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On March 13, 2020, Alameda Unified School District announced that school would be held through screens due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many students rejoiced, seeing it as an extended Spring Break from school and assuming that classes would reopen after a month or two. At the time, no one could have guessed how wrong these assumptions were.
It has been more than a year since students were on campus, but this year-long streak of empty classrooms is set to end on April 20th, when students are allowed back on campus for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.
It is important to note that this return to campus is not synonymous with a return to normalcy. To limit contact between people, in-person instruction will only be held for about an hour on three out of five days a week, and students will be split into two groups. Students in the hybrid learning program (those that planned to come back to school after the pandemic) were given the option to opt out of in-person classes entirely and use the time in which their peers have on-campus instruction to do asynchronous work. Clubs will still not be allowed to meet on campus and will have to continue with online meetings. It is a far cry from student life before the pandemic, but it is the first step in that direction.
Most of this year’s freshmen, the class of 2024, have not yet seen the campus of the school they've attended since August.
“The experiences the whole class has had during this year might make our class (feel) a bit more together because of us knowing how it is not being able to see each other," said Ivan Herrera, a freshman at Encinal High School. It will make us more stronger together...I feel really happy about it. Recently, online school has been really challenging for me and I really miss in-person school, so me going back to school in person is really exciting.”
Not all students have the same outlook.
“I’m a little worried that I just don’t have the motivation to keep up with my classes in person," said student body president Selma Malkic. "But I’ve been waiting to go back for a while... I'm really excited to work on (student government) things in person because it’ll make things a lot easier.”
For many, returning to school comes with several benefits.
“The benefits of a return to campus is the opportunity to practice skills in a traditional classroom setting. School is familiar and location matters to the human brain and learning," said Laura Nielsen, an English teacher at Encinal. "Changing location can be helpful for learning new information and for some students the familiar setting will help them get into the learning mindset more easily. We also have an opportunity to socialize and connect with members of our community in another way.”
However, Nielsen also reminds us that, “some drawbacks to returning to school for all of us is a greater risk of exposure to COVID-19, especially for those who are not vaccinated or who have family members who are especially vulnerable to becoming ill from an infection. The stress of this risk can get in the way of learning and may be too great a risk to make the benefits worth it. Another major challenge to returning to school is doing something new again after having adjusted to a new way of learning.”
To minimize the possibility of a COVID-19 outbreak, AUSD requires that students fill out a symptom check each day before being authorized on campus. Free COVID-19 tests, available since April 7th at Alameda High School and Ruby Bridges Elementary School from 9 AM to 5 PM, are highly encouraged.
Returning to school will impact everyone differently. Many people have reported deteriorating mental states since the closure of schools and hope that the transition back to campus will alleviate this, while others have been thriving in a more isolated environment and might fear their eventual arrival back in classes. No matter your state or outlook, students, staff, and parents can find some mental health resources on the AUSD website under “COVID-19 Mental Health Resources.” If you or someone you know may be struggling, it is strongly recommended to reach out for all the help you need.
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