By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
ELLIS — Despite numerous changes to the school year in Ellis USD 388 due to the ongoing pandemic, administrators told the school board Monday that — all things considered — the year has kicked off in a good way.
“I am really proud of them. They have done really well with the changes and the masks,” said Ellis High School Principal Donna Schmidt.
Only a month ago, the necessary changes were a cause for concern, but at least so far, many of the most troubling changes made have had only a minor impact on the students.
“We were probably way more worried than we needed to be, but I’m glad we were over-prepared,” Schmidt said. “Really glad about that.”
The most contentious of this year’s preparations included the mandatory wearing of masks for students and staff, but she said the masks have been only a minor concern for students. For the most part, she said, only occasional reminders to wear the masks correctly are required to keep the students compliant.
And most students in the district chose to attend classes in person, and the Schoology program put in place to assist teachers allows students to stay caught up with their class, whether they are fully remote or under quarantine.
“I hate to say we are getting pretty good at that transition, because I don’t want to jinx ourselves, and be bombarded with more of those transitions,” Schmidt said.
Maintaining a "Plan B” for events as the year progresses is also something she said they are continuing to work on, including plans for homecoming week.
“It’s a challenge, but we are still in school,” Schmidt said.
Washington Elementary Principal John Befort said in his building the situation is similar with students enjoying being back in the classroom.
He said there were a few students that needed help to get into the online sessions, but mostly going the year is going well.
“Things are going a lot better than expected,” Befort said.
He said his biggest concern is those students that are more in need of in-person instruction that are working from home and encouraged parents of those children to send them back to school if needed and possible.
“If we had all kids in-house, it would probably be a lot better, or a lot easier for our teachers, but we understand why those parents do not want to do that,” Befort said.
And the concerns around wearing masks in the elementary school also did not materialize.
“As Donna said, the masks have not been an issue,” Befort said.
While covering a gym class recently, he noted that there were no complaints about the masks, and students are not rushing to pull them off.
Board president Jared Schiel told the board that he was pleased with the way the year is shaping up.
“I would love for you both to pass on gratitude to the teachers and everybody … because I have friends that are envious right now. They are either in a hybrid system or they are trying to figure out what they are going to do with their kids, or they are all online and then they are really upset when we have activities going on, sports and everything else because they don’t,” Schiel said. “Right now, I consider us very lucky and I think we all know that is because of the work you guys are doing.”