Students Returning to School

Imagine your whole life being flipped upside down because of a new disease that has spread across the world. This became a reality for students when Covid-19 shut down schools across the globe. On February 27, 2020, the first school in America shut down. By mid-March all public schools were closed. Nothing was the same as how it was before the pandemic. There was a 2-3 months gap where no one at WJCC or the government knew what to do. Students were just sitting at home waiting for something to happen when eventually it did. WJCC finally announced that students would be going back to school but it would be virtual school.

Teachers started to use video conferences or videos of themselves to teach students at home. Companies like Zoom and Microsoft Teams were booming because they were the only few companies that had video calls for lots of people/students. The teachers and students didn’t like this very much.

The morale of the students and teachers was at an all-time low because the teachers and students were both unfamiliar with all the new technology that was now the only way to teach class as a group. Also students just wanted to go on summer break and not have to do all this virtual stuff. Mental health was also a big problem with students and teachers because of school and the virus in general. Victor Parks said,  “We sit at home all day, while staring at our computers with our teachers talking in the background.” He added, “This has definitely been the most challenging year of school.”

The virus was taking a toll on everyone, and school as a whole was completely in ruins. Funding was almost non-existent because everything was shut down and there was no one to pay taxes in places like Colonial Williamsburg and The Williamsburg Premium Outlets. The Governor of Virginia closed school for the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. The 2020-2021 school year was a lot more organized though, with 3 months of planning and getting familiar with all the new technology. At the start of the year the government was optimistic so they gave students a choice to be all virtual the whole year or you could be virtual until schools reopen. All classes were still completely virtual but learning was easier than the past year. Then the Covid-19 vaccine came out and everyone was hopeful to come back to school. This prompted the Governor to announce that schools will be reopening and students and teachers will be going back to school.

Teachers were then able to get the vaccine in preparation for students returning. Some people were stoked to go back, but others were just getting used to virtual learning and the benefits of such learning. Students had a choice to stay virtual or go back to in-person learning. Logan Oliver, a student who opted to stay virtual, said, “I don’t see the point of going back to school if I’ve already been doing online pretty much the whole year, I also don’t think it’ll be the same as it normally is and wont be as much fun.”

Safety was the most important thing going back in school. When entering the school everyone had to get their temperature taken to make sure no one had a fever which is one of the symptoms of Covid-19. Everyone in the building was also required to wear a mask. Social distancing, which has been a huge part of stopping the spread of Covid-19 from the beginning, was just as huge now as it was in the beginning. Everything had to be sanitized including: desks, chairs, boards, handles, tables, and anything else that was touched by students.

Lunch was a big problem that needed to be figured out. At Lafayette, there are different lunch times and different sectors at lunch that certain classes have to sit at. Contact between students was avoided as much as possible. Buses were another problem because there is such a large number of students in one small space.

Taking all of that into account, returning to school was a success. Students could finally see their friends and interact with their teachers.  There were a few hiccups with technology but teachers could finally see their students and help them in person. The schedule has since changed due to the success of students coming back. The schedule is now the same as the one before Covid-19 hit. This is a huge win for schools and the country in general. Education is finally going back to how it was before the infection struck.