News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Tiffany Brilinski, left, and Parker Timm shop for school supplies at Walmart in Alpena on Tuesday. School in Alpena starts on Monday.

ALPENA — The Alpena Public School system hopes the school year more closely resembles those before last year, when COVID-19 disrupted in-person learning and altered policies and procedures at area schools.

The first day of class for all of the schools in Alpena, other than Ella White Elementary School and Wilson Elementary School, begins Monday, but teachers, administrators, and janitorial employees have already been hard at work getting things ready for students.

Officials delayed the start of classes at Ella White until Sept. 13 to allow the completion of construction projects slowed by the accessibility of materials, APS officials said last week. Wilson Elementary students will start school on Wednesday, after a delay to allow workers to complete work in the school’s parking lot and classrooms.

Superintendent Dave Rabbideau said the 2020-21 school year was one that presented many challenges.

He said the goal this year is to return to a more typical and standard way of operating and instructing.

Rabbideau said students will notice some changes in the schools, as the school system continues with its upgrades to its facilities. But for the most part, things should seem quite normal and familiar procedure-wise.

“We’re going back to as close to a traditional routine as we can,” he said. “We’re looking forward to welcoming the kids back and they might notice a few physical changes, but for the most part we want it to be as traditional as we can.”

Last year, the school district bounced back-and-forth between in-person and virtual education because of the pandemic. When the schools were open, they were, for the most part, locked down and most people not attending class, working in an official capacity were not allowed to enter.

Rabbideau said the rules will be loosened somewhat this year, so people needing to get into the school for family matters, or other approved uses, will have an easier time doing so.

“People will still have to contact the office and visitation will be on a case-by-case basis,” he said. “But we are trying to get back to more traditional visitation, with fewer restrictions. We’ll continue to screen people for safety and to make sure they are there for an appropriate reason.”

Rabbideau said students and faculty at Ella White should continue to plan on returning to school on Sept. 13. He said materials for the construction projects are arriving and the contractors are making the upgrades to the school quickly.

The flooring has been installed and the cabinets are going in,” he said. “We’re getting the work done more quickly now that the materials have arrived. The kids are going to get a great building.”

During the summer, APS has been the target of some community members who have concerns about its curriculum, policy toward minorities, and a host of other issues. Some meetings have become so disruptive that law enforcement has had to intervene and public outbursts are common.

Rabbideau said he doesn’t think the behavior of the adults will spill over to their children, and he believes the kids will act mature and responsibly with one another.

“Our kids will rise to the occasion,” he said. “I’m sure some of the topics will come up in conversation among the kids, like masks, but our kids are great. We will be monitoring any questionable behavior though.”

The school district will not have a mask mandate, at least to begin the year, unless last minute action from the board of education takes place. Students and staff can dictate whether to mask-up, or not, individually.

News reporter Julie Riddle contributed to this story.