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ALBANY — If the traditional last day of school ditty celebrates the end of pencils, books and teachers’ dirty looks, the first day back as Dougherty County students returned to classes was one of smiles all around.

After having their on-campus routines suddenly interrupted in mid-March, 1,859 of the school system’s elementary school students and their teachers returned to campus on Monday.

“When they saw the students, they lit up,” Dougherty County Schools Superintendent Ken Dyer said of teachers and staff during a Tuesday virtual interview with local news media. “They were just as happy as the students were. Just to be back in school and to provide for their safety has been a rewarding sight for me.”

The children in grades pre-kindergarten through third grade who returned to their schools also were excited, he said.

After being cooped up during the pandemic and engaged in online learning for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, the kids got to resume a more normal routine.

The remainder of the school system’s elementary school students will return on Monday. No date has been set for the resumption of on-campus learning for middle and high school students.

“Most of them, the ones (students) I have seen, seem quite happy to be back in school, just to see their friends and other people they know,” Dyer said. “There has been some excitement.”

While riding the bus and classroom learning are normal for the students, much of the routine is vastly different than the pre-coronavirus days.

Students, with the exceptions of those with valid medical reasons, are required to wear face masks while on buses and in school buildings. The school system provides face shields for students who cannot wear a mask while on campus.

At some of the elementary campuses, the daily social time of school breakfast and lunch has been altered as many students are eating at their desks, enclosed in plastic shields on three sides.

Other students are eating in cafeterias while maintaining social distancing practices.

All students and staff have their temperatures taken before being allowed into buildings each day.

Students who arrive with a temperature are sent home with parents if riding with them or, in the case of bused students, separated from other students until a parent can arrive.

The first day of school also brought the first coronavirus case — a teacher at Alice Coachman Elementary.

“The teacher started feeling under the weather during the day,” Dyer said. “The teacher had a rapid test and it came back positive.”

Students and a paraprofessional in the classroom, however, were quarantined only for one day as health officials determined the protocols were properly followed and they were not potentially exposed to infection from the teacher.

The teacher was doing well and recovering, Dyer said.

“Our principal followed our protocols to the letter,” he said. “We notified our parents whose students may have been affected.”

To alert parents, the school system will each Friday provide a snapshot of coronavirus cases in schools. The online report will give updates on any coronavirus cases among students and staff by school and classroom.

Special Photo: DCSSSpecial Photo: DCSS