Is there a return date for MCHS in sight?
January’s possible return includes a hybrid proposal for in-person classes and virtual classes.
It’s January and you just returned for your first day back at Middle College High School. You’ve been waiting for this day for so long. You get out of the car and put your mask on. You go to see your friends, but wait. What will school even look like when we return? MCHS principal, Damon Voight shared his insider information.
Damon Voight has been working in the education system for 25 years. He has been the principal at MCHS for four years now.
Voight described what the district has been doing so far.
“The district has begun opening Learning Labs (small classrooms for students who struggle with having functioning internet at home) As time goes on more Learning Labs will open on more school sites. We may have one at Middle College.”
Middle College is not like other schools in the district in terms of going back.
“Middle College has a few extra areas of concern to think about when coming back to school as a dual enrollment school where students are enrolled in both high school and college classes. So when we consider coming back in a Hybrid model we must consider our high school class start times and how they will fit with college class start times. We also must work with our partners at Santa Ana College to follow their safety guidelines as well as the guidelines for SAUSD,” Voight said.
Our return date is heavily dependent on the state of the virus in the next few months.
“Right now the SAUSD has preliminary plans to start high school students back in January for second semester. These plans are dependent on how the Covid-19 cases develop over the next few months,” Voight said.
No matter when we return, there will be some difficulties.
“The hardest part of coming back to on-campus instruction is making sure we have all the safety protocols in place so all students and staff are safe. Safety is our first priority then instruction. We can’t instruct students if you aren’t safe,” Voight said.
Classes would not be the same as they were pre-COVID.
“Students will be divided into 3 groups A, B, and C. Group A will attend school on campus Monday, Tuesday and certain Fridays. Group B will attend on campus Wednesday, Thursday and certain Fridays. Group C will be students whose families do not feel comfortable with a return to campus at this time. On the day students are not to be on campus they must attend class virtually. Classes will be small. No more than 14 students in a class. Students will still log into Canvas and Zoom while in the class. This way our teachers can give instruction to all three groups at once,” Voight said.
To ensure we stay safe, “Plexiglass dividers will be placed in the office and will be placed on student tables. We will also have air filters in every classroom,” Voight said.
As for P.E. Voight said, “There will be no locker room access. PE lessons will take place on the fields. If it rains the class of 25 will be sent to rooms that have teachers on prep periods.”
Voight said lunch will also have a few adjustments, “Lunch will be grab and go. School will end at 12:30 and students will grab their lunch on the way home.”
As for breaks Voight stated, “Students will have to be in a designated classroom during off periods.”
Students will be discouraged from taking in-person SAC classes.
“We are asking that students take online classes as much as possible. Only a limited number of SAC classes will be offered in a face-to-face format. Students may ask to meet with Mrs. Espinosa or myself to ask for a face-to-face college class. It will be allowed on a case by case basis,” Voight said.
If you are on campus and you have an online class, Voight says, “We will designate a room that they can use at that time.”
Students and staff will be expected to wear masks.
Voight said, “Masks will be available for students who do not have one. If a student does not wear a mask they would not be permitted in class and can attend class virtually. “
When asked if he wanted to add anything Voight stated, “Just for all our students to stay safe and calm. We have a plan to return in January for hybrid in-person instruction. Many things could change as we know in that time. Just continue to complete your work and communicate with your teachers and friends. We will get through this together and enjoy a much brighter future.”
MCHS counselor Ruth Olivos highlighted the complications of us returning.
“Considering MCHS is on the SAC campus, our return poses many different challenges than other high schools. Not only do we have to plan accordingly for our students and staff, but we also have to take into consideration SAC’s plans to return. Other high schools can plan for their return without the challenges of accommodating another institution,” said Olivos.
Olivos thinks that returning will be a struggle.
“I think the hardest part of returning would be our mental state of mind. And by that I mean, that many of us are in this specific state of mind whether that be anxious, nervous, scared, excited, happy-we all have different feelings and perspectives on what is going on in the world. I might feel anxious about going back due to the fear of getting sick and taking it back into my home whereas others might be happy and ready to be socializing in person without any fears. I can honestly say that I am not ready to return at this moment,” Olivos said.
Olivos believes that the pandemic has both negatively and positively impacted the way she works.
“Being remote has been a life changer for many of us as we can reach so many more students this way! Being able to connect through zoom, remind, and other avenues has been great! But there are times that I feel I cannot connect in a more personal way with students because we are not face to face. Students find it easier to not show their faces while we are having a meeting because they have that option. Generally speaking, that’s okay with me but sometimes it’s nice to see a friendly face especially during these more challenging times,” Olivos said.
