At this point in time it is predicted that students from grades 7-12 are now able to go back to in person school on a modified schedule as of yesterday, March 22. This means that for the students who choose to go back to in person learning they will be separated into two cohorts and will get to go to school two days a week for half the day in the morning. The rest of the days they will go to school from home on their Chromebooks. Those that choose to stay with full time distance learning will have little change other than a change in schedule (class times) and the teachers will have to teach to the students at home and the students in the classroom simultaneously.

As a senior I am personally planning on doing in person learning in the event that we are allowed to go back this year, this is because even though I know it will not be the same as pre-covid classes, at least I will be able to say I got to actually go to school for a portion of my senior year. I do not like learning online as much as in person. Sure the commute is a lot shorter and the halls less crowded but it is also more difficult to get help if you are struggling with something in a class and it is much harder to connect with other people through a screen. And even though I hope we go back to at least some level of in person learning, with the current modified in-person plan in place I think the quality of education will fall even more than it did when we switched from in person to online a year ago and this is because teachers will now have to split their attention between the kids online and those in the classroom which, in many cases, will no doubt create confusion and complicate the process even more.

“I don’t plan on going back to school because the half day and school and a half day at home is just too much for me. I feel like learning at home is easier and I think it is preparing me for college. I would like to go back also but until I have my drivers licenses, getting rides would be a problem. I think that there aren’t many learning disabilities for people who would rather stay home or at school. I think this because they are kind of the same. Both give students the same learning activity, just a little different according to the place.” – Chase V.

“For me I am not planning on going back to school. This is because of rides and we are doing better at home. This is a problem for us because we have to get a ride to school for the first 3 periods, then get a ride home, then get another ride back to school for practice. I like learning from home and I also like to learn in person too. This is because learning from home is that I have the comfort from home and for in person learning I just have the face to face connections with the teachers. I feel that the learning at school will be a little bit different from learning at home. This is because the people going back to school have hands on learning then do the people at home. Then also have face to face connection with their teachers.” – Karson V.

“I plan on going back to school. I think that staying home and doing distance learning has some advantages for example, I am more organized, but I learn better in person when I am able to have face to face contact with my teachers and classmates. I think that the quality of education will be worse because the teachers will have to teach to people on zoom and in the class which I think will be confusing and might stretch their attention to thin and not be able to help everyone.” – Dominick H.

If all goes according to plan students in grades 7-12 will be starting a modified in person learning schedule sometime within the next month. This will mean students who choose to do this will go to school two half days a week with the rest online and those who want to stay with full time distance learning will be able to do so. There are many mixed and different feelings on this and what it means concerning the rest of the school year but one thing we know for sure, it is unlike any other year so far!