“It’s beautiful to have kids back in the building,” said Principal Abby Glass.

The COVID-19 pandemic had forced schools to close early in the spring, sending students home with an abrupt ending to the school year in mid-March. Ever since, schools across the state and across the country have been working to make plans on how to safely open in the fall.

At St. Edmond, the administration created a team with parents, faculty and some students to collaborate on the best options to keep kids safe and healthy and in school and to maintain the school’s mission of providing a Catholic education.

“So whether students are learning here on site or from a distance, that really was the center and the core of our decisions,” Glass said.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
St. Edmond Catholic School fifth-grader Ava Bradley cleans her hands using the hand sanitizer station outside her classroom. Each classroom in the building has a hand sanitizer station right outside to help eliminate germs and the spread of COVID-19.

That plan includes increased cleaning in high traffic areas, adding a hand sanitizer station outside every classroom, requiring masks or other face coverings and having students eat lunch in their classroom cohorts.

So far, students didn’t have many issues with wearing masks or face shields in the school, Glass said.

“It is a joy to see them all wearing their masks and their face coverings because we knew it’s not normal for kids to do that,” she said. “But every room I walked into this morning, from (transitional kindergarten) all the way up through high school have them on and are being very diligent about it and I’m really proud of them.”

Glass said the school is using the face covering use as an opportunity to “live their faith” by “loving thy neighbor.”

“I’m very proud of the kids and families for getting on board and taking care of each other so that we can make this happen,” she said.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
New St. Edmond Catholic School Principal Abby Glass introduces herself to Margo Augustine’s seventh-grade class on the first day of school Monday morning.

This is Glass’ first year as the principal at St. Edmond, and she certainly did not expect to have to handle a global pandemic as soon as she arrived.

“There’s some comfort knowing that everybody’s in the same boat and we’re all learning together how to navigate in COVID-19,” she said. “I feel very supported.”

Looking ahead nine months to the end of the school year, Glass expects to have a successful first year at the helm.

“I think for us, a successful school year is going back to the root of our mission in the development of the whole child,” she said. “We will continue to do that through any means, whether students are distance learning or they’re on site … and we have some amazing teachers dedicated to doing that.”

With the last school year abruptly ending early, students didn’t have the opportunity to finish their lessons and objectives. Rather than stop to review before moving on, Glass said teachers will start classes where they normally would at the start of the year.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert A kindergarten class passes Principal Abby Glass in the hallway during a tour of the school at St. Edmond Catholic School on Monday morning.

“It’s not the best practice to start where you left off early, otherwise you’re never going to get caught up,” she said.

Teachers will monitor and identify students who need a little extra help to fill in the gaps, she added.

“I think kids are very resilient, I think we have very bright children,” she said. “Not just here at St. Edmond, but I think everywhere. … We do have measures in place to make sure that we can support kids wherever they’re at in their understanding.”

But for now, Glass is just glad to have students back in the building.

“There’s just an overwhelming happiness to be in this environment, having children back in the school and working with wonderful people,” she said.