Tigers back in black and orange

There was some first day of school energy in the air at Douglas High School on Tuesday.
About 20 parents of seniors greeted students as they returned to the first day of full-time, in-person instruction with signs and balloons.

“I am so proud of our staff and students, as well as our parents that have partnered with us to help ensure a successful full return to school,” Principal Mike Rechs said. “While we continue to be cautious, our students need to be in school and the entire staff at DHS is here to support them. There was definitely an excitement in the air similar to a first day of school and there were so many staff members proudly wearing their black and orange.”

Superintendent Keith Lewis told school board trustees that the first days went smoothly for the secondary students.

“This has been a long-time coming and we know this will have a positive impact on the youth of our community.”

Middle and high school students have been attending school alternating in-person and online since August. Some elementary schools that had the room to social distance have been in-person full-time since the beginning of the school year.

“The return of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders at Carson Valley Middle School and Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School has been very smooth,” Lewis said. “It’s great to see our student-athletes having the opportunity to compete on the course, courts, and fields.”

Next Monday, ASPIRE Academy students will return to full-time.

The district leases space for the Academy from Western Nevada College, which holds night classes. After Monday, only Douglas Nevada Online students will remain in virtual classes.

“We’ve had some requests from students to return to the high school from Douglas Nevada Online,” Lewis told trustees. “We’re going to look at those on a case-by-case basis depending on the needs of the students.”

He said that generally the district will permit them to return, though some high school electives could complicate the transition.