The wait is over! The doors to our school buildings are open and teachers and staff have welcomed our students back to school for another great year here at Liberty-Benton.
For our in-person learners, this is the first time back in the school buildings for nearly six months. Moreover, while this year will look and feel very different from past years, we are excited to have the opportunity to begin our school year with our students - whether they are at home or in the classroom.
Our Eagle nation rallied together to overcome the challenges of last spring; we dug deep and used creativity and perseverance to wrap up the 2019-2020 school year. That same cohesiveness will help our Liberty-Benton Local School District community thrive this school year.
We want to continue to teach our students in the classroom and in order to make that happen, we must be serious about the government and healthcare community’s mandates and recommendations. We appreciate all that you are doing to prevent community spread of COVID-19 through practicing social distancing, remaining home as much as possible, wearing face coverings, washing hands frequently and most importantly, doing daily health checks before sending your students to school.
We understand that there are financial, educational and facility implications for all of us because of this COVID-19 pandemic. We never could have predicted six months ago that we would need to allocate our budget to purchase necessary items such as personal protective equipment or additional technology resources, but we are working hard to address these challenges and find viable solutions. We will continue to keep you up to date on our efforts regarding everything we are doing to make sure our budgets, buildings and educational opportunities are focused on providing all of our students with the best experience possible this school year.
We will also keep you updated on all of the milestones, celebrations and accomplishments we will achieve together this year. Like you, I would love for life to be back to normal. We are not there yet, but we are ready to make this a successful school year. Our teachers and staff have been working tirelessly to prepare for a multitude of learning environment possibilities. We are prepared to provide our Liberty-Benton students with the high-quality education they deserve no matter what obstacles are thrown our way. We are in this together.
Mark Kowalski
Superintendent