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Parents, staff say farewell as schools shift to at-home learning

Great Hearts Academy staff returned student belongings as parents thanked them for their work all year.

PHOENIX — The shortened school year caught many teachers and parents alike by surprise – many who were on spring break when the announcement was made, and now educators are working to adapt to this new normal for the rest of the school year.

Great Hearts Academy, a charter school with 28 locations in Texas and Arizona, has been working to return students' school books and personal items back to their nearly 14,000 students.

"It’s been huge, I mean pretty short turnaround, right?" said Brandon Crowe, executive director for upper schools at Great Heart Academy. "We first thought, 'Well, I’ll just hold off,' but when we saw the schools were going to be closed the rest of the year, we thought, 'Let’s act as soon as we can.'"

Teacher and staff members have spent the better part of a week unloading each student’s locker and placing their belongings into a bag or box. Then, the schools planned to organize a pick-up day, where parents can pick up the bags drive-thru-style.

Credit: Chris Latella/12 News
Staff of Great Hearts Academy hold up signs as they load up trunks and back seats of parents’ cars with personal belongings and textbooks.

"It’s been kind of sad, you know," said Bri Holloway, a mother of three Great Hearts students. "We love our school, we love our school family. The kids really miss their teachers."

Parents like Holloway used this time to say a final good-bye to the teachers and staff for the remainder of the school year. Cars lined up at each of the 23 Valley campuses, where staff members in gloves and masks set bags of books either in trunks or back seats of waiting cars.

For Bri, this is only the latest in a series of unprecedented responses to COVID-19. She’s essentially been her three children’s teacher for the past few weeks.

"It has its own challenges, but I think we have gotten into a routine,” Holloway said. "I think most parents can attest to that. We definitely miss the routine of going to school and seeing friends and teachers and having a better-qualified teacher to teach them!" Holloway said laughing.

Staff members also took advantage of the final opportunity to say farewell to their students and parents as well. Some holding signs saying "We miss you," or "Don’t forget to Read."

"We miss them so much and you know it’s going to be a great day when those doors are open again and we can see everyone," Holloway said.

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