(by Don Meador, July 29, 2021)
As the 2021-22 school year starts next week for the 3,000 students in the Allen County School District, administrators and educators at the James E. Bazzell Middle School hope to return to a “normal” schedule and routine. Plans are being made to resume school but, school officials caution, changes could happen should COVID issues and additional guidance come into play.
“We are excited to get our kids back,” noted James E. Bazzell Middle School principal with a smile on her face. “Our teachers have worked really hard in creating a lot of tasks and lessons that are really engaging and that get the kids to think”
Given the fact that plans---as of Tuesday---call for five-day a week classes and the majority of students returning---Towery is quick to point out that safety will remain a top priority.
“Safety is our number one concern so we will continue to try to have kids separated as much as possible,” Towery added. “Currently, I have very few students that have opted for virtual so most of our population will be here”
Towery points out that her staff will be encouraging students to once again become engaged in what the school has to offer.
“We are hoping to get them (our students) involved, and we’ll encourage them to find their niche be it a sport, chorus, archery, Science Olympiad, or whatever we have going on.”
The COVID-impacted year did have an effect on students as well as teachers. One task awaiting educators at Bazzell and across the district is to determine where students stand academically.
“We will start working on the educational gaps that we know will be there,” Towery explained. “It’s going to take good intentional planning and good formative assessments to see where kids are. That will be something our teachers will be working hard on. We are fortunate that we will have two academic coaches to help our teachers identify the kids, identify the needs, and close the gaps. The key, as it is every year, is to build relationships, see what their interests are, and personalize learning to what each kid needs.”
Towery adds that the pandemic has changed teachers and students in relation to technology.
“COVID forced our hand especially with technology,” Towery explained. “I feel like all our teachers are much more proficient with Google Classroom, making online assignments, and providing more feedback. We are better with technology. Also, we hope to put a Chromebook in every kid's hands that needs one. We want to make technology more available.”
The veteran principal also notes that the year of COVID learning also reminded her staff and students of things that had previously been taken for granted.
“We learned what it was like not having all our kids here,” Towery said. “The kids have also learned things like what structure they learn better in and their learning styles.”
In terms of the daily schedule, dropffs start at 7 a.m. with the official day starting at 7:40. The school days will end at 2:50.
“The buses will load first at the high school like they did last year,” Towery noted. “That makes our day a little longer. We will be able to go back to having our Pride Time. That’s a time for our teachers to connect with kids, answer questions, and then we’ll have a study period at the end of the day.”
With the middle school years being a time of transition in the lives of students, three programs will be in place to help students.
“We had Sources of Strength last year and hopefully we can have more campaign activities this year,” Towery explained. “It’s a great program. At this point, we are thinking we can get things back up and going. I’m also excited about working with the Faith Coalition on a Too Good for Drugs program that will be for eighth graders. It was virtual last year but will be in person this year. This year we are adding a program called Prosper that the Extension office will do with seventh grade. It's a 10-week program thats similar to Too Good for Drugs but it also talks about things like perseverance,.”
Several new faces will be in the building. In Guidance, Cyndi Mann has replaced Pat Jackson who retired in June. New teachers include Sam Fowler in Social Studies, Matt Jones in eighth grade science and Tyler Cook in band. Shawn Huff will be at the school full time to teach humanities and practical living.
Parents and students are invited to Open House on Monday, August 2. The seventh grade orientation starts at 5:15 with eighth grade beginning at 6:15. Parents and students can visit classrooms and meet with teachers.
Please note that any changes in COVID-19 related guidance will be communicated through various means including the Parent Square App.