Students have been back in class for several weeks now at Brooklyn Excelsior Charter School.
The few children in-person at Brooklyn Excelsior Charter School are happy to be back, despite having to wear masks and practice social distancing.
Several weeks into the new school year, the principal Sally Girouard says things are going well.
"So much new technology that we're learning and that our students need to learn in order to be successful in the virtual classroom. We knew that we needed parents to also have those skills,” says Girouard.
The school got funding that allowed them to buy a Chromebook for each of their more than 700 students. They also held training events for the parents.
“And we trained them on how to use the Chromebook, how to do all the things we're expecting our students to do,” says Girouard.
For the 30% of the students who are enrolled in hybrid learning, their temperatures are checked, social distancing is enforced, masks are required and they're doing all their work on their computers instead of paper to prevent the spread of germs.
“Everyone's excited that the kids are back and it's really helped with settling nerves getting over the technical issues. As long as you keep everyone’s well-being at the forefront of your mind,” says Girouard.
The educators say it wasn't easy to figure out scheduling and how classes would go, but after experiencing it for a few weeks now they say it is possible to keep the students safe while learning.