The beautiful new Beatrice Morrow Cannady Elementary School in Happy Valley has been an empty building much of the time since it opened in fall 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in spring 2021, it is teeming again with young learners – including two classrooms full of eager pre-kindergarten students.

“It’s nice for the children in our classes to be in a ‘big school’ environment and be around older elementary school children,” said Angie Koehler, an education specialist who supports Clackamas ESD’s Head Start to Success classrooms at Beatrice Morrow Cannady Elementary. “It helps prepare them for moving on to kindergarten.”

Each teacher has one group of children who come to class two mornings a week, with four afternoons a week spent working with children online. Nearly all preschoolers at this site have chosen to come back for some in-person learning this spring, rather than remaining completely virtual.

“Being in a hybrid environment, you get to see the kids on the computer after they’ve been there in person,” said Rachel Jones, a Head Start to Success teacher. “The other day in an online session, one of my students pretty much recalled every single thing we had done at school that morning. And they’re asking questions like, ‘Tomorrow do we go on the bus?’ and ‘Tomorrow do we come to school?’ It’s great to see they are really taking in everything that’s happening at school and they’re able to tell their families about it at home.”

  • Young student in mask proud of what she built with blocks
  • Young student in mask learning the letter "B"
  • Young student in mask playing
  • Young student in mask smiling
  • Stations marked in the classroom with blue tape to encourage physical distancing
  • Individual classroom supplies for each student

Prepping for the return to in-person learning was a true team effort, and as in classrooms at all grade levels, there are significant safety precautions in place. Classrooms were completely reimagined and set up to give children their own spaces or “home bases,” provide them with supplies they don’t share with others, and give them access to roam individually to different “stations” in the room. Extra staff are on hand to help with constant cleaning and disinfecting of toys and other items.

The Head Start team admits to the challenge of coaching young children to stay physically distant from each other, while encouraging the friendly interactions so important to the school experience.

“They’re learning each other’s names, and they have kids they like to play with,” said Kelly Dale, another Head Start to Success teacher at the school. “Kids haven’t gotten that social emotional experience the last year, so it’s really fun to watch them build relationships with others. They’re also figuring out the routine of preschool, and learning accountability for themselves. It’s setting them up to be great learners in a school.”

“Being back in the classroom, you snap back into that teacher role and you start realizing all of the moments you were so deeply missing,” Rachel added. “My anxiety has been eased a lot by seeing how capable the kids are of wearing their masks. They’re so resilient and they’re able to adapt to all that’s going on.

“You can feel how happy they are to be back with other kids. We had a kid who slipped and fell and got hurt, and immediately one of the other kids came over and said, ‘Can I help?’ He was wanting to comfort his friend, and it’s moments like those that I was missing the most. Seeing these children interact together, play together, imagine together.”

Even though in-person learning resumed just a few weeks ago, the Head Start team already is noticing a difference. The kids love being in school, and parents are providing positive feedback about the enthusiasm their children have about learning.

“We’re all seeing huge differences academically and personally,” Kelly said. “I’m glad kids get to experience this. It’s really been a big learning point for all of them. Even when they go home and jump on their online class, they’re excited about it. That’s huge for me. I want my students to want to be at school. And you can see it in their eyes now. They’re enjoying it, and they want to learn.”

“I’m kind of sad that it’s the end of the school year already,” Rachel said. “I kind of feel like it’s just the beginning.”