Administrators and staff members at Marietta knew this year would be a challenging one. Having never planned around a pandemic before, getting ready for the return to in-‐person learning was a novel, if exhausting summer task. And no matter how much you prepare, in a situation such as this, no one really knew what to expect when they returned to school.
As a part of getting back on campus again, the Oklahoma State Department of Education mandated a set of plans from schools: one for in-‐person learning, one for online learning, and one for distance learning in the even that schools experienced short-‐ or long-‐term closures.
But as schools across the area have already experienced COVID-‐related closures, a little over a week into the school year, teachers and students are settling into the routine of the new normal and it’s so far, so good at Marietta. Knock on wood.
As of Friday, August 21, Superintendent Brandi Naylor reported a district enrollment of 1,130. The Indians began the 2019-‐20 school year with a total enrollment of 1,133, so the numbers are practically unchanged from last year. The only change is that this year 88 of those students are enrolled virtually in online learning.
Naylor says that since students have settled into the routine of the new COVID-‐19 protocols, things are running well.
“We have really had one of the smoothest starts that we have ever had,” she said. “I credit that to the hard work our principals, directors, and staff put into being over-‐prepared for the start of a school year with so many unknowns.”