Fourteen new teachers at CCS as ‘21-22 classes start Aug. 18

    There will be more than a few new faces at the head of the classroom when Chase County Schools starts the 2021-22 school year next week.
    Fourteen new teachers went through orientation Monday with CCS administrators as they begin their tenures at CCS.
    Six of the teachers are added positions the school board approved the past year, including three classroom teachers, additional art and music teachers and a high school Spanish instructor.
    Lambert said the other eight replace staff who left the CCS system or retired.
    School opens Wednesday, Aug. 18, with a full day of classes starting at 8 a.m. with a 3:30 p.m. dismissal.
    Supt. Adam Lambert has a lot of anticipation.
    “I’m excited to start the year,” he said.
    Lambert said some of the new staff members have been at the school for two weeks, getting their rooms ready for students.
    “I’m excited with all the new staff. They all bring a lot of energy and a lot of ideas from their previous experiences,” he said.
    Administration and selected staff members will team up to serve as mentors to the new staff, he said, as they transition to CCS.
    Lambert doesn’t anticipate a big influx of enrollment numbers, or a drop in students. He expects the numbers to be similar to last year when 619 K-12 students started the school year.
No COVID restrictions
    With first day of classes just a week away, Lambert said they are as ready as they are going to be.
    It was a different picture last year when COVID-19 restrictions were in place.
    Not this year.
    “There are no masks required. I’m not planning on any restrictions until some Directed Health Measure comes from the Governor,” he said.
    “Right now, the state is not in any health emergency,” he said.
    CCS must post its “reopening plan” on its website, he said, as part of the Biden Administration’s America Rescue Plan since CCS received federal ARC money.
    He noted schools like CCS who opened in all-day, in-person session all of the 2020-21 school year are way ahead of those schools in states who did not have in-person attendance.
    CCS had its “reopening plan” established last year, and Lambert said he’ll use the same exact plan this year if needed, with a message at the top:
    “Nebraska is not currently in a state of emergency. We will start with normal school operations unless something changes.”
    He said students can wear masks if they choose, but they are not required.
    School administrators are meeting weekly online with SW Nebraska Public Health Department staff.
    He noted, “They are seeing a wave in cases in the district, and encouraging schools to follow CDC guidelines.”
    He credits the custodians for “an amazing job” getting the school ready with all the improvements made to the physical plant, as well as getting rooms ready for the additional staff members.
Summer upgrades
    The biggest upgrade during the summer was the resurfacing of the school’s outdoor track.
    Other improvements were done, or will be finished as materials arrive, Lambert said.
    The band room and grade 5-12 choir room received new carpet this summer.
    Three large classroom windows were installed during the summer, with nine more approved by the board to be put in when they arrive. Head of maintenance Dallas Baney said that’s expected in about 30 days.
    Also delayed due to material shipments is a new storage  building to be located by the bus barn. Lambert said nothing has started yet on that project, but the contractor hopes for materials to arrive later this month.
    All the new chromebooks for incoming freshmen have arrived, as well as new laptops for the CCS industrial arts classes.