Broken Arrow Starts School As Parents Navigate New Normal

Broken Arrow parents are picking up their kids from the first day of school Thursday.

Whether they're doing in-person or virtual classes, parents navigating this new normal in education said they’re glad to see their kids learning again.

Broken Arrow students were given the option of in-class learning, virtual, or blended, so some students started their morning in a classroom and some started at the kitchen table. 

"Within the hour of starting it was good," SheKendra Nicholson said. "We heard from who we needed to and got everything they needed so it's going smooth for the first day. I'll give them that."

Nicholson said it took less than three hours for her six children to complete their assignments. She believes the key to a successful first day of virtual learning is a routine and that included some PE time. 

"Everybody went to bed by 10:30 last night, everybody was up at 9 this morning at the table," Nicholson said. "They all had breakfast together. They all sat there for a minute. We cleaned up the mess and then we dived right into school work."

The district said more than 5,000 students are learning entirely virtual this school year. Another Broken Arrow parent said after testing out the distance learning in the spring, she opted for in-person learning. 

"It was an adjustment for everybody, but my kids would not do well if they were forced to do virtual learning for the entire school year. It would not go well for them," said Kolette Sawyer. 

Sawyer's three kids were back in class Thursday. She said it's long overdue and feels confident in the COVID protocols the schools are taking.

"The kids going back to school and wearing masks I think is a reasonable accommodation, but I think the psychological benefits of them being back in school far outweighs any risk of COVID at this point," said Sawyer.