Looking Ahead
JENIFFER ZHENG | APRIL 29, 2021 | FEATURES
At the beginning of the 2020–2021 school year, Duval County Public Schools offered three learning choices to parents and students due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The choices included Duval HomeRoom, a temporary online learning option; brick-and-mortar, an on-campus learning option; and Duval Virtual Instruction Academy (DVIA), a full time virtual option. The COVID-19 virus has not only placed limitations on learning, but also the activities in place for all grade levels. After experiencing both the Duval HomeRoom (DHR) and brick-and-mortar model, the student body and administration wonder what the future holds for these two models.
In late February, legislators in Tallahassee introduced Senate Bill 886, which discusses the impact of COVID-19 on school accountability. A clause included in the bill states that no schools would be required to implement a turnaround option, which would change all online classes to in-person, based on test scores from the 2020–2021 school year. However, this may not be the case for the next school year since DCPS has yet to decide whether the DHR model will be an option. For the time being, students and parents have only two options.
“Duval Virtual Instruction Academy will remain intact and brick-and-mortar will definitely be open,” said Dr. Dianna Greene, the DCPS Superintendent.
Based on the options DCPS intends to offer, students will have to consider if they want to leave their school to attend school virtually next year. Switching to DVIA will be beneficial for students who prefer to get their work done in a more independent setting and at their own pace. However, students in DVIA will have less interactions with the students and faculty at Stanton, in contrast to the brick-and-mortar option.
According to a Devil’s Advocate Instagram poll conducted on March 14, 82 percent of Stanton student participants plan on attending brick-and-mortar next year, whereas only 18 percent of students plan to attend DHR next year, if it is offered. Based on the statistics, there will be more opportunities for in-person interactions in the coming year.
Keeping DHR would result in the continuation of communication challenges between teachers and students, and larger class sizes, which will cause teachers to struggle with the DHR model. Teachers have made adjustments to their lesson plans in response to the obstacles of instructing both online and on-campus students.
“We're about to do panel discussions and my in-person classes are going to be done by the second day, while my online class is going to take three days,” said Ms. Kylah Riendeau, an English Honors II and Great Books teacher.
Despite the struggles of instructing DHR students, teachers and students saw some of the advantages of using Teams. This platform is not only convenient for students if they cannot attend class, but also for teachers since assignments and class materials can all be posted in one place.
“Having a platform that is the same for every classroom, instead of ‘this classroom does Schoology’ or ‘this classroom does Remind,’ helps students keep track of where they can go for information,” said Ms. Riendeau. “I hope that we keep Teams or something similar to it just because it has been so beneficial.”
Even though using Teams has made learning much more convenient for students, Stanton seniors enrolled in DHR missed out on certain on-campus resources to prepare them for college such as attending in-person college tours and scheduling meetings with guidance counselors in person. To prevent the rising senior class from facing the same adversity, guidance counselors have made an extra effort to assist students in their college process. In order to better prepare this year's class of juniors, students are able to set up meetings with their guidance counselors to talk about early college planning. To further assist the rising class, seniors have some advice to ease the college process.
“Finish deciding what college you’re going to apply to and finish the common app essay before senior year starts,” said senior Joseph Cabezas.
In contrast to the other grade levels, the incoming freshmen have been given more opportunity for a normal transition into high school. For these freshmen, Stanton’s Leadership Team held virtual tours over Zoom, uploaded Minecraft created tours of the school on YouTube, and will host Summer Bridge this year. This program, which takes place in June, was not available to the class of 2024 last year. However, with the safety protocols that will be in place, students will be able to experience a week at Stanton. Students will go through all their subject courses, while getting to know one another as well as meeting some of their teachers in-person.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, safety precautions enacted by DCPS this year will follow into the upcoming fall semester. These include transparent desk shields, maintaining a six feet distance, and mandatory face masks. Although, DCPS has considered making some changes based on the number of individuals that will be vaccinated by the beginning of the 2021–2022 school year. In March, DCPS started its plan to vaccinate every employee in the school system.
“I think that all of the safety protocols that we have in place will continue next year. Though, we will consider changing temperature checks next year because, according to the CDC, it is not a requirement any longer,” said Dr. Greene. “It really just depends on the level of individuals that are vaccinated that will determine the strategies that we will put into place.”
As a school year symbolized by event cancellations and new safety precautions comes to a close, Stanton students and faculty wonder if school will ever return to the way it used to be. Returning to the traditional school model will allow students to participate in all aspects of high school life, such as pep rallies, school dances, and in-person interactions with teachers. Until then, students and faculty continue to have hope in what the future of the educational system holds.