The End of the Most Unusual School Year Ever

                                                        

It’s almost Memorial Day Weekend, the official gateway to summer. This year is also the transition to ‘masks off, vaccines on’ with mixed signals for summer activities. In my hometown, they announced last week that the Summer Art Fair is canceled for the second summer in a row. However, after the CDC said that face masks will be optional for vaccinated people in public, they are rethinking the decision. Now that the COVID vaccine is becoming available for ages 12 and up, the rules are changing. The Summer Art Fair will be open on a smaller scale this summer on Main Street only. My public school summer program is not requiring vaccinated teachers or students in grades 4 -12 to wear masks starting June 1. Disneyland is only open to California residents, but still requires masks. Some stores and restaurants are removing their mask mandates. The world as we know it is changing.

How does that make me feel? Well, I still feel insecure without my mask on even after my vaccinations. When I keep it on, I think that people find me rude or doubt their vaccination status. Maybe we need to have our vaccination record tattooed on our hands to show people. Just kidding! My school district will continue the daily Teacher App ‘check in’ for my temperature and symptoms. However, the random Covid tests at school will be discontinued. I was chosen randomly twice to be tested at school and found reassurance in the negative Covid results. My district also offered parents the option next year for full-time classes on campus or at home full time. After the parent survey, my school decided to continue full-time classes at school due to a lack of interest in virtual classes. So life is returning to the ‘new normal.’ The ‘deep cleaning’ will continue at school with doorknobs, computers, and desks using antiseptic wipes. I watched fourth-grade students disinfect their own classroom methodically with wipes at the end of the day. They took great pride in it.

Spring Testing was unique during Covid 19. Students took the online test with their class in the computer lab. Teachers did a complete wipe down of the testing room after the test. Virtual students were invited to come to school and test separately from their classmates. They asked to see their teacher and classmates in person but weren’t allowed in their classrooms. They told me they missed their friends and teachers. However, only half of the virtual students actually came into school to be tested. The test results were lower than normal too. One student fell asleep during the test and put his head on the keyboard. Another student cried because his headphones were too loud. A female student missed the test because her baby sister was sick and she had to care for her. She told me her mom is pregnant and sleeps all the time. After arriving late to school, she had to sit in the office for three hours waiting for her class to finish the test. Another student was crying, ”I'm going to fail the test.” How valid will these pandemic standardized tests scores be this school year?

We also practiced “Virtual Fire Drills” where no one actually left the classroom. The teacher explained the drill procedures. Then each class practiced the fire drill at another time in the day social distanced from other classes. There were some high points for the school such as the new classroom carpet and ‘midnight blue’ curtains for the stage. It was a bit inconvenient to take our personal belongings home and rearrange the furniture after the carpet was installed. Just a minor detail in the scheme of things.

What repercussions will there be from the school closures and remote learning? That remains to be seen. As parents struggled with homeschooling, there was the constant battle with computer time. It is difficult to control students' time at home and experts said that too much screen time can cause neck and back problems as well as behavioral issues. Students struggled to self-regulate themselves as the pandemic dragged on. These timely issues will require further treatment during the next school year. We will all do our best to address the aftermath of a unique school year and make the transition seamless for our students return in September. We have survived the most unusual school year ever!