On the topic of MCHS students being able to take SAC classes in person, Olivos stated, “I am not sure to be completely honest but I do not believe that MCHS students will be allowed to go to SAC classes in person quite yet. As I mentioned earlier, even SAC students are going to be limited if we do go back next semester. But again, nothing is set in stone as of yet.”
Nothing is set in stone yet. With cases on the rise, going back to school feels like a distant dream.
“I would like to say…I am here. We are here. We are ALL in this together and together we can get through anything. Yes, it is hard! Yes, I miss you all but we can look to the future with hope in our hearts that things will get better and we will all be able to resume our lives with a more grateful heart. I am proud of all of you and I will see you soon! Also, don’t hesitate to say hi and just check in with me,” said Olivos.
I was first chair clarinet in middle school, I taught myself how to play guitar, and I went to a rock concert on a school night.
It is going to feel weird when we go back to school and seeing each other in person. Also I like that there are going to be groups and only a certain amount of students go to campus so it is not too populated. Everything is going to feel different because everyone is going to wear a mask and also everyone is going to be social distancing. I really liked this Article it was really interesting to read.
I liked this article a lot because it was very informational . It is pretty nice to see that there is a possibility of returning with a hybrid schedule but I think that it will be a bit difficult to do. I think that they came up with a good plan. As cases are still rising, I think that we might have to still wait even after January but we can have hope.
Thanks for showing off this info, I myself was curious how school would work especially with us being under the college. Another thing I would like to thank you for is really showing off how much you care about us students, usually I don’t think teachers care about what we students think but that was probably because of my 6th grade English teacher. Either way thank you very much for giving this useful info, I myself might go into the C group just because of my grandparents.
I really hope we could go back to in-person classes even if it just with this hybrid schedule because I feel as though I don’t receive the same kind of learning through virtual classes. I understand all the difficulties we will face and I am anxious to know what will end up happening once we begin the second semester of this school year.
Thank you for sharing this with us Christine. I was wondering how the schedules are going to turn out for going back into school. This is going to be a big change to our environment at school. By the way this is an amazing article!
Informative and interesting! A lot of school have different ways of handling this situation so I guess we will see what works best
This is good to hear on what going happen with school schedule. I’m very curious about it. I hoping we can go back to school like hybrid because miss see teacher and friends.
Thank you so much for such insightful information Christine! I really hope that we can return to normal soon, it is going to be a process but if anything, this has taught me to appreciate every moment of the situation we are in. We never saw this coming, but I have grown so much mentally and physically through this time. I hope one day we are able to go back so that I can share with you all the invaluable small lessons I have learned:)
Great article. Well written and informative. A lot of things to consider that I hadn’t thought of.
Christine, I loved your article! Excellent, informative, and insightful!
Good article, very informative and had a lot of info that i havent seen or even considered
This was a great article, Christine! It was very informative and detailed. Thank you for addressing the possible return to in-person classes situation. The class environment and our schedules will look very different from previous school years. I think we all have a lot of questions when it comes to returning to school and your article was very helpful and specific. I agree with Mr. Voight, the most important thing is for everyone to stay safe and try to stay calm. You got some great interviews and quotes. Keep up the great work!
This was a very well written article! You provided so much insightful information about what school would be like if we went back. It is reassuring to see that there are great measures being put in place to ensure the safety of students and staff.
Great article! My family and I were very curious about when we were returning to school and how school would be like when we go back and this article covered all of our questions. It kind of bummed me out that when we return to campus we´ll have to social distance, but I understand that these are the steps we have to take to return to a safe environment.
Great article. I was wondering about how the school would be like when we returned so this article was very helpful. Since MCHS is sort of different from other high schools, it was hard to find information on when we return. I like knowing what safety procedures we will take and what things will be different. Thank you for providing all this great information 🙂
You did a great job on your article Christine! It was very informative, now I know what might come in the near future. I didn’t think at all we were going to return but because of Mr. Voight’s feedback, I’m hopeful although I may be one of the kids in group C since my mother worries about my health. This plan reminds me a lot of what my sister’s private school is doing, they are basically doing the same thing. It’s interesting, keep up the good work!
I really enjoyed this article and found it very informational. I think it’s going to very interesting how this will workout.
