Classrooms full of students not wearing masks and with no dividers between them, able to work in a collaborative environment. Parents and guests able to visit schools at will. Taking field trips off campus for some hands-on learning.

These are some of the things the Athens City Schools system hopes return to the daily lives of its students next school year.

Unless something happens between now and then that forces a change in things, Superintendent Beth Patton said the current plan is to return to “normal” — meaning, first and foremost, no mask ordinance.

“Right now, the plan is we will not even need to offer remote learning at our traditional schools,” she said. “We have Athens Renaissance School, which is set up for students who truly need that kind of education.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck the globe, learning inside a classroom without a facial covering would have been par for the course, but with the onset of coronavirus came the “new normal” of wearing masks, social distancing and an increased emphasis on sanitation.

Now that COVID-19 vaccines are largely available and things are returning to pre-pandemic structure, the hope is those things will largely be a thing of the past.

Starting line

Having to plan around COVID-19 guidelines was not the only thing new for ACS during the 2020-2021 school year. A federal investigation into former Superintendent Trey Holladay meant Assistant Superintendent Beth Patton was suddenly in the driver’s seat for the ACS system.

“I would definitely say it was the year of unknowns,” she said. “I think being thrust into the position was probably the least scary thing to me, because I had been assistant superintendent, and even before that, I had been at the central office level at least 11 years. I felt very confident in knowing the mission and vision of the school system.”

One of the first major issues Patton and the Athens City Board of Education had to overcome was whether or not students would return to their respective campuses in the fall and how online courses would be handled for those who were hesitant about attending in-person learning.

The answer was to offer both. Students who wanted to attend school in person could do so, and those who wished to be online only would have the option.

“The uncertainties of COVID affected us in every single thing that we did as a school system,” Patton said. “It was definitely challenging. There were a lot of hard decisions, a lot of prayers, just trying to do what was best.”

Welcome back

Patton said she took in all the information she could about what other school systems around the state and nation were doing. She said things were “all over the place,” as different school systems did things completely differently.

“I had to take the information I had, and what I now about the school system, and make the best decisions along with my board that we could,” she said. “It was never a one-person decision. We had a team that looked at all of the data that was coming in, and we decided to give it a shot.”

ACS administrators looked at all the data they could and followed all the protocols that were recommended, and students returned to school in August.

“We know how important it is for this community for kids to be in school,” Patton said. “We know how important it is for teachers to be there with the students. As we talked through it and got feedback from the community and employees, what we realized was we needed to have it look as normal as we safely could.”

Patton said there is a school nurse at all eight city schools, and they watched and collected data. Patton said she herself looked at COVID-19 numbers every day in order to keep track of any potential issues.

While some students and teachers did test positive for COVID-19, these cases were traced back to events that happened outside of school, Patton said. She said quarantines was the “trickiest” thing, because the rules were so strict for so long, and students from multiple classrooms could be sent home at a time.

Despite all the challenges surrounding the 2020-2021 school year, Patton said teachers and students alike took everything in stride.

“The students never had any trouble,” she said. “I have never seen anything like it. We never had any disciplinary issues with masks or any of the rules. I think they understood the importance of them. I think the teachers were honest with them about these things being done for everyone’s protection, and the students have been amazing.”

Finish line

Now that the school year is essentially over, everyone in the system can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Not only did ACS make it through the entire year, but it saw no major COVID-19 outbreaks and no school shutdowns.

Patton said no one was sure if the school system would be able to remain open all year. Now former school board president Russell Johnson said he and others wondered if the system would still be open at Labor Day.

“Getting to (Friday), to the end of both graduations being successful, has been hanging over us like a cloud all year,” Patton said. “We wanted to get there but were never sure we would.”

Johnson said the main reason he feels the school year was a success was the “smart” things teachers did — keeping students socially distanced, wearing masks and following rules while staff worked to keep classrooms clean.

“It’s pretty incredible they made it through the whole school year,” Johnson said.

Patton said completing the school year was a challenge, but one that everyone in the system overcame together.

“It feels amazing to get to this point,” she said. “All of us have friends and relatives in other states, and they talk about how horrible it has been for schools to be closed. Some schools have not opened this entire school year. The damage that has done to students — not just academically, but to their social and emotional health. We are so pleased, truly, that we could get to this point.”