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The end of a school year spent in the classroom

It was the last day of school for one district in Luzerne County, a district that kept children in the classroom all year long despite the pandemic.

LEHMAN, Pa. — Dismissal time on the last day of school in the Lake Lehman School district was full of smiles and cheers from students, teachers, and parents.

"Very excited, and there was like a lot of people, and it was very chaotic," said seventh-grader Cadence Rindock.

"They did a great job. Couldn't ask for any better way of ending the school year, beautiful weather and we're here," Marc Kleyman said.

Not only were students and teachers here for the last day of school, but in-person classes were held here all year long, while many other schools opted for virtual schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students like Cadence Rindock were thankful.

"It was most definitely a lot easier to learn. it was a lot easier to pay attention, and I feel like I got closer with the teachers because of the whole situation."

Both parents and students in the district tell Newswatch 16 they were cautious about going to school full-time, but in the long run, they think it was the better decision.

"There definitely was apprehension in the beginning. We actually involved both of our children in the decision-making process of whether to send them back or not. But even though they had to wear masks all day, they still wanted to go. Lehman kept us informed if there was issues going on. We knew that they were going to be deep cleaning. They installed a very nice air filter system to keep the school clean. Overall it was scary—I'm not going to lie—to send them back knowing everything that was going on, but knowing the experience they were going to get, it was worth it," Melissa Rindock said.

"Absolutely a relief just trying to juggle through schedules of who's staying home with who and whatnot. I give props to the administration," Kleyman added.

Students say in-person learning helped them overcome the challenges they faced this year, and now it's time for some summer fun.

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