Back at school once again with a new schedule. 

Students are starting to come into school for another time with a different schedule and teachers are having to find ways to adjust to this new schedule. 

A new way of coming back to school has started. With both online and in-person students, there are some difficulties with teaching both. Teachers are trying to find out what’s best for their students with this new schedule.

With the idea of everyone’s safety and the state regulations in mind, a new schedule has started where half the students will go the first half of the week while the second half will go the last two days of the week and everyone is at home for Wednesday. “We were told that we would have three groups of students per class: Cloud Students, A Students on Mondays and Tuesdays, and B students on Thursdays and Fridays. Each teacher has a lot of liberty to organize and teach their classes in the way that they feel is best for their class,” teacher Nathan Lentz said.

We’ve tried other ways to get students back into school and this one seems the most effective. “I think most students would like to come back full time. Since this is not possible, I think they are thankful to be back for a couple of days a week,” teacher Jenna Hoglen said. This way is different and something the schools have never done before but the students are able to experience both online and in-person school while following regulations to keep everyone safe.

Since this is something we’ve never done before, it’s new for everyone including the teachers. They have to find a way to teach in person with those certain regulations while also having zooms and online assignments available for students at home. “It is very difficult for me to manage in-person and online students at the same time, but there’s no other way to get students back in school right now,“ teacher Kristy Tinelli said. It’s hard to do both for the teachers but they’re figuring out successful ways that work for them and their students every day. 

Teachers are also trying to find ways to benefit the students and keep them engaged with doing both zoom and in-person lessons. “The biggest struggle for me is trying to figure out what works best for the most students and managing everyone. My workday has extended well into the evening trying to plan for the next day, grade papers, make online assignments, etc. I also feel like I’m always leaving someone out – if I talk to the people in class the online students are not engaged, and if I answer chats or address online students, the in-person students get distracted.” Tinelli said. Teachers are working very hard to be available for both online and in-person and are trying their best to keep things as normal as they can be.