How Much Academic Support Do Students In Quarantine Really Get?
With the semester ending and the rise in Covid cases, students are stressed about the lack of academic support available to them from home.
January 25, 2022
With the recent spike in Covid-19 cases due to the new Omicron variant and with the holidays having just gotten over, we are seeing an astronomical number of students and staff in quarantine right now. Although the CDC just lowered the quarantine period to 5 days (for some people, for more information go here), that is still a full school week that a student would have to miss.
The district claims that teachers are constantly updating their google classrooms with all assignments, notes, slideshows, and other resources, as well as checking their email. So how true is this?
According to Reece Phillips, a Junior at THS, “My parents got the call on Sunday the 17th [of October] that I was exposed of Friday, so I was in quarantine from Monday the 18th until the following Monday the 25th.” She was in quarantine for a whole school week and was only able to come back the following Monday because she was able to get a PCR test.
5 days in quarantine doesn’t sound so bad, right? In high school, it’s a big deal. Reece claims she saw her grades plummet because “I missed tests and assignments that had to be physically turned in, there were also assignments that I missed because my teachers didn’t upload them to Google Classroom, so I was unable to get them until I came back.” If you can’t come back to school and you can’t do school from home, what are you supposed to do?
Most Students first thought would be to email their teachers or check Google Classroom. Emily Cushman said “I did email all my teachers and got 4 responses, most of them telling me to feel better and check Google Classroom! Not anything about specific assignments.”
Another student who had to quarantine, Mariah Meixner, says that “the only teachers that actually had resources were my bio teacher and my freshman success teacher. Other than that, I started falling behind in most of my classes.”
With the semester ending in only a few days and over 700 students out in quarantine, we need to stay diligent and on top of things so we don’t get behind. There is a difference between making a plan and executing a plan. Students need support from home so they don’t get behind. If a friend asks you for help or asks what you did in class that day, try and help the best that you can, they’re probably struggling. Stay safe and stay healthy bears!
Adaline McDowell • Mar 5, 2022 at 11:40 am
Well written article.
When I was out with Covid in November, I missed a full week and a half following Thanksgiving break. I was not physically well enough to complete school assignments, even if they had been provided for me to do at home. Even after I finally tested negative, it took months for me to finally feel my normal physical self again.
The weeks following my return to school was among the most stressful and anxiety triggering of my life. Thankfully, my mom, recognizing this contacted my school counselor and we scheduled an appointment, to see that any unimportant busy work I missed was excused. Even after this, there remained a decent workload of assignments and tests to retake, on top of current material.
Being out of school sucks, especially when you’re sick. I agree that our school as a whole could have done a much better job of equipping students with support and resources during their quarantine.