Summer school welcomes 100 percent of students back in-person

As the first session of summer school is coming to a close, students and teachers alike could not help but enjoy that they have full classes for the first time in over a year. 

No more Zoom calls and half days, school is starting to come back to normal. Even though the school year ended with a handful of students doing school from their houses, summer school is completely in person. 

“The decision was one to keep moving our academic progression getting closer and closer to traditional school in terms of how we experience school in the classroom,” Mr. Mike DiNovo, summer school director, said. 

With students returning, even if it is not the entire school, administrators and teachers alike still have hope for the future, as this is a crucial step to bringing all students back.

“So [we are] basically taking incremental steps, and it is a pathway towards school coming back to normal, maybe feeling that besides masks,” DiNovo said. 

Moving 100% percent of students back to school has not only brought hope for the future but it has also completely shifted morale at the school as teachers and students no longer are separated.

“Last year was just like there was a cloud a grey cloud over everyone at home and in class,” summer school teacher Mr. Albert said.“The mask creates distance between us, so having the mask on doesn’t make it ‘normal’ but it is better than it was.”

Not only are teachers excited about having all students back, they are also extremely happy to not have to worry about all the technology inconveniences that came with learning last year

“Having to do the hybrid was the weird thing, everyday because I’ve been doing this for 17 years,” Albert said. 

Last year was weird for teachers, but also for students who felt like they have yet to have any real high school experiences. Even though they already had a year at york, most sophomores are left feeling like they are still new to the school. 

“It doesn’t feel like I’m in high school; it is just some weird version of something that I’ve never seen, so I think it will be good to actually [be in school] and be in a normal scenario again,” sophomore Mallory Wahr said. “I’ve missed that.”

Being in person is giving students a little bit of the time that they had lost in 2020, and providing some of the experiences that they lost.

“It was nice to have actual conversation with people and not be 6 feet apart from anyone at any given direction, so it felt much more like a class now that it is in an actual classroom instead of a screen,” Wahr said.

This year’s first session of summer school is allowing so many students to see some people for the first time in over a year and teachers to actually teach a full class.

“It has been a pretty positive experience seeing students interact with other students and teachers in a fashion that is a lot more normal, and I think that it is a comfortable feeling to be in and again,” DiNovo said. 

Almost everyone can agree that if students, teachers, and a whole school never have to experience what people have gone through in the past year, most people would be happy.

“I am among the back half of my career, and I hope that I never have to do this again, not just for the horrible sickness and death but also for the inconvenience and morale and everything else of it,” Albert said.