SPOKANE, Wash. — Middle and high school students in the Spokane Public School district are resuming in-person learning Mon, March 1.
It is almost exactly one year to the day since Spokane Public School students switched to online learning at the beginning of the pandemic. Now, after months of phasing the elementary aged students back to the classroom, every student will be learning in-person again.
In order to accommodate social distancing guidelines, the district has students on a hybrid schedule. Half the students will come to class on Monday and Wednesday, and the other half will come to class Tuesday and Thursday. Fridays, the two groups will alternate in-person and online learning.
Students and teachers alike are excited to start learning in-person again.
“I’m like super pumped to be able to see all my teachers, because some of them I’ve never met in person. So it’ll be nice,” Lane Geren, a North Central High School Junior, said.
School will look different though. Spokane Public Schools will have students follow new rules, including mask requirements, social distancing and one-way hallways.
Geren said despite these changes, he feels prepared. His teachers have given students tours of the school’s new layout, so they're ready to come back.
Geren is part of the first group of students to return to school because he is on the Monday and Wednesday schedule.
“We’ll get the lesson Monday then they’ll give the same lesson to the Tuesday kids,” he said.
On the days designated for online learning, students will have assigned homework to complete. Teachers will also be available daily for online students to ask questions.
This new system will be a transition for students, but one that most students and teachers are welcoming.
“I’m excited to go back, because my motivation will grow back. Because then I’m in the class, and I have to do the work,” Geren said.