Return to Five Days
On Wednesday, Naperville School District 203 high school students made their way in to begin five days of in-person learning. This is the first time they’re back for five days since March of last year.
“It’s a lot easier to learn when I’m in person everyday just because of consistency and I’m able to focus more on what the teacher is teaching me,” said Naperville North High School senior, Tanner Child. “And also being able to interact with my peers makes communication more clear and everything run smoother.”
Being back at school also allows him to run a software program for his cyber security class that wasn’t available on computers at home. The in-person opportunity will help the graduating senior as he plans for a career in computer science.
Naperville North junior, Jordan King, said she enjoys being back for orchestra. “I’m glad to be back where there’s some kids we can actually play together instead of seeing people play on a computer screen,” said King.
For King, remote learning was easy to adapt to, though she’s happy to return to school everyday.
“I feel like I missed out on a lot in comparison with remote and being fully back in school,” said King. “I think that aspect of just being super focused on what the teacher is saying and being able to interact with peers as well, I was definitely lacking that on Zoom.”
A Parent’s Perspective
Her mother, Keri, is happy she has that option. “In terms of health and safety, that’s still a concern as a parent. I think just overall and the uncertainty with what we’re living through,” said Keri. “But the health and safety also includes education, so you kind of have to take the good with the bad at this point.”
The days are different with masks on the entire time, desks spaced out, one-way hallways, and following an 85-minute block schedule. “It’ll take a lot to get used to just because we’ve been out of it for a year,” said Jordan.
A Good Step
Even with these changes, the upperclassmen still believe five days of in-person learning is a good step.
“I think that remote learning was hard for everybody and just being able to have the opportunity to go back to school I think is going to benefit a lot of students,” said Child.
The district said they plan to return to a full eight-period schedule at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.
Early childhood, elementary, and junior high students are all now attending five days of in-person learning as well.
Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.
