It's that time of year when parents post their kids' photos on social media on their first day of school. The photos would show the children in their brand-new clothes and big smiles, standing in front of doors or cars.
But, as the nation continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, the photos are different this year.
One Tennessee mother posted her high school daughter's first day of school on Monday, with her standing at the end of the stairs inside of her home - laptop in hand. The next photo was the junior walking up the stairs waving goodbye, with the hashtags: #virtuallearning and #thenewnormal.
Wednesday was the first day of school for Hamilton County Schools students. This is the first time the school district's facility doors have been opened since March 12 due to the coronavirus. The district has a phased plan ranging from all-online to all-in-person schooling, with hybrid models in between, depending on coronavirus data. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 1,271 active COVID-19 cases countywide.
READ MORE: Two Hamilton County schools temporarily close due to positive COVID-19 cases
Photo Gallery
Creel-Edwards Wedding Reception
Whitney Elizabeth Creel and Colin Lamar Edwards II were married Oct. 29 on the lawn of Marlsgate Plantation in Scott. A tented reception on the property followed the ceremony.
The district will have a hybrid learning schedule through Aug. 28. This schedule groups students into cohorts (A and B) and allows smaller class sizes. On days students are not in the classrooms, they will continue learning with their classes remotely.
Some parents took to social media to sound off on how their children's first days went.
Treneka Jackson Miller said, "everything is going great. Eastside Elementary staff and teachers have been wonderful."
Shelby Duckworth Alas praised Chattanooga School for Liberal Arts for doing "an amazing job [Wednesday] morning, welcoming and getting the kids in the school and to their classrooms.
"My daughter wasn't sure where her class was and since I'm not allowed to enter the building the principal offered to walk her to her class," Alas said on the Times Free Press Facebook page. "To say I'm not apprehensive about school starting back would be untrue, but I feel better knowing she is in capable and caring hands."
There were some parents who voiced their concerns but understood that things just happen on the first day of school.
Melissa Howard's child is attending school via HCS at Home, a full-time remote setting while still being connected to her current school.
Howard said there were some technical issues with her child's Chromebook that she received the day before school started and she experienced glitches in programs.
"It's just the first day, but I feel the teachers should have been prepared better. They found out information the same time we have and that just doesn't work," Howard said. "They are just as frustrated. Just seems they should have been informed as things went on instead of everything being thrown at them at once. It's very frustrating and it's not the teacher's fault. They are doing the best they can."
ENROLLMENT
District communications director Tim Hensley said an estimated 45,544 students are enrolled districtwide.
"We really do not know enrollment numbers until about 10 days into the school year," he said. "Some students did not withdraw, so we do not know [if] they are not coming back until they do not show up for the new school year. We also get new registrations a few weeks into the year."
READ MORE: Two Walker County Schools staff members test positive for COVID-19
Out of the overall total, 13,451 are enrolled virtually through either HCS at Home or Hamilton County Virtual School.
The district saw an increase in this school year's enrollment at Hamilton County Virtual School, which started in 2005 but was recognized as a school in 2012.
According to Hensley, there were 50 enrolled students last year. There are 648 students enrolled this school year.
Contact Monique Brand at mbrand@timesfreepress.com or on Twitter @MoBrandNews.