Sparta students enjoy a successful return to campus

The Sparta Township Public Schools had a successful campus reopening, said the acting superintendent, Patrick McQueeney, at the Jan. 28 school board meeting.

The schools returned to in-person learning on Jan. 19. Three students, representatives of student government, thanked the district and everyone else who helped reopen the schools, even if only on a hybrid schedule of virtual and in-person classes.

“I think we had no better example of what it means to our students than the three students who came here this evening and mentioned how much they enjoyed being back to school,” McQueeney said.

He recommended that the district’s Reopening Committee allow programs that benefit Sparta students to use the facility. He talked about allowing the Sparta PAL to use Sparta Middle School, and for the township recreation programs to use school facilities.

“We want to make sure we’re using our facilities for our community and our students,” McQueeney said.

He said he’s working with the district’s staff and administration to bring expand student activities and bring back some of the clubs and extracurricular activities that have been dormant since earlier in the pandemic.