BY SYDNEY HOOVER
Editor's note: This is the first story in an occasional series exploring K-12 education in the time of COVID. This story explores parents ready to return their children to in-person school.
Eudora students returned to school Thursday after an almost six-month closure due to the coronavirus, making the district one of the only in the area to reopen at full capacity this month.
The schools were open for half days Thursday and Friday at half capacity for the first day of school so staff and students could begin adjusting to new safety measures in place, like temperature checks and one-way traffic in hallways. Schools will open at full capacity starting Tuesday.
While many Eudora parents have debated whether to send their children back, some say the return to school and getting back into a routine was a relief.
Charis Grosdidier said her two high schoolers were in disbelief when they heard they would return to school in-person this semester. Grosdidier said she was vocal about sending students back to school and previously spoke at a School Board meeting in support of reopening.
“It was very odd to have them going back to school,” Grosdidier said. “But I feel really good about them going back. Even through the summer as they start to have consistent practices and things like that, you could just see their demeanor change, just to have a schedule again.”
With school starting, Grosdidier said her two children, Daniel and Makayla, were especially excited to start participating in soccer and cross country again, respectively.
Daniel is a senior on the soccer team, along with Gretchen Herron’s son Keaton and 20 other seniors. Herron said she was excited the seniors would hopefully get to finish out one more season together with school reopening, as many of them have played together for nearly 12 years.
“This is, like, the pinnacle. This is what they've waited for. And this is going to be it for them, so they know that this is going to be the last time they all play together,” Herron said. “I know that they were all grateful and relieved that they would get to continue to play.”
Herron said after being out of school for so long, her son was excited to go back this week — something he usually doesn’t feel after summer break.
She said he and his friends are cognizant of where they’re going and what they’re doing to ensure they’re being as safe as possible. They chose to stay in Eudora rather than go bowling in Lawrence, for example, to do their part to social distance so schools can stay open.
“I was proud of them for coming up with that on their own,” Herron said. “They sat around and talked about it and they thought, you know what, it's probably not the best decision. We'll just, you know, hang out here and do what we need to do.”
For Shawna Vetter, conversations with her fourth grader and kindergartener about how school is going to look different were important. She said with her son, Wyatt, she explained the importance of wearing his mask and why he can’t give his friends a hug when he gets to see them again.
With her daughter, Maddilyn, the hardest part was explaining why she couldn’t walk her down the hall to her first day of kindergarten. Shawna said they used to walk Wyatt to class every day, so it was sad not being able to do the same on Maddilyn’s first day at Eudora Elementary.
“That was probably the hardest part was not being able to actually walk her in and make sure she made it there and, you know, see her all excited to see what's going on,” Vetter said. “That was the worst.”
Grosdidier said although school seemed different to her kids because of smaller class sizes and limited interaction with other students, she has been impressed with how Eudora has handled the situation over the past months, despite some disagreement within the community.
“I've lived in Eudora for a really long time, and I'm proud of the way that things are being handled,” she said.
Reach reporter Sydney Hoover at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
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