‘It’s a Lot Better in Person’

A student at Rosemont Middle School gets his temperature checked before entering the campus.
Photos by Mary O’KEEFE

By Mary O’KEEFE

It was the turn this week of Glendale Unified School District’s secondary school students to return to in-person learning. As middle and high school students got ready for their first day back some were nervous, some excited and all were curious as to how this new normal would look.

At Rosemont Middle School, students lined up in front of the gate and waited to be checked in.

“We are excited to see secondary students,” said Dr. Kelly King, assistant superintendent of GUSD.

Students first checked in online, answering specific questions that included whether they had lately traveled outside the state and whether they had been exposed to COVID-19 and then were presented a list of symptoms of COVID-19. When the students arrived at school they shared a QR code, which contained the answers to the questionnaire, with a representative from the school. The students would then get their temperature taken with a touchless thermometer and, if they did not have a fever, walked onto campus for the first time in a year.

Once on the Rosemont campus they went to the amphitheater and sat six feet apart from their fellow students. Teachers came to the amphitheater and, as Principal Scott Anderle announced teachers’ names, students lined up with their first period teacher.

The district adopted a block schedule, so the in-person school day ends about noon and resumes at 1 p.m. with distance learning, which can continue until 3:15 p.m.

“We are very excited to see the kids back,” Anderle said. “We have 256 kids returning [to in-person class].”
He hopes that number expands as more kids feel comfortable coming back to campus.

After waiting at the school amphitheater, students were instructed to follow their teacher to class.

The journey of in-person learning, after a year of distance learning, has not been an easy one. The district staff dealt with the ever-changing Los Angeles County Public Health requirements/restrictions regarding COVID-19. Over the last year were negotiations between Glendale Teachers Association and GUSD, the release of parent and student surveys that were analyzed, negotiations with classified staff – and all the while dealing with issues like closing the digital divide and making certain the students of GUSD had enough to eat.

One of the most important issues was vaccinations.

All staff members who wanted to receive the COVID-19 vaccine have been given the opportunity. The families of staff have also been able to get vaccinated, if they want, King said.

“It’s a lot better in person,” said David Green, sophomore at Crescenta Valley High School.

Green had chosen to go back to in-person class and is happy he did. He said the first day was a little tricky, including some Internet issues, but that was soon taken care of and class went on.

“We were socially distant with clear dividers at our desk,” he added.

Classes were small, sometimes only five or six kids in the classroom.

“It is a lot easier to focus in person than online,” he said.

At the end of class during remote learning that would be it. The monitor would be off and the teacher would be gone. But now when class ends the in-person students stay in class for about 20 minutes, which allow them time to be in the same room as their teacher and do their homework.

“Most of my friends didn’t go back to [in-person class],” he said. “But that forced me to reconnect with old friends I hadn’t seen in a year, and connect with different [students].”

Green had some issues with online learning; he liked the one-on-one experience with teachers and other students.

One example he gave of the difference of virtual versus in-person learning was his chemistry class. Online he was not interested in chemistry and found it boring; however, once in class with in-person experiments and interaction he found he really likes chemistry.]

Students who wanted to remain in a virtual learning environment were part of the class and Green said they could hear them as they asked and answered questions.

“Teachers had a universal microphone and could move around the room,” he said.

Even though COVID-19 is never far from anyone’s mind it did not seem to affect learning.

“I forgot we had masks on,” he added.

One of the things that some might forget is that these students have been away from their school for a year and for some this is the first time they have been at their middle or high school, and the first time they have met their teachers.

“I hadn’t met my teacher [in person],” Green said. “You only know them from the camera on their computer. Some were taller or shorter than I expected. In-person was different.”