It has been about 5 months since our first day in person, but as more and more students and staff members get covid, many people question if it was a good idea to come back.

The Covid pandemic is at its peak right now due to the many variants, and some schools have had to go online due to the staff shortages and covid cases.

The article Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count by the NY Times shows that there has been a significant increase in cases and that King County has the highest cases per day and per 100,000 in Washington State.

“I think that in-person has allowed many of the students to be more engaged in their learning but the policies that the ISD set such as the mask policy hasn’t been enforced properly and the lunchroom is too packed so I feel like there’s a risk of getting covid,” said Marshall Karh a student at Skyline. 

As said above, the staff shortages made it harder for teachers to enforce the policies that the ISD set and the overload of students in the lunchroom made it even harder for the 3 feet social distancing to happen or be enforced.

Many of the other students agree with Marshall and that they feel vulnerable to the covid virus during lunch.

“The pros of in-person learning is that students can learn without losing their concentration. It helps some students that have trouble with learner autonomy. Lastly, it helps them with test-taking abilities since most of the tests that they will take in the future will be taken in-person.” Said Joy Kim, a parent of a Skyline student.

“I think that the pros of online learning are that students are safe from the covid and some students can efficiently learn based on their needs via watching pre-recorded lectures and since students have different learning styles it gives them the luxury of choosing when to study and when to take breaks based on their preferences.” Says Joy.

As said above, there are many pros and cons for both in-person and online, and since all students have different learning styles and paces, it is impossible to make a perfect system that satisfies all sides.

“The medical chaos stated in the news and the growth of covid cases concerns me because it is guaranteed to spread in your family if one family member gets the coronavirus. I also feel concerned for the staff members since they have to be here” says Joy.

There is nothing other than wearing our masks and washing our hands as students. All we can do is wait and appreciate the staff members that are working hard to make a better SHS.