CCSD schools will open doors to 2nd wave of students on Monday

Thousands of middle and high school students in the Clark County School District are expected to return to classrooms Monday after more than a year of all-virtual learning, in the second wave of the district’s three-step reopening plan rolling out over March and April.

Sixth, ninth and 12th graders who chose hybrid learning for their last nine weeks of school are the first to return to secondary schools for the week before spring break; they’ll be joined by students in other grades on April 6.

“It’s hard to believe that our freshmen have not been on campus at all unless they took a tour,” West Career and Technical Academy Principal Amy Dockter-Rozar told her school organizational team.

Secondary schools face unique considerations in reopening, including larger cohort sizes and block-period schedules, as well as the needs of young adults who describe themselves as tired and done with the year, but still hoping for a chance to see friends and teachers one last time.

Preparations and questions

At school orientations and organizational team meetings, questions about prom, graduation and other end-of-year events have been top of mind for those students.

But they’ve also grilled school leadership about how teachers will manage virtual and in-person classes at once, and what the quarantine protocol will be for other students returning from spring break vacations.

In-person graduations are a possibility under the social distancing measures outlined by Gov. Steve Sisolak in February, district officials have said, but no firm plans have been announced by the district.

An idea to do prom-by-appointment was put on hold pending additional meetings at the district level, Dockter-Rozar said in a virtual Q&A session for WCTA families on Thursday.

“It’s our hope that we’re going to be able to do some senior activities, they’re just going to be spaced out,” she said.

Preparations for reopening at the school level include navigating the physical requirements of space and social distancing, as well as the social demands of re-introducing students to their campuses.

WCTA is planning a careful passing period choreography to keep students distant as they move from class to class by holding them briefly in the school’s breezeways.

Brinley Middle School students will have a 10-minute virtual mindfulness moment meant to help them cope with the stress of the shift from online to in-person learning, while Canarelli Middle School has held advisory lessons leading up to the big day to prepare students for what hybrid learning will look like.

Students who have chosen to go back to campus frequently express a need for closure after spending their final years of high school at home.

Alex Gallegos, a senior at Eldorado High School and student representative to the Nevada Board of Education, said he had picked the hybrid learning model in part for one last chance to walk the hallways before graduation.

Both his school and the student council were a big part of his identity, he said, and he returned during the week of March 22 to paint posters and give tours to freshmen, who had never before set foot on campus.

But Gallegos said he has been doubting the decision, too. For one thing, the hybrid schedule requires students to report to campus by 7 a.m. — no small feat after a year without practice.

There’s also a prevailing sentiment among his peers that they’re over the disappointment and uncertainty of the last year.

‘We want to move on’

“Among adults, there’s this feeling of, don’t mention it, or pretend the last year didn’t happen,” Gallegos said. “But honestly, we don’t want to make up for lost time. We want to move on. This isn’t how things should have gone, but making things better and moving forward is what we have to do now.”

He also described a sense of guilt for wanting to go back at all, after a year of championing staying on lockdown to stop the spread of the disease.

“I got burnt out from that,” he said. “But at the same time, I knew it wasn’t fair to give up on being responsible because I wanted to go back.”

Though the hybrid model didn’t preserve needed consistency for secondary students, Gallegos said he sees it as a necessary step to prepare for reopening. And for students who are struggling, it’s a must-have, he said.

“We’re super grateful to teachers and everyone making this possible, and making it a positive experience,” he said.

The majority of students in grades 6, 9 and 12 have opted for distance learning over hybrid learning, according to district data, with some citing ongoing fears about the virus and others the unnecessary upheaval to their schedules this late in the year. Around 27,000 have chosen to return, while 45,000 have picked distance learning, though those numbers may fluctuate.

Shadow Ridge High School sophomore Tishie Nyitray said that while she would love to see her friends and teachers, she opted to stay home out of concern about a possible spike in COVID-19 cases linked to schools reopening.

Though her school is putting health and safety procedures in place, she said she worries that they won’t be followed. Videos of other school districts across the country show crowded hallways and students not following masking rules — and Nyitray said she has no reason to think that’ll be different in Clark County.

“The vaccine is getting distributed, and my age group will probably receive (it) by the end of the year,” she said. “We have been doing good with social distancing and keeping our case numbers low; I believe allowing students to return is just going to throw that all away.”

Nyitray also said she had gotten used to online school and didn’t feel compelled to switch to in-person classes for the final two months of the year.

The hybrid model seemed to be created with good intentions, she added, but doesn’t work for most students: Not only do those returning to class have fewer than four hours of in-person instruction per week, but the additional demands on teachers may mean they have less time for their online students, too.

“The hybrid model could be beneficial for some students that need more face-to-face instruction, but right now it just isn’t safe,” she said.

Ultimately, Nyitray said, she’s looking forward to the summer after a tiring year. In her circle, most students and teachers agree that they should have waited to return.

Teachers return

“If we have been virtual for almost nine months now, we can go a little longer,” she said. “It would be safer and easier for students and teachers to continue what we have been doing.”

Secondary school teachers returned on March 15 for five days of learning the ropes before their students joined them.

After the week, Las Vegas High School English teacher Ryan Fromoltz said he felt ready. He has three to five students slated to return in each of his sections, many of whom haven’t participated much in online sessions, he said.

“I was very hesitant about going back,” he said. “I still kind of am. But it’ll be good to see the kids get some form of normalcy.”

Fromoltz said one change he’d like to see is more flexibility in high school schedules, which currently have students attend two of their courses in-person per day for 105 minutes each, before they go home to attend two more virtually for just 30 minutes each. With many of his students also juggling jobs, Fromoltz said there’s a concern that they’ll forgo the afternoon classes in favor of work.

Among his colleagues, Fromoltz said there’s excitement for the week to begin, along with some hesitation about the timing just before spring break. But among his students, he’s noticed a sense of burnout after a long and challenging year.

“This school year has been tough on everyone, but they’re just done,” Fromoltz said.

“I tell the kids and I’ll tell the parents too, to be patient during the transition. This is brand new for teachers to work with.”

Contact Aleksandra Appleton at 702-383-0218 or aappleton@reviewjournal.com. Follow @aleksappleton on Twitter.