SAN ANTONIO -- Trash bags, grabbers, a sense of purpose, community, and understanding. That's all the students in Rene Rico's class at Sam Rayburn Middle School need in order to work on the open field across the street from the school.

Keeping the school's Adopt-A-Spot clear of debris is a course requirement. It’s a tough one considering the uncertainty of in-person learning right now.

After six months away due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the field's grass has grown out and trash has made its way back to the grounds. It's got Rico itching to clean it up but with children starting the school year virtually, his fellow teachers have been stepping up.

"A couple of my colleagues have offered to bring their own mowers and get that part done," he said.  "Let's go out there and do it as adults. We want it to be clean when the kids start coming back to school."

Teachers are doing whatever it takes is a theme around schools these days. From getting their classroom ready to measuring the distance between desks.

"I feel like for the first time I'm putting more stuff away then I'm pulling out," Rico said. "I have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. With those seven desks I have are the kids I can have in my classroom that are practicing social distancing of six feet apart.”

As an English and Language Arts teacher, Rico doesn't shy away from talking about how hard this situation is for all involved.

"The social aspect of being around our students is affecting all of us, whether you can read it on our faces or not. I don't think it's a stretch to say there's some trauma on both sides," he said.

Rico and his fellow teachers will start teaching their classrooms exclusively on the computer, but their all preparing for at least a partial return of children at some point this fall.

He says their adjusting on the fly because they're already accustomed to doing it with each and every student that passes through their classroom. And as far as Sam Rayburn Middle School is concerned, the teachers and staff are united in doing whatever it takes to get kids educated.

"I have not once in any private conversation or private text thread or whatever heard any negative about what we're doing," Rico said.

This teacher believes there’s a reason why conversations have been so positive.

"Because we're dedicated to the profession that we chose. No campus is the same, and only we know how to do things the Rayburn way, and that's just our reality," said Rico.