will certainly be challenges along the way, but these folks care so much about our students, that they will continue to be patient with the process to support and challenge our students.

“Quite simply, we can’t wait for Tuesday!”