Butler, Baldwin-Whitehall schools plan to get students back to normal, anticipate changes along way

BALDWIN, Pa. — As we gear up for back to school, many educators across our region know there’s a big issue they need to address starting on the first day, and it will impact nearly all students in most districts: the structure of the school day.

The past two years have been unlike any others, and many teachers and parents are hoping to get back to normal.

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“Our goal is to get as many students back to 5 days in school, the structure that they typically followed prior to Covid,” said Jill Fleming-Salopek, secondary education director at Baldwin-Whitehall.

Baldwin-Whitehall is just one of many school districts in our region that stuck with the hybrid model most of the year, and nearly 1,000 of their 4,600 students stayed remote all year.

“We’re still trying to keep the desk and chair in the same direction,” Fleming-Salopek said, adding she expects an adjustment period for students who are heading back into classrooms this year. “They weren’t used to that 5 days a week, long days, you know lunches and interacting with their teachers and their peers every day. So that will be a hurdle at the beginning of the school year.”

“I think the challenge isn’t just logistics and getting kids back to school, but it’s really acclimating them to a structure that is somewhat rigid, particularly with classes and bells and schedules, whereas at home there was a little more flexibility and casualness to it, said Butler Schools superintendent Brian White.

White added the administration has started laying the groundwork for the transition with parents, explaining to them that this school year is about reconnecting.

“Kids have academic deficits that we need to address,” White said. “We need to develop the relationships first and create encouragement and praise.”

Students will need to find their groove as they transition. Both educators expect it will take them the first nine weeks and that there will be bumps along the road, like students anxious with the change.

“I liken it to when you drop off your child for kindergarten the first time and you see those kids are just so excited to run through the door and interact with their peers,” Fleming-Salopek said. “Others, they may be reluctant, they may have some anxiety over that and I think we’re going to see that at higher levels than we have in the past. Not just with kindergarten students, but with all students, so we as a school have to be prepared for that.”

To tackle that, Baldwin-Whitehall School District leaders decided to host in-person orientation before the school year even starts, allowing students and parents to get familiar with the building and teachers again.

While many families hope the days of virtual learning will be well behind them, you never know what the future holds.

“At any time, we have to be ready for whatever may come our way in terms of the pandemic, and if that means that students have to learn from home, we’re prepared for that,” Fleming-Salopek said.

For now, parents can best help their kids prepare for the adjustment by talking with them and getting back into the school routine.

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