By Mike Finney

CAMDEN — It was a much-welcomed traffic jam in front of Caesar Rodney High School on Tuesday morning, as buses and parents dropped children off for their first day of in-person instruction with the entire student body since March 2020.

A nervous buzz in the air accompanied masked students, who entered the school and walked through the blue-and-yellow hallways.

Dwayne Lavender, a driver’s education teacher and soccer coach at CR, was supervising the parking lots and making sure students got into the building safely.

“I’m very excited to have a normal school year and at least have everyone back in the building and trying to get things back to the way it was before this whole pandemic broke out,” Mr. Lavender said. “I think everybody’s excited. Everybody’s kind of on edge a little bit because this is the norm that hasn’t been the norm, but we’re going to do everything we can to make this a safe and good environment for our students and staff.

“I think, ultimately, everybody’s goal is to make the best educational experience for these children possible.”

Other than the face coverings, it looked like a routine start to an academic year at CR, with students lugging musical instrument cases, backpacks and new school supplies onto campus.

Haley Church was standing in front of the school, eager to get her senior year underway.

“I’m kind of excited because I want to go to college and probably start my nursing career,” she said. “Last year was hard because I was struggling and didn’t understand most of it, and being virtual was kind of hard to understand.”

Many students had difficulty adapting to the virtual, learning-at-home environment put into place to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus.

And there’s something to be said for learning alongside friends, in-person interactions with teachers and coming to school five days a week, rather than only on a hybrid schedule.

Also Tuesday, students also got their first chance to see the high school’s expansion, which features a new Freshman Academy wing and other additions, like a weight room, that opened last year with very little fanfare due to the pandemic.

“I really want to see the new Freshman (Academy), and that’s about it,” said Erin Short, an incoming sophomore at CR. “It’s (tough to learn virtually) when you don’t do anything. I’m really looking forward to seeing my friends again. That will be nice.”

Jeff Gravatt, another CR driver’s education teacher, was also making sure students were getting onto campus safely Tuesday.

“It’s really exciting because we’ve missed the kids,” he said. “It’s been a building without 2,200 kids in it since March 2020. So, of course, we’re super-excited.

“I know the kids are excited, and the mask thing is what it is. You’ve got to work through it, but if that’s the way to get kids back in the building, then we’ve got to do the best that we can with what’s given to us. Obviously, the kids have done a great job with everything in embracing the challenges that the pandemic’s put in front of us.”

Also Tuesday, the newly constructed David E. Robinson Elementary School in Magnolia was another of Caesar Rodney School District’s 14 schools to open its doors to students.

Kathleen Fitzgerald is serving as the first principal at the school. She had no comment as Robinson Elementary’s inaugural first through fifth graders arrived Tuesday.

She did speak at a dedication ceremony for the facility last week.

“Today, we celebrate the school board, the architect and the construction team who have fulfilled the vision,” she said Aug. 18. “We celebrate my staff and the good work that they will do within these walls. Finally, we celebrate the person for whom this building is named — (former CR Superintendent) Dr. David E. Robinson.”

CR Superintendent Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald said in a back-to-school letter on the district’s website that the past year-and-a-half has been an incredible challenge to students and staff.

“These have certainly been challenging times for the country, the community, and the school district!” Dr. Fitzgerald wrote. “As we all struggled with what is being called the ‘New Normal.’ I have always believed that from challenges comes opportunity. From opportunity comes the need to invent and to innovate.

“Sometimes the process is not as quick and easy as we want and there is trial and error. But even though the process may become uncomfortable, we become stronger and better for it.”

Dr. Fitzgerald said he was also excited to see and hear the students walking through hallways and back into classrooms.

“This year while we continue to face challenges from COVID and the Delta Variant, the Caesar Rodney School District is committed to returning our students to a full five-day-a-week in-person calendar,” he wrote. “Our goal is to help our students transition back into a full-day setting while jump-starting their learning during the first two weeks of the school year.”