Following a unanimous decision from the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education, students in the district returned to on-campus facilities on March 22 to receive instruction for the first time in over a year.
In the new hybrid schedule—called “Plan B”—students who elected to return to in-person learning are grouped into two cohorts and attend school on Mondays and Tuesdays or Thursdays and Fridays.
According to Chapel Hill High School principal Charles Blanchard, about 37% of the school’s students have begun learning in the newly constructed buildings of Chapel Hill High School.
The transition to Plan B started during the last week of the third marking period prior to spring break.
Over the course of the 2020-2021 school year, a number of parents in the district demanded that students be provided the option to attend classes physically.
The group Safely Open CHCCS—a self-proclaimed coalition of economically, racially and politically diverse parents advocating for the reopening of school—gathered over 460 signatures pressing for a return to in-person instruction.
The school board ruled unanimously on March 4 to move the reentry date from April 19 to March 22 as political pressure to reopen schools mounted.
Teachers have varying views on the new hybrid schedule, in which they teach a small group of students in their classrooms while the rest of students learn from their computers at home.
“Managing the two groups has been a challenge, but that is part of being a teacher,” English teacher Nike Eason said. “Learning is about collaboration, demonstration of mastery, modeling, and application—all of which are still challenges for both groups until we are reunited and health restrictions are eased.”
Social studies teacher Bill Melega, though, said there is a noticeable improvement in the learning of returning students.
“I can see a tangible difference for those who are in class,” he said. “They’re learning a lot more.”
Junior Lars Kahn believes that certain classes were limited by a virtual environment and function better with students present in the classroom.
“Some of my classes work much better in [person], specifically my band class,” Kahn said. “It was the only class to entice me to go back in person over online for me. It’s a class that fundamentally is not meant to be done online.”
Some teachers, as well, felt the constraints of an online classroom. John Carmichael, the school’s band director, had difficulty adapting his instruction, which requires cooperation between students, to a virtual environment.
“My entire teaching system had to be reinvented,” Carmichael said. “It’s been enormously difficult to assess a student’s progress solely through audio recordings, and cameras not being required created large disconnects in the group.”
Other students have stated they did not learn as well remotely or that the barrier of distance felt restricting to their class participation.
“Virtual learning for me was too hard to focus on, and I couldn’t seem to get my work done when designated to my room,” junior Liam Porter said. “I’d like to think of myself as an independent person, but virtual learning showed me how much my work style relies on a sturdy schedule, which I was unable to arrange myself.”
However, not all students felt this pressure. Junior Julian Brown, who elected to remain remote, said he has felt comfortable in a virtual learning environment, exemplifying the diversity of students’ learning habits.
“Personally, virtual learning wasn’t any more stressful than learning in-person is,” he said. “The online environment took some getting used to at first, but now it’s honestly helping me get better with time management. I didn’t feel the need to return in person when I knew I could be doing the exact same thing in my own home.”
Along with the change in environment comes a new schedule for Chapel Hill High School’s students. Classes have been extended 15 minutes and now begin at 10:30 a.m.
Prior to March 22, students’ first classes would start at 9:00 a.m.; now, that time has been designated for asynchronous learning, offering students an opportunity to complete assignments or meet with teachers. Students switching to in-person instruction arrive on campus beginning at 10:00 a.m.
“I honestly really like the later start time, as it gives me the opportunity to relax in the morning before getting to class,” junior Julia Fort, a student attending in-person, said. “The change definitely helped me to be more well-rested than I was before. And while I do still wish we had more asynchronous time, I still feel as though I have enough time to complete my assignments.”
Still, a majority of Chapel Hill High attendees are completing the school year online, many out of caution given that the pandemic still has not ended. With 13,974 new cases being identified in North Carolina between March 8-14, the danger of a coronavirus outbreak still looms.
“By trying to re-open so quickly, we’re making the crisis seem less important and fatal than it has proven it is,” junior Ashley Nunez, another student learning virtually, said.
To promote safety among students, teachers, on the first two days of reopening, presented slides providing information relating to new classroom protocols to ensure student and faculty safety, including how to wear a mask properly, how to identify potential symptoms of Covid-19 and how to navigate the school’s hallways and corridors while following distancing guidelines.
Students have also adjusted to other routines, such as much smaller class sizes and wearing headphones during instruction.
Some, such as senior Sarah Rosenkrantz, find themselves in largely empty classrooms. Rosenkrantz is the only student on Cohort B days in her first-period AP Mathematical Statistics and her third-period AP Physics C classes.
“I really miss the human interaction and talking to my friends,” she said. “I think [in-person learning] is better than being at home, but I don’t know how much longer I’ll stay.”
Still, Blanchard praised students for following safety protocols and said that things have gone smoothly in the opening weeks back in the new buildings. .
“Our students have done a great job back on campus,” he said, “and worked to keep everyone safe. I am very proud of our Tigers!”
