BAY CITY, MI – Bay City Public Schools welcomed its youngest students back to classrooms on Tuesday, Jan. 19, for the first time since the district moved to remote learning in November.
The first few days back have been going very smoothly, with most parents and students both happy to be back, said Superintendent Steve Bigelow.
“One of the best feelings about being in this business is the first day of school, there’s nothing like being able to see the smiling face of a student,” Bigelow said Thursday. “It felt like the first day of school.”
On Friday, Jan. 8, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recommended Michigan schools allow some form of in-person learning by March 1. A few days earlier, the Bay City district announced plans to begin sending its students back at the beginning of spring semester.
The same protocols and preventative measures in place from when the district went face-to-face in the fall, such as thermal scanners, frequent sanitation and mask mandates, are still there and still working, Bigelow said. The district’s teachers are starting to get vaccinated as well, he said.
“All those protocols are still going on, and they’re all still effective,” Bigelow said. “People are just grateful to be getting back into school.”
The district’s Board of Education will discuss when to bring back middle and high school students at its Thursday night meeting, Bigelow said.
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