Botelle students join their friends in a new and different environment

By Jude Mead

Botelle School is back in session full-time, and according to Principal Lauren Valentino, all is going well. “I couldn’t be more pleased. Everything is going very well, and the students have adjusted just fine,” she said. Because of the Covid-19 public health emergency, Valentino faced many challenges. Before reopening the school, she had to look at instructional format, class sizes, classroom settings, daily schedules and safety precautions.

Valentino understands the important role the school has in the community, and she works closely with the CDC guidelines and local officials to create a safe learning environment for teachers, staff and students. “We have taken all precautions necessary including practicing safe distancing and making sure everyone wears masks,” she said.

Other factors also had to be reviewed. Valentino and her staff had to think about many things beyond academics, such as how to set up classrooms for learning, making sure the lunch program ran smoothly and safely for students, and how to set up outdoor activities that followed recommended guidelines. She also wanted to be sure to have teaching support in place for those parents who chose to opt for online learning. 

The classrooms at Botelle are large, which helps in maintaining social distancing. “We are fortunate. We have large classrooms and small class sizes. Because of the distance between students and teachers, the school is a bit louder,” said Valentino. Chairs and desks face in the same direction and follow the guidelines. If the students need to face one another to work on a project, then a piece of plexiglass is set up between them, again at a safe distance.

Students also eat lunch facing the same direction and seated safely apart. The school organized the meal plan in what it calls a three-wave lunch program. “We modified the seating when they eat together and kept the groups small. The first wave is kindergarten through second grade, the second wave is third and fourth grades and the last wave is fifth and sixth grades,” said Valentino.

Outdoor activities are more structured than before. Students remain in their small groups, and if they get closer than six feet, they know to wear a mask. Valentino said she is impressed by the students’ willingness to follow the rules and adjust to the new norm.

Some parents opted for virtual instruction. Choosing distance learning requires communication between home and school, an adult to support the student and interaction with teachers to help with assignments. Students can log into live-stream sessions for instruction and then log out to complete assignments. “I totally understand this decision, and we are here to support it. The teachers set aside time at the end of the day to go over assignments or answer questions for these students,” said Valentino.

The pandemic has presented many challenges for Botelle’s reopening, and the school structure includes many changes. Valentino is confident that Botelle has succeeded in meeting the challenges. She also stressed how important a role the community and PTO have had in helping to make that happen. “We need a big shout-out and thank you to the PTO and the community for all they do. They were able to get picnic tables for outdoor learning time, and they created a beautiful space for an open-air playground. We couldn’t have done this without them.”