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Making the Change to Full Time Schooling

By EMMA DOUGHERTY

In Westchester, New York, and many neighboring areas, schools are going back full time. As Covid cases are going down, Governor Cuomo and the CDC Department of Health believe it is a safe option. The Mount Pleasant Central School District chooses to take part in this change. 

 

It is important to look at many different perspectives when noticing this change, as it will affect all people differently. 

 

The change of hybrid schooling to fully in-person came along when parents began complaining to the government, as well as their home school districts. Parents advocated that not only did the children have a hard time learning, but the parents needed to provide support and childcare for their children while they were working. Students and teachers struggled with motivation and participation problems during this time. 

 

Previous to Covid times, parents would go to work, children would go to school, and teachers would teach. As it became dangerous for all students to be in school every day, the capacity rules had to change. Now that the amount of Covid cases are decreasing, it is ruled safe to bring everyone back at once. This relieves many problems that were caused from the initial change. 

 

It was announced by Dr. Kurtis Kotes, the Mount Pleasant Central School District Superintendent, on February 21, 2021, that all schools will be returning back full time. The district worked with the Westchester County Department of Health in order to provide the correct protection for each of the students and staff. 

 

To remain open, it is important that the schools stay clean and everyone stays healthy. Dr. Kotes states in his email, “Our cleaning supplies are in good order to be able to thoroughly clean the buildings with the full return of students through the end of the school year.  We will continue on an ongoing cycle to clean common touch points throughout the day, including door knobs, bathroom fixtures and other commonly touched surfaces”. 

 

Not only was there a change in the health protocol, but bringing students back full time led to new schedules. Specifically to Westlake High School, Dr. Kotes informed that “The building will return to the block scheduling model.  Mr. Schenker and Mr. Amann will be working together to refine the schedule and will communicate directly with families to go over the transition back to the block scheduling model”. 

 

In response to returning to the block scheduling, Francesca DeMartino, 10th grade student at Westlake High School says, “I’ve missed the block scheduling so much; having every class every day was very stressful. The block scheduling allows me to manage my time easily. It even reduces some of my stress.” 

 

This change is positive to students like DeMartino who have trouble focusing at home through a computer screen. She says, “I am not able to learn as much.” 

 

This is concerning to many because through these important years of education, moving on to college and work in the future, students can not slack or fall behind. 

 

Teachers have a similar view to students, as they also had trouble teaching virtually. Lauren Muller, who teaches 9th grade English and Envisions, as well as Journalism states, “I find that the virtual classes have really hindered building relationships with my students and that is one of my favorite parts about my job.” 

 

She says that in a normal year, she uses the experiences and stories of her students in order to personalize her lessons and teaching style. Muller will now be able to teach in a more dynamic way, as she interacts with her students in a new way. 

 

She explains, “Lack of participation and motivation; less face-to-face time; less accountability and investment in academics; far less social interaction; ease of sleeping through class; lack of focus for students working from home; distractibility,” were drawbacks of virtual and hybrid learning. 

 

Of course, parents have opinions on this change too. It affects all families differently, depending on their situation. Margaret Dougherty, mother of 3 and a kindergarten teacher, explains her home situation in relation to hybrid learning: “My husband’s job allows him to work from home which enabled him to support and navigate any issues that the kids dealt with. He was able to help Matthew, a fourth grade student at Columbus Elementary School, as the older two did most things on their own.” 

 

Her family did not struggle with this change, although it is clear that some did. Although it has been fine for her, she believes students should be back in school full time. 

 

Dougherty says, “I do think that the focus in school will be better than when the kids sat in front of a screen all day though. As for teachers, the decrease in the amount of virtual students is definitely helpful”. 

 

Overall, this change is beneficial to most parts concerning school, students, teachers, and parents. Since students have been back in the building, there has been a drastic improvement in the social interactions. 




 

Works Cited

 

Kotes, Dr. Kurtis. E-mail interview. 26 Feb. 2021. 

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