Dunkirk, Gowanda, Silver Creek, and Cassadaga Valley were among the districts to welcome students back today and all four districts were happy to announce that things felt much more normal than last year’s return. Tuesday’s nice weather for the return of students only added to the sense of normalcy.

“It’s awesome out there today,” said Cassadaga Valley Superintendent Charles Leichner. “The weather is so nice; I saw some kids out walking around. It feels like school again.”

As far as Cassadaga Valley goes, Leichner said that he had been through both buildings throughout the day and peaked through the classrooms to report that they were peaceful and normal. The lack of truly notable events coupled with the excitement from students and teachers to be back is exactly what Leichner wanted to see from the day.

“I don’t have anything outstanding to report, which is exactly where we want to be,” he said. “There is peace in the Valley.”

A kindergartner at Gowanda Elementary School meets the teacher for the first time.

Silver Creek’s Superintendent Todd Crandall echoed a lot of the same things that Leichner said about Cassadaga Valley for Silver Creek. Those in Silver Creek also seemed excited to return to the building full time. Last year at the beginning of school, Silver Creek was in a hybrid learning model for the high school students, while the elementary students were back at around 70% capacity. This year though, Crandall was happy to see the students back in school.

“We’re super excited to not only have kids back in the building after this summer, but we’re doubly excited because we have all the kids back,” Crandall said. “With the hybrid schedule we didn’t have most of the kids back but this year we do. Even in the elementary school last year, we started at around 70% and ended with 85% in person. It’s good to see everybody here.”

Crandall noted the students’ excitement to come back with their new clothes and attire, but in the hallways, there is still protocol to follow. Silver Creek is still doing health questionnaires and temperature checks, while having kids stay home if they do get ill. Even through the enhanced regulations, things still largely feel normal for Silver Creek Central.

“I’m sure the kids like everyone including myself would love it if we didn’t have to have these items in place to get them back, but they’re following them,” Crandall said. “It’s a little bit more normal. There’s nothing happening this year that didn’t happen last year.”

Gowanda’s remote situation was very similar to Silver Creek’s last year, as students above the elementary level never returned full time to the school. Gowanda Superintendent Dr. Robert Anderson said that the return was as good as it is any other year.

“It was great to see all our kids back in person and knowing they’ll be here five days a week and in person for as long as we can keep them here based on conditions,” Anderson said. “Students were welcomed with open arms and were ready to go. It felt about as normal as it can at this point.”

Of all the returns that districts saw, perhaps none were more interesting than the return at Dunkirk Central School. While they had to go through the similar roadblocks and regulations the other schools did, Dunkirk’s model of schooling has also changed. The Dunkirk High School is now Dunkirk Middle-High School and will have grades seven to 12, while the middle school is now an intermediate building, housing grades three to six. Dunkirk Superintendent Michael Mansfield said that on his trip through the buildings, everything looked like it was going smoothly on the first day.

“I’m sure I’ll get more reports from building administrators later that go into more detail, but in my visits to the buildings, things seemed very good,” Mansfield said. “People seem happy to get back and feel a bit more normal.”

Mansfield also noted that Dunkirk’s attendance on the first day was “very good” and that transportation and scheduling ran smoothly. Compared to the chaos that last year’s return featured, Mansfield is glad things were more ironed out.

“I think we’re used to masks enough now that it isn’t anything new,” Mansfield said. “Last year everything was new and, on the fly, so this year, other than masks, it looks like a standard opening.”

While the schools were all happy to welcome back students, all districts are monitoring community transmission rates for COVID-19 and are ready to react to any circumstance that may change.