An inside look at a Miami-Dade school that reopened amid COVID
Redland Elementary students in pre-K, kindergarten and first grade got to see their friends on Monday morning after six months being away from school — but only at a distance.
Lines were extra long because of social distancing protocols, and sharing Animal Crackers at breakfast was a no-go.
Before COVID-19, the South Dade school’s cafeteria was filled with children playing “rock, paper, scissors ” and fighting over the lone strawberry milk carton.
On Monday, the cafeteria was silent, as children entered one by one after their hands were sanitized at the door.
“Yes, it’s weird. It’s extra quiet and kind of like a ghost town,” said Dayamay Gonzalez, a school administrator as she guided each child toward a blue “stand here” floor marking
‘IT BEATS BEING HOME’
Monday marked the first day Miami-Dade public schoolchildren went back to school after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and State Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran pushed to reopen the state’s schools amid the coronavirus pandemic. (While the number of COVID-19 cases in Florida has dropped since peak levels in July, the state has recorded from 1,000 to 3,000 new cases a day over the past two weeks.)
The effects of the pandemic could be felt in the schoolhouse.
“What feels most strange is not being able to hug the kids,” Gonzalez said. “They come up to you and I’m forced to dodge them like bullets. It breaks my heart.”
Despite the subdued tone and extra precautions, 4year-old Julissa Hernandez told the Miami Herald in Spanish, “It beats being home.”
“It’s finally here and I’m happy because I have a new pink book bag,” she said as she showed off her matching mask. “My mommy says God is with me so I’m OK.”
Hernandez is one of 140 students who returned to
Redland Elementary on Monday. The other 260 second, third, fourth and fifth-graders — whose parents opted for in-person school — will return on Wednesday, based on the district’s staggered start. The remaining 430 students enrolled at the school will continue their education online.
There’s no doubt that things are different in the schools. At Redland Elementary, water fountains were covered up and not in service. Small groups were eating meals inside their classrooms, while larger classes took turns at the cafeteria. There was no handshaking or horseplay. Masks were to be worn at all times.
“It’s really wonderful to see that the babies are back,” the school principal, Adrian Montes, said as he carried book bags of some children. “They are cleancut, wearing their uniforms. They look handsome and beautiful and ready to learn.”
Montes called the reopening “so exciting, but also challenging.”
“For many of the kiddos, today is their first day of school — ever,’’ he said. “Yeah, they’ve been in day cares but never an actual school setting, so the transition can be jarring...Right now we are in the training process: training the kids to follow protocol, stand on the marked spots and constantly keep their distance.” He took a deep breath. “It’ll take some time but right now they are like little deer in headlights,” Montes added, as one young girl cried for her mother. “Some are also struggling with separation anxiety. It’s not easy.”
LIVELY KINDERGARTEN
In Sarita Sanmiguel’s kindergarten classroom, children were chipper as they practiced the phonetic alphabet.
“What letter is this and what word starts with it?” the teacher asked as she held up an “S.”
“Sandwich!” one student yelled. “I have a sandwich in my bag, teacher.”
Laughter filled the room as Sanmiguel smiled and held back tears.
“The participation is at another level,” said Sanmiguel, who was teaching her students online prior to Monday. “This kind of stimulation wasn’t happening no matter how hard I tried to get their attention — and I tried. I sang. I danced. I wore different funny hats. Distance was just too big of a barrier.”