12 | OCTOBER 2021
COVID Coverage
NEWS
Hawkeye
Class sizes a challenge to the safe return to school By Jonah Paulsene
“Overall, there were a lot of issues, not responsibility placed on students to maintain just with big classes, but classes not being their education. balanced,” Assink said. “They ended up putThe return to in-person school this year “In math, we know that Mathway [a mathting 20 kids in my class and 36 in Mrs. Leehad many students hesitantly optimistic. For solving website] was the number one student Henning’s class.” more than half the students in the school, last year,” Assink said. These problems surrounding class balancit would be their first step in the halls of As a result of the lack of a baseline for variing are due to the pandemic and how it MTHS. Even the returning junior class ous classes, many teachers have started the hindered the typical process that the adminhad only spent a little over half a year in school year slower than previous years in an istration and counselors use to organize the the building before the pandemic began in attempt to make the return more manageschedules and meet the needs of the roughly March of 2020. Students were eager to walk able for students. 1400 students who attend MTHS. the halls with their friends and seemed conThe transition back to in-person school In a normal school year, a master schedule tent with never logging into another Zoom has been inevitably difficult for everyone at is made in June, and the counselors have call again. MTHS and required a tremendous amount time during the end of the previous school However, the first day of school was much of effort from the administration and staff to year and in August to make final adjustmore hectic and confusing than anticipated. try and reopen school safely under the guidements and clean up Teachers had classes that were packed with lines of Gov. Jay Inslee. “We have been focusing way any rough spots they students. Some students even had classes Despite all of the too much on the academic side may find. However, the with no teachers. These problems, along with complications involved of school. But school is not just pandemic delayed the the fact that many were walking the halls of with going in-person, about learning academics. We creation of a master MTHS for the first time, led to a stressful many are enjoying this need to encourage students to schedule until August, first day. year significantly more have fun again at school.” leaving a tight window The AP U.S. Government and Politics than last year’s distance David Assink to finalize classes and class was the most severe case of overcrowdlearning. MATH DEPARTMENT CHAIR get schedules to stued classrooms. Despite having 30 physical Ignoring the anxiety dents by Sept. 7. seats, the class was enrolled with 46 students involved with contact tracing and the spread “We didn’t have that grace period this on the first day of school. This led to many of the virus, the return to in-person school school year. It was a scramble to make things has been beneficial for students and teachstudents being forced to stand or sit on the work,” Bradley Serka, one of the counselors, floor, with some even being outside of the ers. Not only are students more engaged in said. classroom. learning again, but this year has also shown The unpredictable nature of the pandemic George Dremousis, the AP U.S. everyone just how isolated they’ve all been in caused a lack of knowledge on what this Government teacher, was stressed about the past year and a half. Most students also school year would even look like or how squeezing so many students into the small seem to be appreciating the social aspect of many students would be attending in person school as well, especially being able to hang if possible, consequently making scheduling out with friends in-person again. for the 2021-2022 school year especially difThis negligence to the social aspect of ficult for the counselors. school as highlighted by the pandemic has “The counselors worked very, very hard to made students and staff reconsider the funcbalance classes out. They did an amazing tions of school in addition to passing on the job,” Principal Greg Schellenberg said. academics. Due to the lack of knowledge on how “We have been focusing way too much on to return to in-person school safely, some the academic side of school,” Assink said. scheduling changes were made after the “But school is not just about learning acastart of the school year once teachers and demics. We need to encourage students to administration were able to observe conflicts have fun again at school.” with the original model and make necesWhile the return to in-person school has sary adjustments. The most major of these been stressful, students and staff alike have adjustments was the shift to a three lunch found that some changes brought forth by schedule. the pandemic have proved beneficial. For “We had 100 to 150 students eating outexample, the use of digital hall passes has side, but with cold and wet weather commade many students and staff wonder why ing we knew moving all those students it was ever a physical item everyone had to inside wasn’t going to be very feasible,” touch. The revised schedule is much easier to Schellenberg said. remember now and includes advisory every While the adaptation is necessary for the day as a period for help, or simply just work safety of everyone in the building, the decitime. sion occurred a few weeks into the school The improved sanitation in classrooms is year had a negative impact on many students. beneficial for everyone in the building. These “The addition of a third lunch time frame improvements not only help reduce spread of in late September has disrupted this time for the virus, but contribute to a better school many students and lost some of their social experience for the school community. connections,” Serka said. Overall, while there is still a palpable From a teacher’s perspective, there are amount of anxiety and stress being in school additional issues that originate from the with over 1400 individuals during a panindependence of the isolated learning of last demic, there is also a bittersweet relief in its year. Teachers must take into account that own way. some students are at different levels than “Any day that we have that is not in remote George Dremousis taught one of his history classes outside in the amphitheater to accommodate others depending on their work and the large learning is a good day,” Schellenberg said. H all 46 students earlier this year. The class now meets in the theater. CAROLINE SHYNSHYN | HAWKEYE HAWKEYE STAFF
room and decided to take his class to a bigger area. “After a couple days of that nonsense we decided to take them outside of the counseling office in that outdoor amphitheater,” Dremousis said. “It was okay, but it wasn’t a perfect solution.” The fresh air was a nice change from the crowded classroom, but anticipating the cold and harsh weather of the fall, Dremousis knew he couldn’t teach in the amphitheater forever and later requested to teach the class inside the school theater. “I just said I’ll just volunteer to teach it in the theater,” Dremousis said. “We do a lot of lecture style teaching anyhow, so for me it’s not that big of a change.” Now, Dremousis teaches AP Government in the theater, similar to a small college class, with the current enrollment of 42 students. In spite of the frustrating first few days, Dremousis still commends the administration for their hard work. “I think the administration has done a good job,” Dremousis said. “There’s no perfect playbook for handling a pandemic, so they’ve done the best they can.” David Assink, the Math Department chair, said he believes that scheduling issues are not simply about classes with too many students, but classes that have too few students as well.
