Going strong

So far, so good.

Fort Recovery Local Schools have been in session for more than a month without interruption, and staff members are hopeful that in-person classes will continue.

In the first month, two staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, and one student has been reported as a COVID-19 case without a positive confirmation test, according to the school’s COVID-19 mandatory notification posted to its website. Families of students are notified as cases are reported.

There are 119 COVID-19 cases stemming from the Fort Recovery community as of this morning, according to the Mercer County Health District COVID-19 dashboard.

When asked about the student case, superintendent Larry Brown referred to the county health district for further questions.

Health district administrator Jason Menchhofer explained schools are required to report new cases to the district. He noted the student likely visited their doctor and was diagnosed with the virus based on symptoms, not a positive test.

“You’re going to treat it the same way,” he said.

As required by the state order written by Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine, students and staff practice social distancing and wear masks while in school. All Fort Recovery school buildings have replaced water fountains with water bottle filling stations.

Study hall and other activities, like lunch, are also often done outside as much as possible to give students socially distanced mask breaks. Brown said the schools have used picnic benches, loaned to them by the village and Ambassador Park, for lunch.

Middle school principal Ryan Steinbrunner noted that despite the ongoing pandemic and different required protocols from a typical school year, students are still learning the same material in similar ways.

“The kids are working in groups — they may look a little different,” he explained, noting the students are spaced out, not staying in groups as long and wearing masks.

“The classroom itself may look a little different with desks spread a little further out and kids not sitting next to each other during lecture, but as far as the lesson planning is going, honestly, the teachers are pretty comfortable with doing what they’ve done in past years,” he said.

In the spring, Fort Recovery schools were using different online tools across buildings to maintain classwork. Now Google Classrooms is consistent across all buildings.

If a student does need to be absent for health reasons, online learning is available, Brown added.

High school principal Tony Stahl explained that the chain of communication has shifted in the past year. Facebook Live events and social media, as well as letters, have become more important and useful to the schools since the pandemic began, he noted.

At the elementary school, students wash their hands often. The children don’t seem to be worried about the virus, and they’re excited to be back in school with their teachers and friends, elementary principal Kelli Thobe noted.

“You would not know anything was different for them — they’re wearing their masks, but they’re still being kids,” she said.

Thobe is also happy to be back at school. She enjoys listening to stories the children tell her, and she finds it funny some students have expressed “Mom and Dad were not good teachers.”

“So, giving them some of that normalcy, it just makes us feel good,” she said. “It reminds us as educators why we do what we do.”