At the beginning of this semester, my parents had me take two 5-day-long breaks from school — from Jan. 7-11 and Jan. 15-19 — because of heightened pandemic risk. At the time, 31 students had tested positive for COVID-19, I hadn’t gotten my booster shot and rates of the disease had just skyrocketed after winter break. Over the following month, I continued to take periodic breaks from school as I was exposed to close contacts and cases continued to rise.
My situation isn’t unique: During the first two weeks after winter break, daily attendance dropped from its normal 95-97% to an 89.9% average, with a high of 92.1% on the first day back and a low of 87.3% one week in. Other students have taken unexcused absences similar to mine for a plethora of reasons, whether it’s developing sudden COVID-19 symptoms, self-imposing quarantines to keep immunocompromised or elderly relatives safe or feeling the need to take a mental health break.
Even with pandemic warriness quickly waning, reflected by increasing attendance and the school lifting the indoor mask mandate as of March 14, COVID-19 remains a risk, and students who develop symptoms — many of which are shared with common winter diseases like the cold or flu — should still isolate.
Unsurprisingly, students enduring these extended absences may find it difficult keeping pace with their peers. Making up homework and assessments without access to classroom material can be overwhelming, especially since students — many of whom may be recovering from COVID-19 or illness — would likely be struggling to catch up in multiple classes at once.
Regarding missed tests, labs and projects, there’s no easy solution other than waiting until students are back in class and ready to make them up. Even so, teachers and departments can still implement a variety of remote resources to ensure that, when students do come back to the classroom, they’re well equipped to handle any missing larger assignments.
As a preface, I want to recognize that teachers have already done so much to help students amidst the pandemic — this article is by no means attacking them, but rather, providing suggestions from a student perspective on how teachers can continue to accommodate students who can’t or won’t come to school in-person.
A relatively simple first step is to post lecture notes and recordings of in-class lectures so students at home can review them on their own time. Many teachers already do this: for example, AP Physics teacher Matthew Welander posts the entire semester’s schedule and curriculum at the beginning of the year and AP Chemistry teacher Janny Cahatol posts lecture videos for students to review, both of which have been lifesavers to me on multiple occasions. Not only does posting all material benefit students stuck at home, but it allows all students to review curriculum before or after actual lectures, bettering student understanding as a whole.
Even with lecture notes, however, I know personally how monotonous and possibly ineffective sitting at home and trying to study off slides for a week can be.
In order to mirror a classroom environment, teachers should consider implementing more online, maybe optional, modules that simulate an in-person environment. For example, in AP Lang — a class where student discussion is a vital part of both student experience and quality of education — English teacher Erick Rector assigns periodic online discussions through Canvas, prompting students to answer profound questions about material related to in-class curriculum. Although somewhat unpopular among students, online discussions like these can immensely benefit students at home by giving them an opportunity to view their peers’ opinions and questions on specific topics — and ensure that even at home, absent students are still able to keep up with classwork and homework.
Additionally, while in-person students can easily ask questions and converse with teachers during tutorial, the same isn’t true for students stuck operating remotely. I remember having questions on a super confusing physics unit while stuck at home in mid-January, so I actually came in (double-masked and socially distanced) and asked Welander during one of his free periods, which ultimately helped a lot. Similarly, teachers — especially those teaching more rigorous AP or honors courses — may want to consider having a weekly opening in their schedule to meet online with any students who sign up, similar to last year’s office hours.
Of course, students shouldn’t abuse new resources in order to take more “days off.” Teachers who notice a significant decrease in attendance should consider applying remote leniency to just students with excused absences or those who have clearly communicated their reason for absence with teachers.
At the end of the day, education is a two-way street, and it’s completely unreasonable to expect teachers to accommodate student concerns if the reverse isn’t true. Still, for the sake of continued excellent education even amidst volatile COVID-19 news, it’s important for teachers to implement online resources for students working remotely to follow.