Summer is upon us, and schools around the country are either out or just about to be out. It’s hard to believe we’ve made it through an entire school year in the pandemic, but here we are at the finish line.

What a crazy year it’s been for Chippewa Falls schools. Throughout the last year, teachers, staff and students had to navigate a weird combination of virtual and in-person schooling. Nothing was remotely normal, even for in-person school. With masks, distancing measures, sanitization rules and changes to events and activities, the entire year felt pretty surreal.

It’s been 15 months since the country first shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we’re fortunately looking at a relatively normal summer ahead of us as things open back up and vaccination rates continue to climb, we also think it’s important to look back on this year and give some special attention to the people who deserve credit.

• Teachers and school staff, who had to completely re-learn their jobs in some cases to continue delivering a high-quality educational experience to students in unprecedented circumstances.

• Administrators, who fielded calls from parents and tried to keep the ship steady in less-than-ideal conditions.

• Parents, who stayed flexible despite the frequent changes they had to deal with and who kept their children moving forward regardless of the challenges they faced.

• Students, who were incredibly impressive in their adaptability and who were the ones who had to suffer the most through many missed opportunities and strange situations.

• Supporters from alumni groups, the community at large and elsewhere who continued to provide much-needed support in a variety of ways throughout a strange year.

Hopefully next school year looks much more like normal than what we’ve encountered for the last 15 months or so. Things certainly are trending in the right direction. 

But for now, as we say goodbye to the 2020-2021 school year and celebrate the class of 2021, let’s make sure those who soldiered through this year have our gratitude.