BACK TO THE BOOKS: TPS open houses welcome students, parents to new year of classes
Aug. 16—Tahlequah Public Schools held open houses for all seven sites Aug. 15, from 4-7 p.m., with parents and students mingling and sharing anticipation for the new year.
TPS Superintendent Tanya Jones said open house was scheduled to take place for an hour longer this year, because all grades met on one night to help parents who have to drop by multiple school sites.
Heritage Elementary kindergarten teacher Kim Parker said she loves the open house because she gets to meet all her new students and their families.
"It's exciting to have in person and not [through] Zoom or [through a] drive-thru. It's really exciting to get to actually meet their families and have time to talk with them," said Parker.
Jones said the open house featured elementary and middle school students and their families, meeting their teachers and seeing their classrooms for the first time. Middle school students took home their class schedules this year. High school students usually receive theirs before the event takes place, but the open house still allows them to meet the staff and see where their classes will meet.
Heritage Elementary Principal Amanda Vance said open house is a great way for students to alleviate first-day jitters and to form bonds with their teachers, which she said is pertinent for kindergarten students, as most of them have never been to the school before.
"With COVID-19, they haven't been able to come in very much and now here we are, getting to be back in the school with everybody here. It's that first step in communication and the first step to form that good school and home relationship," said Vance.
While also being able to get more comfortable with the environment, open house attendees were able to fill out and receive information on online enrollment, the Boys & Girls Club program, transportation, free and reduced-price school lunch applications, and Title I grant information.
Jones said the open house helps students feel more at ease when entering school, as parents will not be able to walk their children to their classrooms anymore. This rule was implemented due to COVID-19 and will continue to be enforced throughout the school year for safety reasons.
"In the mornings, if we allowed some parents to walk in, there would be some kids without parents and some with parents, and that gets kind of hard to police," said Jones.
Open house attendee and Heritage Elementary parent Nate King, who also happens to be Tahlequah's police chief, said he's glad this is the first year he and his family have been able to experience a post-COVID-19 open house. He thinks the new rule will help the kids to gain more independence.
"It's probably better for the parents than it is for the kids — truth be told — that mom and dad get to meet the teacher and do the walk down the hallway. It's a big thing, but I think it also helps teach our kids to be independent in the right situations when we don't walk them down the hallway to class every day," said King.
What's next
Tahlequah Public Schools will start school Aug. 16. with student dropoffs starting at 7:30 a.m.
