Many students are spending their Labor Day Weekend preparing for the start of a new school year on Tuesday, September 8 at Columbus City Schools.
Samantha Penick, a parent of a first-grade student at Columbus Spanish Immersion Academy, said she and her daughter had a difficult time at the end of last year when classes moved online.
“Well at the end of it, it was kind of hard. She had gotten used to getting up, going to school and learning,” Penick said.
Her daughter eventually asked her what the point of going to school was since learning was different than what she had come to know.
Penick works in developmental disabilities and said she even had to change her work schedule so she could find the time to help her children with new schooling and fit other family tasks into her schedule.
That’s why she jumped on the opportunity offered by another parent ahead of the 2020 school year.
“My daughter and her friend are going to be schooling together. Her friend's mom reached out to a group of us and said, ‘You know if anyone needs help with schooling or anything, I'm willing to let your kid come to my house,” Penick said.
That parent also speaks Spanish, allowing her to help both children with their schoolwork which is 80% Spanish at the Columbus Spanish Immersion Academy.
Penick said she feels more comfortable about this school year than she did last semester as there are more instructions given to parents to help them navigate online learning.
“I feel like she’s OK and that makes me feel OK.”
