MACON, Ga. — Angela Bearchell is happy to be back in the routine of dropping her children off at school.
"My kids are so glad to be back with their teachers and back with their peers. There were some first day jitters. My first grader was a little nervous about coming back because it's a different atmosphere and setting, but overall very exciting," she said.
Springdale Elementary began their safety procedures right at drop off. Brier Fleming was one of the staff members taking temperatures while helping students out of the car.
I think that went very well. It was about the same time as normal carpool time, which was very shocking to me. I did carpool last year and even without the masks and without the gloves everything went the same," Fleming said.
Principal Cami Hamlin touched base with every family to make sure they knew about their drop-off and pick-up process.
"We have about 375-380 came back, will come back between this week and next week and we have about 200 staying home, so about 2/3 coming back. They're excited. They trust us," she said.
Students go through a second temperature check at the entrance door. Hamlin says they'll work hard to make sure everyone follows safety guidelines.
"We're so excited they're here. we're going to try to follow at the routines at maximum so we can keep our kids here and keep them safe, and we're just really excited that they're here," Hamlin said.
The district welcomed preschool through 2nd-, 6th-, and 9th-graders back this week.
Students in the remaining grade levels who chose in-person return over the summer will head back to campus next Monday.