It’s hard to believe this school year is coming to an end, and it’s even harder to picture what next year will look like. In such a crazy time, we can’t predict what September will look like, but after meeting with Principal Hosier, we have a rough idea of what might happen.
After a brief stint with the block scheduling, we will most likely be back to the nine period day. As Mr. Hosier said, the traditional schedule allows for more instructional time, giving the students more opportunities to learn. However, he said that sticking with the 6 period day to finish out this school year was the “right decision,” despite the school’s intention to return to its normal schedule.
Fortunately, there is hope for those who like a block schedule! He mentioned the possibility of looking into a regular block schedule down the road, but that would require a lot of work, and would not be implemented until much further into Edgemont’s future.
As for a remote learning option, there isn’t really much to say. This is going to be decided by the state of New York when we get closer to September. In a best case scenario, it will not be needed, but the school needs to concern itself with the safety of the faculty, students, and community as a whole. Hopefully, everyone will have access to the vaccine, but with age restrictions and personal preferences, we cannot know what will happen. Even though our teachers have done a wonderful job, it is extremely challenging to teach both remote and in-person students at once, so we are staying hopeful that we can return to a “normal” school year. Mr. Hosier said he will be doing everything possible to get as many students back to school while keeping everybody safe.
“I want to see if there is still going to be a remote option for students who stay home sick or for some other reason.”
So how do our students feel about next school year? Many are left wondering if some of the helpful parts of this school year will continue to be implemented in the future. Specifically, Jillian Zolot, a junior at EHS this year, has said, “I want to see if there is still going to be a remote option for students who stay home sick or for some other reason.” The option to go remote for a class period or day allowed students who could not otherwise be present to still participate in class. With the possibility of no remote learning next year, will the number of absences go up?
“This year has definitely been crazy and something no one has seen before. All I hope is that senior’s next year can have a normal senior year after losing almost half of their high school experience.”
On the other hand, some students just really want to be back to a normal year. Emma Baumgarten says, “I really just want to be able to see the teacher's faces again.” I think that most of us can agree that being able to see each other again is the most important concern.
Jonah Klein is worried about how it will affect the upcoming senior class. “This year has definitely been crazy and something no one has seen before. All I hope is that senior’s next year can have a normal senior year after losing almost half of their high school experience.”
While everyone is deeply upset that this year's senior class missed out on so many of the classic experiences, we can still be hopeful that next year will be different. It's strange to think back upon the beginning of the pandemic, when we were all so excited for a two week break from school. Now, we can’t wait to be allowed back.
Ultimately, all we can do is sit back and wait for summer to fly by. Soon enough, we will all be back here in school, whether it is virtually or in-person, with a whole new graduating class. Who would have thought that one day everyone would be hoping to be able to go back to a normal, full day of school?