‘Business as normal’ this school year
The excitement is building as the focus for this school year is “business as normal” when the doors open for the first day of school open to nearly 100,000 students on Wednesday.
“The focus this year is business as normal, what it was like prior to the pandemic,” School District of Lee County Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier said, adding the district is reopening the schools and reestablishing its connection through partnerships and volunteerism. “That is really what I mean about reestablishing connection, all those people that come in and support our kids in the learning process, who felt they couldn’t belong. This is the start of a new day.”
Parents now have an opportunity to provide assistance to teachers in the classroom.
Teachers returned to the classrooms on Tuesday, which Bernier said went awesome, as he had an opportunity to visit a couple different schools.
“It is a very exciting time to be back,” he said.
Although he is now entering into his 37th new school year, the same excitement and passion exists as it did all those years ago. Bernier said he has never slept before the first day of school because there is too much excitement.
“You want it to be as amazing first day as possible,” he said, adding that you want to carry the momentum into the first week of school and into the fall.
This school year will continue to focus on student achievement, safety and security and getting students to school on time.
Teachers have gone through professional development regarding curriculum standards, accountability with the new testing system and progress monitoring. Teachers are producing engaging lessons and making sure students will receive the help they need through before and after school programming and interventions, Bernier said, adding teachers are targeting students who need help and support.
The support is very prescriptive to the student, with the focus being remedial on the skills they need. Teachers are helping students reach the standard, as they want to continue to allow students to grow and progress while being very prescriptive on mediation.
In addition, he said the district also is focused on veteran teachers and rallied around them, as retention is incredibly important. With the minimum wage increasing to $15, Bernier said the district saw an influx of more than 50 applications for bus monitors to paraprofessionals.
With the start of school, transportation is also of importance for parents, as they rely on school buses helping get their kids to and from school.
“I want parents to know we are doing everything humanly possible to drive service to them. The transportation department worked very diligently looking at routes,” Bernier said. “We are still able to cover the routes, but clearly there will be some delays. This is a national problem.”
He said the school district will do everything it can in the morning to meet that 90 percent or above threshold of getting kids to school on time. In the afternoon, Bernier said parents have to be patient, as delays will occur because of weather and when other school levels are dismissed.
“We still need 136 people to be fully staffed,” he said, adding that they are ready to welcome anyone who wants to become a bus driver.
Another important topic on parents’ minds is school safety, which Bernier said is also on his mind as the Robb Elementary School shooting has not left his brain since it occurred. He said he fully felt the weight of superintendency after listening to the news.
Bernier wanted to remind parents to please be aware that they will be asked for the ID when entering a school campus.
“Everyone should go through that screening process,” he said, as they are focusing on student, staff and school building safety.
Safety is an ongoing process, Bernier said, adding that they are still finishing up projects as there has been construction back orders and supply issues. With that said there are processes in place to make sure children and staff are safe.
“As soon as you think you are doing everything you can do, there are more things you can do. We will continue to be as diligent as possible to ensure the safety of children,” he said.
This school year, Bernier will be out in the community to continue to make connections by meeting with principals and stakeholder groups. He said these connections will be made so he has a deeper feeling of what parental expectations are, as well as supporting staff.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com