The parking lot at Erie High School filled up quickly Monday morning as students arrived to welcome doughnuts and a performance by the band’s drum line in celebration of returning in-person four days a week.
Senior Dania Martinez said she was surprised when she had to hunt for a parking spot, while being in an almost full school for the first time since the pandemic started felt “really weird.” Still, she said, she’s glad her last couple months will be spent mainly in person, especially as she pushes through senioritis to complete the school’s engineering focus program.
“I didn’t expect us to to come back full time this school year,” she said. “I was still getting used to the hybrid schedule. It’s been a lot of adapting to everything. It can be hard to find motivation online. Being in person helps a lot of us academically.”
For the first time in a little over a year, all St. Vrain Valley middle and high school students have the option to attend school in person four days a week. Students also can continue to stay fully virtual and join the in-person classes remotely from home. In the fall, the plan is to return to a traditional five-day school week, with LaunchED as the only option to stay remote.
St. Vrain Valley agreed to move from a hybrid model to full-time in person — keeping Fridays as a day students learn independently while teachers plan — for secondary students mainly because all student-facing staff members now have had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated. Elementary students returned to four days a week in person in January.
Once fully vaccinated, teachers are no longer required to quarantine if there’s an exposure at school. Protective measures, such as wearing masks and social distancing to the extent possible, are continuing.
Anthony Barela, principal at Longmont’s Sunset Middle, was thrilled about having most of his 429 students in the building at the same time.
”It was awesome,” he said. “It was so amazing to have hallways filled with laughter. It’s some sense of normalcy.”
He added students have done a “fantastic job” following the rules around distancing and wearing masks.
“I’m glad they’re back,” he said. “They take a school and make it alive.”
At Erie High, where about 150 of the school’s 1,450 students remain online only, Principal Matt Buchler shared the enthusiasm for getting most students back four days in person.
“This was the most exciting day for me of the entire school year,” he said. “It feels good. There’s just more excitement in the building. My hope is we can incorporate some safe, socially distant fun into the last nine weeks.”
He’s also working on plans for an outdoor, senior prom, with students in 10-person pods as recommended by state guidance. Then there’s an outdoor graduation in May, where each graduating senior can bring up to four guests.
Erie High junior Dylan Leffel said he was glad to be back to a more normal school week, especially now that his mom and grandparents have been vaccinated.
“It’s better than sitting by myself in my room on my iPad,” he said, adding he’s hopeful his senior year will look more like a regular school year. “I’m liking going back in person.”
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SVVSD middle, high school students back to in-person class 4 days a week - Longmont Times-Call
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