As schools around the country debate how best to end their years while COVID-19 threatens traditional graduation ceremonies, Macon County elementary and intermediate schools are saying farewell to their students through a series of parades.
East Franklin Elementary School kicked off the farewell parade train on Monday night, May 18. Teachers and faculty lined the sidewalks of the school to greet first-grade students (who stayed in their cars the whole time) and cheered them on as they received a goodie bag filled with small toys, candy, their report cards and their first grade scrapbooks. Despite some dreary weather, more than 70 of the school’s 90 first-graders made the trip by the end of the night.
“I’m glad they have a chance to wave to their teachers and see them again after they didn’t really have a chance to say goodbye,” parent Sarah Taylor said.
It’s been a chaotic few weeks for Macon County Schools. Teachers and administrators have had to adapt to several executive orders, different systems of teaching and a long list of new needs. EFES principal Sandra McMahan said it’s been an ordeal to keep everything running as smoothly as possible, but the entire EFES community was committed to making things work from the start.
“Remote learning was a learning experience for the teachers, the students, the parents, everyone,” McMahan said. “But it was amazing how well everyone adapted.”
For the teachers, handing out bags was the first face-to-face contact they’ve had with their students in weeks. Some of them have been able to interact directly with their students through video classrooms, but others have been missing the chance to lead a normal learning experience for a long time now. Even in a limited capacity, getting everyone together once more was an optimistic way to end the year. “When they left, we never imagined that we weren’t going to see them again for the rest of the year,” teacher Pam Owens said. “It was so good to see them again.”
For EFES first graders, it was also a way to celebrate something they’d only gotten to do once before – completing a school year.
“I missed my teachers,” first-grader Esteban Colnenares said. “I don’t know how I did on my report card, though.”
East Franklin Elementary School, South Macon Elementary School, Cartoogechaye Elementary School, Iotla Valley Elementary School and Mountain View Intermediate School also had farewell parades scheduled. Contact each school individually for a schedule of events or call the Macon County Schools central office at 828-524-3314.