Midterm Project

The pandemic has uprooted our lives in more ways than we expected. At first we believed this would only last for two weeks, or maybe a couple of months but surely before summer, now as we’re nearing November it seems like there’s no end in sight. The economic and social impact of Covid-19 has completely changed many of our social systems, including schools. Schools have been a type of “catchall” for all of our societies problems for a very long time. Food insecurity? Free or reduced breakfast and lunch is offered in many elementary, middle, and high schools around the country. Child care is too expensive? Gun violence? All of these issues and more, end up in the hands of schools and school districts. Because of the pandemic, many of these services and functions performed by schools were brought to a halt as schools had to close and move to a virtual format. This proved to be difficult as schools had to juggle two goals/purposes. In “The Public Purpose of Schooling in the Age of COVID” Doug Larkin explains that the two goals of schools: stopping the spread of the disease and giving students the social services they need, are in tension at the moment. As the fall semester approached, school districts and policymakers tried to push to reopen schools as much as possible in order for these services to start up again. As much as reopening schools was painted in a positive light by some, my data will show that the reality is proving to be anything but.

My data centers in Central High School in Bridgeport, CT. Central High School (CHS) serves around 1,600 students who, according to US News & World Report are 87% minority (specifically Black and Hispanic). The Office Hours podcast episode entitled “Reopening Schools” from the New York Times touches on the racial implications of reopening-or not reopening schools. Black and Brown, and poor students are less likely to be connected or attend virtual classes. All of the students attending CHS this year were given laptops that they could use for their virtual classes. This, somewhat, helps bridge the gap but it doesn’t necessarily fix all of the other inequities that come along with virtual schooling. Do all students have the same access to internet? Will the internet connection be interuppted or laggy if multiple students are attending virtual classes simultaneously? One of the students I interviewed noted that someone in her class barely joins online meetings because their internet connection is so spotty.

Currently, CHS is operating a hybrid model of learning this semester. Students with last names A-L attend in person classes Monday & Wednesday, students M-Z attend in person classes Thursday & Friday and all students attend classes virtually on Wednesdays. When students are not attending in person classes, because it’s not their assigned day, they are expected to tune into classes virtually. Some students and their parents, however, chose to do all virtual learning. My first interview was with Natalie Liberty Murray, who is teaching Anatomy & Physiology as well as AP Biology this semester. These classes, in a normal scenario, are very hands on and include many interactive labs to further students’ learning. The virus has made this impossible. Mrs. Liberty Murray explained to me, over a Zoom meeting, that the hybrid method of teaching has greatly impacted her confidence in teaching. On days when students show up for in person classes, she is still tied down to her computer in order to relay instructions to students listening at home. She is no longer able to walk around and interact with her students and ensure they are understanding the assignments. The back and forth of ensuring her students in person are understanding the lesson coupled with trying to make sure the students who are tuning into the class through Zoom are engaged and also understand the expectations of the lesson.

My conversation with Mrs. Liberty Murray was very candid and I appreciate her openness and honesty as this is something no one could have ever prepared for. She mentioned that she has had to go on anti-anxiety medication because of the uncertainty surrounding this school year. Overwhelmingly, this year has not been “natural.” From a public health perspective she believes the hybrid method is working because she only sees a handful amount of students at once and everyone is wearing a mask. From an education standpoint, however, nothing beats in person classes. She noted less student engagement with her and also with the material due to the virtual environment of this school year. This is something that teachers and schools are experiencing across the country. The Office Hours podcast episode calls this “Digital Dropout”, where students are not engaged in the virtual method of teaching and effectively “drop out”. They are not necessarily dropping out of school as a whole, but they’re not logging onto their Zoom or Teams meetings and dropping out of the learning process.

I also had a chance to (virtually) interview two high school freshman and their mother. Their mother noted that this school year started off with frustrations from the jump. Her children have different last names, Leite and Vilarino, meaning they were split up. One would have to attend in person classes on Monday and Tuesday, and the other would attend classes Thursday and Friday. Two children attending the same school on different days would just complicate the issue even more. School officials didn’t consider this possibility. Ms. Rocha, the mother I spoke to, then had to play phone tag over the summer leading up to the start of classes in an attempt to get this issue resolved. When I spoke to the two students, they both experienced some frustrations with the current methods of teaching. Students in lower grades, freshman and sophomores, are in “pods” as much as possible. They stay in the same classroom all day and the teachers move from class to class to teach their lessons. While this was done to minimize the spread of the virus, it has left these students and others in their class very bored and very restless. They noted, however, that students who are in person tend to get more attention and their learning is prioritized over students who are virtually attending classes. The only time students leave their classrooms is for lunch time. Here they are able to remove their masks but must sit socially distanced from each other. While in their classrooms these students are given “mask breaks”. They can either raise their hand and take off their masks for a minute or two to breathe a little better or walk up to an open window and remove their masks there. The students also mentioned that hybrid/virtual learning has made the transition from middle school to high school, that much harder. It doesn’t feel like the normal “rite of passage” that other students have been able to experience in years past. They echoed the same sentiments as Ms. Liberty Murray that this doesn’t feel normal or natural. They are frustrated. They don’t feel like they’re actually learning much and are being robbed of the “high school experience.”

As of October 20th, Bridgeport has 434 new cases and many schools have closed and then reopened again due to new cases. CHS was closed this week due to new cases being reported. CHS doesn’t mandate testing, for staff nor for students. In Ms. Liberty Murray’s words “they don’t want to know.” The school is so short staffed that mandating tests, and having positve results, would probably force them to shut down. There are no substitute teachers this year. When teachers are absent, students are expected to sit in the auditorium and attend virtual classes with their teachers joining from home. Ms. Liberty Murray also mentioned that when COVID cases appear in schools, the school district tackles each one of them differently, leaving a lot of confusion.

There is nothing normal about this year, we can all agree on that. This pandemic, however, has just exacerbated inequalities that have been present for centuries. Underfunded schools are struggling to keep their schools open and their students engaged. Black and Brown and poor kids are getting left behind when it comes to progressing their learning. As we move into the winter, and we are seeing a second wave creep up (though many have argued that we never truly overcame the first wave), schools are potentially going to have to close. What will happen to the students with spotty internet connection then? Or the students who don’t log into classes now but at least they see their teachers twice a week, like at CHS? It’s also important to think about how this will affect next semester, or the next year of schooling because it has already been assumed that many schools will have to play catch up with their students. Virtual or even hybrid methods of teaching are not the same and many students will not be where they are supposed to be academically.