DIXON, CA (MPG) - There are always times a school Principal might not want to report to school duty but this past month, while students have made their way back to campuses across town, the Principals seem overjoyed.

“The campus was so lonely without our awesome kids and we missed them very much,” said Dixon High School Principal Stephanie Marquez who reported about half the 1,100 students have returned for in-person learning. “Our entire DHS community is learning, growing, and healing together,” she added.

Students started back a couple weeks ago but most students were following a hybrid model of returning with only two days a week rotating with the other half of the school population in an effort to keep students safe from contracting the Coronavirus. Teachers were in their classroom teaching four days a week using Zoom. The cameras were aimed at the teacher or the white boards so that both students in-person as well as distance learning from home could hear and see the teacher and her instruction.

Administratively speaking, the stress could have daunted both teachers and Principals but happiness of seeing children in-person made a huge lift in spirits.

“In the beginning, it was a matter of ensuring we had enough adult supervision given the new entry points to campus and becoming creative with a schedule allotted for time to give support staff an opportunity to maintain cleaning and safety,” said Gretchen Higgins Principal Shawntel McCammon. “But honestly, the hardest part has been that I can’t just hug, high five, and fist bump everyone of my students as I normally would.”

Even with so little time left in the school year, McCammon was filled with gratitude about the “GH Team of teachers and staff who have learned so much together.”

“I was also happy to see that my teachers took a lot of instructional risks in order to teach students Common Core State Standards. It takes courage to do so and they did it while doing their own learning with technology,” she said.

“Even through the frustrations that came, we made it by giving each other grace and patience,” McCammon said. “And, I’m most excited to have little feet on campus while still having an opportunity to connect with our students that are learning from home!”

The new Principal of John Knight Middle School Kamilah O’Connor reported there had been few difficulties so far.

As an administrator, the most difficult thing has been responding to students when they want to attend in-person school all four days instead of the two. Right now, they are getting two virtual school days.

“Most of the students have suffered quite a bit of learning loss and have struggled to thrive in a distance learning environment. These students have reengaged now that our doors are and they want to be here every day but due to the tier we’re in, we cannot offer this option,” said O’Connor. She is, however, collaborating with her staff to devise a plan to offer after-school tutorials four days a week which might help mitigate earning loss for our students.

When the doors opened, and in the first few days of in-person learning, there were roughly only 50 students but in those first days, that enabled them to learn names, look into each other’s eyes, and build relationships, she explained.

“We got acquainted with one another in person,” she said. “Equally rewarding has been reflecting and appreciating the uniqueness of the school year.” Students had two “first days” of school: One as a Cougar at CA Jacobs and the second as a John Knight Middle School Maverick.

Principals were expecting to see an increase in their in-person learning numbers after the spring break. The last day of school is still set for June 3, 2021.