Reopening Has Been a Mixed Success

by Suchi Mehta

On September 14th, the doors of Niskayuna High School opened once again after months of quarantine. Most students are part of the hybrid model, which allows them to be physically present in school every-other day and to attend classes virtually the opposite days. However, there is a substantial amount of students who opted for all-virtual learning, where they log onto classes from home every day.

The major concern for hybrid students is safety, since they are attending classes in the building with many other students. The school has put in place many procedures and regulations to keep students safe from the coronavirus, and mask compliance has been pretty universal, even if most students aren’t socially distancing anymore. Senior Melissa Ochoa states that she feels the student screening and contact tracing has been effective in keeping track of and protecting students, adding that she most enjoys being able to see friends and teachers in person. Although the new four-day rotation was initially overwhelming and unfamiliar, it appears students have adapted quickly to the schedule and are now accustomed to it.

However, there are some issues that still need to be worked out with the hybrid model. The lack of Chromebooks for all students at this time is unfortunate, especially for hybrid students when they are in school. “I don’t have a laptop or a chrome book from school, so it makes getting some of the work done a bit more difficult. I also wish teachers were more clear about what resources students are expected to print out at home and bring to class and what resources will be provided by the teachers,” says senior Jesse Levine. When hybrid students are physically present in the classroom, they don’t have access to the online resources and assignments that they do when they are home, so they cannot complete that work in school. Additionally, the new bus schedules frequently conflict: according to Ochoa, the CTE bus schedules don’t correlate with Nisky’s new school schedule, so if you were going to a BOCES campus this year, it would be extremely difficult to get to the campus if you did not have your own transportation. Levine also adds that while she is thankful for being able to attend school, she does still wish that the school would be made a bit more welcoming, stating that “the cafeteria/study hall in Blatnick looks more like an exam than a place for students to socialize and relax.”

The hybrid model, overall, is pretty efficient and generally safe for the students who opted for it. However, all-virtual learning is not quite at that level yet. There is an evident advantage for choosing all-virtual learning, which is staying safe and not being exposed to others during this pandemic, as well as getting to sleep in and being more in control of your schedule.

However, all-virtual learning has many more issues that make the experience less enriching compared to students attending school in person. Socially, students are not able to interact with their friends and classmates, which takes all of the interactive and interpersonal skills out of the equation entirely, and also leaves students feeling left out. Senior Harini Prabaharan echoes this sentiment, expressing how “The worst part for me is socially—it’s sad not to be able to see my friends. I also feel like I’m not getting a real senior year; this is just academics with nothing social.” However, even beyond the social aspects, there are pressing issues related to the quality of the education itself.

Participating in class discussions and activities proves to be a huge problem for all-virtual students. Many activities, especially lab activities in science classes, or discussion and group work, is impossible for virtual students to participate in. Often, students have to watch videos of others doing the labs instead of actually getting to do the activities themselves, or just reading an article about the topic, which is less engaging and interesting, and ultimately results in a lower understanding of the material than if they were given the chance to do it themselves. Finding a solution to this issue is very difficult, since it is often impossible to get the materials to all-virtual students in a timely and efficient manner for them to carry out the lab work, but it is undoubtedly a disadvantage.

Many students also feel uncomfortable with unmuting and asking questions or shouting out answers because the whole class can hear and see them, which makes them feel particularly vulnerable and put on the spot. The option to approach teachers in private and get one-on-one help is also not really available to all-virtual students anymore, leaving them feeling uncatered to in many situations, especially when, according to senior Chamlu Senthilkumar, “it’s often more difficult for me to grasp concepts when teaching is solely online.” This also puts them at a disadvantage when teachers give participation-based grades, since it is much harder for all-virtual students to truly participate. Breakout groups, however, as noted by Senthilkumar, are a good way to have small-group discussions for virtual students, and give them an opportunity to talk and work with peers in a smaller setting.

However, the all-virtual experience does vary from class to class and from teacher to teacher. According to senior Enana Jacob, “Virtual learning has been a mixed bag. Some teachers have been doing a really great job at including us, but some have made it feel like all-virtual students are a side-note to the rest of the class.” Often there will be work planned for in-person students and the students who are virtual for that day, and the roles will be reversed for the next day’s rotation, but there isn’t always a plan for what the all-virtual students will do to get both assignments done.

There are many changes to virtual learning that could make it more accessible and efficient for all-virtual students. Senior Shaima Hussaini suggests that something that could help is teachers wearing microphones. “Sometimes I feel like when the teacher is at the front of the room, it feels like they are only talking to in-person students, and the virtual students get excluded.” Senior Grace Rohde adds that perhaps more clarity on due dates, a standardized system across subjects as to how all-remote tests/quizzes are given, and a better system to pick up materials would also better accommodate all-virtual students.

All in all, I think that the school reopening has a few issues that need to be smoothed out, particularly for all-virtual students, but there have been many successes. All of the staff at the high school and in the school district deserve our gratitude and recognition for organizing and enabling the reopening, and I look forward to seeing how the year progresses from here.