COLUMBUS, Ohio — Parents with children in Columbus City Schools will get a slight break as some of the district’s kids will return to school in a blended model next Monday.

Head custodian Kevin Brower’s been working hard to make sure everything’s ready for when kids come back to Parkmoor Elementary. While a lot’s been done, Brower’s just as ready as anyone else for next week.

“Me, myself, I'm excited for them to be back,” he said. “Cause, I love seeing the kids. I love kids.”

Working with Principal Charmaine Campbell on the spacing, both know it’s no ordinary year, but they’re set.

“They’ll come in social distanced,” Campbell said. “So they will be standing six feet apart, and they will come to this front door now, they will receive hand sanitizer and a mask, if they come in without a mask or if something happened on the bus with their mask.

“And then they’ll grab their breakfast and head to class, with some paw prints to keep them six feet apart on the way. When they get to class, they’ll finally get to see their teachers in person and greet them maybe with an air hug of some sort, before sitting down to a shielded desk and personal supply kits.”

Veteran teacher Debbie Mosko can’t wait.

“I’m excited to get back into a routine of teaching during the regular school day,” Mosjo said. “While it’s all exciting, it’s also been challenging with re-adjusting and getting everything prepared for students.

“Procedural meetings we have had, trying to organize that and then all of a sudden you think you have it managed and you're like one more thing I have to make sure putting spacing notations on the floor, so that they still are maintaining their six foot distance it.”

As kids remain with their homeroom teachers, for much of the day that means constant cleaning will be the order of the day. But perhaps one of the biggest challenges ahead is teaching from the desk.

“There's no energy,” she said. “I don't get any energy from them, so I can't see how they're doing how are they applying themselves.”

So she’ll have to figure out another way. 

But when kids aren’t learning and are on breaks, their way will already be made, with hooks and signs on the floor to limit the number of kids using the bathroom or washing their hands at one time. As for the water fountains, they’ll be off.

“They won't use the water fountains at all,” Brower said. “They'll use the hand wash on their hands, but to drink now they'll get water bottles.”

Even with all of the changes and social distancing, there are still high hopes of students thriving. Principal Campbell said, the goal is

“For there to be learning gained, for gaps to be filled in their learning across all of the content areas, for students social and emotional wellbeing to be developed, for students to feel like they're part of a community, and for students to be prepared for the next grade level,” Campbell said.

Pre-K through third-grade students, students in career and technical education programs, and students with identified complex needs in grades Pre-K through 12 will begin Feb. 1.

Students in fourth and fifth grades will begin Feb. 8. All other students will remain remote until transportation gets worked out.