Staff at Red Rock Elementary School in Royal City worked to wrap up final preparations on Thursday before students returned today.

Boxes were unpacked, social distancing markers were placed, and final touches came together as the staff worked to ensure students were facing minimal risk returning to school for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic arose in March. Red Rock Principal David Andra discussed the final touches being done on Thursday afternoon, and expected another long night ahead of everyone to get things ready to go.

“It’s coming quickly, and it’s just been monumentous to get everything done,” Andra said. “We’re down to the wire, and we’re still setting things up, still putting dots in the hallways, we’re still lining out our recess zones. All of the things we had on paper for our safety plan, we’re getting them ready, physically ready, so the kids can recognize them and follow them."


Andra said the staff is very excited to get to see the students again, and added it makes the long nights during the past few weeks worth every second. Being able to have the kids learning in person is the best solution for the kids right now, he said.

He said he has kids of his own in the building, and in the district, and said they’re excited to be coming back. Andra said he’s excited for them.

“I get to see all the different angles with it, and I’m just proud of our staff and our community for pushing forward to make this decision and make it happen,” Andra said.

He said he’s very confident of the safety measures they have in place, especially in his own building. If they're able to get students to school and into the classrooms safely, he said he’s confident in the precautions they have in place inside.

Andra said he wouldn’t risk having the students returning, let alone send his own kids back, if he were not confident in the plans. He said there are still some unknowns moving into the start of the year, not knowing how certain things will turn out until they actually show up.

“It’s just on paper and in our heads how we think it will go, and how the systems will work,” Andra said. “But, ultimately, I feel very confident, and confident in our staff, to help the kids, train the kids, and teach them to help each other and keep everyone safe.”

Caroline Piercy is a first-grade teacher at Red Rock Elementary.

“I’m just getting things ready for tomorrow, making sure everything’s in place, that I’ve thought through all of the procedures we’re going to go through, the things that I need to teach the kids,” Piercy said Thursday. “Obviously, we have some new protocols in place that we need to teach the kids, as teachers, how to do."

Moving toward the first day back, these past few weeks have been both busy and exciting, she said. Piercy said the staff kept hoping all summer that they would be able to return in person for the new school year but weren't sure for a long time.

Getting a chance to see the students face to face again is exciting, she said.

“That’s the whole point of this job is helping the kids and teaching them,” Piercy said. “I think it will be a lot better in person to make those connections. And yeah, I’m excited.”

A second-grade teacher at Red Rock, Stephanie Forrester, said teaching the kids in the classroom is what they trained to do, what they went to school for. She said they love having the kids back, and know how important it is to their social, and emotional, development at a young age.

“In second grade, we’re kind of getting in to a higher age range, but they need that interaction,” Forrester said. “You’re putting kids together, they can learn from each other. It’s just meeting a lot more needs than when they're stuck online. When they’re online, there’s so many variables we can't control.”

Having the students in smaller groups offers the chance to better meet their individual needs while being as safe as possible, she said. The entire staff is 100 percent committed to safety concerns.

Everything planned, including distancing measures in classrooms, is to ensure families and students are healthy and well, she said.

“The learning is in there and important, but if they’re not healthy, they can't learn anyway,” Forrester said. “So, we’ve got to make that a top priority.”

Red Rock Elementary will have just under 400 students coming back in person, with that group being split in two with the new A/B schedule in place.