What the first day was like as Metro Nashville Schools reopened for grades K-2 amid COVID-19 pandemic
Meghan MangrumJaime Drown crouched in front of her three kids in the grass outside of Lockeland Elementary School in East Nashville Tuesday morning.
"Have a supersonic awesome day," she said before kissing her kindergartener on the forehead, her face mostly hidden by her mask.
Two of Drown's children were among thousands of Nashville students who returned to schools this week — in-person — for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools in March.
One of Drown's sons, a fourth-grader, watched his siblings shuffle through Lockeland's big red doors. He'll still be learning remotely at home for the next two weeks. Only students in pre-K through second grade, and students who attend special day centers, are eligible to return to campus so far as part of Metro Nashville Public Schools phased-in return approach.
The kids were excited to go back, Drown said. But she isn't as confident.
"Right now, I feel like I made the wrong choice," Drown told The Tennessean, citing the uptick in new COVID-19 cases in Davidson County over the last few days.
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About half of Metro Schools students plan to return this semester, though the number who have indicated they plan to return in-person varies from school to school and by demographic.
Lockeland Principal Christie Conyers Lewis anticipates at least 70% of the school's roughly 290 students will be on campus once grades 3 and 4 can return on Oct. 20.
Many parents dropping their children off Tuesday were excited though. They snapped pictures outside the school doors or in front of the school's sign.
Roxanne Hoyt told her son, Duke, to pose before taking several pictures.
"I'm really excited," she told him. "I love you, dude. Have a great first day back!"
Duke, 5, is her oldest child and started kindergarten this year. The family had been counting down the days until he could start school in-person.
Starting school virtually was "weird, but cool," Duke said. But he felt like he hadn't really gotten to know his teacher yet. One of his classmates hovered nearby with her parents — he hadn't met her in real life, either.
Roslyn Mize also was eager to send her first-grader, Amelia Mize, back to school. Amelia took part in a learning pod with three other students for the first quarter.
Mize wanted to send Amelia to school at the beginning of the year and when she found out that Amelia would not be able to keep the same teacher if she remained virtual, the decision was settled.
"I'm feeling pretty good, not nervous," Mize said as she and her partner, Treux Noe, dropped off Amelia Tuesday morning. "Amelia woke up this morning excited. She was screaming, 'First day! First day!'"
Concern, anxiety over in-person learning
Some parents are less enthusiastic about sending their children back to school, evident by the thousands who have opted not to return in-person this semester.
Simon Lynn, whose daughter is a kindergartener at Shayne Elementary, said it was one of the toughest decisions the family made all year to keep her at home.
"We had to weigh the risk of infection at school against the very real damage already being done by poorly executed virtual learning," Lynn said in an email.
Chad Riden's 17-year-old daughter is a senior at Nashville School of the Arts. Though high school students aren't able to return in-person until January, he and his daughter have already decided she'll stay home as well.
"She doesn't care about missing prom, graduation, whatever. She wants to stay safe, but she does miss her friends though," Riden said in a message to The Tennessean.
Virtual learning has had some challenges, Riden said. He's had to shell out cash to buy supplies for his daughter's specialized art projects because she can't use the school facilities. Sometimes she wakes up just barely in time for class, but those obstacles don't outweigh the risk returning to school poses, he said.
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Schools face challenge with virus
Schools acknowledge the virus will likely spread as schools reopen. Hundreds of confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in Tennessee schools since districts first reopened in July, prompting dozens of school closures.
There is only so much educators can do to prevent the spread of the virus, district officials say.
Some teachers argue that conditions inside Nashville schools aren't safe enough. The Metropolitan Nashville Education Association, the local teachers union, is calling for teachers to opt to teach virtually and planned to rally before a school board meeting Tuesday.
Lockeland, like most Metro Schools, has implemented some social distancing policies. Students will stay in their classrooms most of the day, with teachers rotating between them for music or physical education. While at recess, classes will be divided between the playground, a hardtop court and a field. Hula hoops were set out on the school's lawn Tuesday, one first-grader each standing in their own bubble, learning how much space they should give between them and their peers.
And all students and staff will wear masks.
Ginny White, a school nurse with the Metro Public Health Department, visited each classroom Tuesday morning, explaining her role at the school and talking to students about health and safety procedures.
"I'm going to tell you something that's going to make you giggle," White told a classroom of kindergarten students fidgeting at their desks, plastic dividers separating them from the other students at their round tables. "Masks are like underwear. You have to change it every day just like you change your underwear. And you don't share your masks with your friends, just like you don't share your underwear with your friends."
The students laughed at giggled, adjusting their own face masks.
"I'm so proud of all of you," White told them before heading down the hallway.
REPORT:Cases of COVID-19 in Tennessee schools to The Tennessean
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Meghan Mangrum covers education in Nashville for the USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee. Contact her at mmangrum@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.