This is a very interesting and informative article. I really hope this Covid thing gets under control because I would like to go back to school. The article was really helpful in explaining the whole going to school situation. It provided a picture of what will school be like if we go back. Mr. Voight and Mrs. Olivos provided a lot of information.
I find it very reassuring that our school is trying their hardest to reopen even if the odds are stacked against us. Hopefully eventually we will be able to return, even if it isn’t like how it was before.
This was a really thought out idea in my opinion, maybe there is a chance we can go back but at the moment as we are still a purple state, what hope do we have to return? I agree with olivos, the more outside contact there is the more risk of taking it home it causes.
I really enjoyed reading your article. Ever since we were let out two weeks before spring break, I have been wondering when we were going to come back and what the situation would be and reading this article really helped answer some questions. Also, it was really well structured :).
I found this article very interesting and very informative. I also hope that soonly enough, we can go back to school and see each other again, but from the looks of it, we may have to wait for a little. I also have the urge to go back to school because it feels weird having school online, but at the same time, if we go back to school, I will also have the fear of getting the virus, even though many safety precautions are being taken. Thank you for providing this information to us, and you did such a wonderful job on this article.
There have been so many unknowns in the past 10 months. I know that I speak for most of us when I say that I really miss being at school in person. I miss seeing the students in person and I know that they miss seeing each other. I think plans have changed with the numbers going up, and I think we are going to have to wait a while until we are back in person. Until that happens, I hope that you all stay home and stay safe. Thank you for giving all of us an idea of what we can look forward to in the future, Christine!
I like the groups that were talked about and how it would work. I do like that idea if we were to go back to school.
Definetly our mental states will be a big part if we do return. A lot of us may be doing worse and then with going to school, it could add more on our plates. I’m happy that there’s an option for people who don’t feel safe going to school and that it’s not mandatory.
This was well written! I had some questions about when we would return and what school life would look like when we get back, and this article answered those questions. I really do hope we can go back to school sometime in spring next year. It would be nice to see friends and teachers in person, even though it won’t be the same as it was before.
Thank you for providing such an informative article. I know others, as well as I, have been wondering whether we’re going back to school or not, and if so how it would work. I also agree with Ms. Olivios that going back would be odd for our mental state considering there would be mixed thoughts and emotions on it. Not to mention, I know that not everyone is in the best mental state as of right now due to quarantining and school work. Hopefully going back to school can help students without further spreading the virus.
I hope we don’t come back so my senior year will be easier 🙂
I really enjoyed reading this article, it was very informative and it had great details that answered my questions. Although it will be different, I am excited to return yet I feel that it should be the safest possible just in case. Overall I really liked how inclusive this article was.
I really enjoyed reading this article, it was very informative and it had great details that answered my questions. Although it will be different, I am excited to return yet I feel that it should be the safest possible just in case. I really liked how informative this was.
I would prefer a hybrid schedule rather than completely online because you get a sense of still actually going to school rather than just doing it from home. However, if we need to stay at home for our safety then that how it has to be. Great Job!
I feel like going to class one day but not others will be more difficult than having everything online. Mental health plays a big part in this and it just feels like it will be more stressful having to remember when to go to school on top of all the other work we get from the class. It will be nice to go to school but something tells me a system as the one talked about won’t work.
This information was really helpful because it tells me what the plan is for next semester. I was curious about this because I want to go back to school already. I really don’t like online school because I feel like it doesn’t really help me.
I enjoyed reading this article, this was very informative!
There are a lot of things to think about when returning to school. I actually like the schedule that could be enforced. The only question that comes to mind is whether it will be mandatory for students to take the COVID test before going to school. Personally, I would not return until my Senior Year. Regardless of all the precautions, we won’t really know when a student develops COVID until they experience symptoms that could completely not affect a person-or make them gravely ill.
Very informative article. I wonder how our class schedule would be affected if we take Sac classes with required zoom meeting in the morning.
While it is certainly a bummer that the possible January return date never happened, it is for the best of all of us. While it is hard, online instruction does allow us to become more independent, as your success is now more defined by your actions, but that alone could be a bad thing as well. I really liked reading this, it was pretty informative and thought provoking.
Very insightful and greatly written article. Hopefully, we can attend school sometime later this year. I’m already getting used to online school, but it is getting harder to focus especially when my mind had already tended to wander. I do like that the school is thinking of ways to protect their students and keep them safe for when we do return someday. I enjoyed reading this article and great work Christine!!