The Return of COVID-19

On the 11th of March, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic.  A few months following the World Health Organization’s announcement, schools began to introduce remote learning, The virus quickly spread to 114 countries, and racked up more than 770,000,000 cases as of August 30, 2023, which was also the same day the CDC released new information about a variant of COVID-19 known as BA.2.86. Some of the information provided included background of the variant, preventive action, and scientific understanding about it thus far. Despite the limited information about the new variant, hospitals became cautious as new cases flooded in. It was during the late weeks of August when schools across the country began to resume online learning in response to the alarming amount of cases within schools and communities.

While the majority of the school district in Iowa hasn’t been primarily affected by the new variant, hospitals have been keeping a close eye on cases. A sophomore at Waukee, Drew Dieke, contracted the virus early this September stating “At first I thought it was just a cold, but then it started to become a little bit stronger. Terrible cough and sore throat, and I was super drowsy. I wasn’t worried about spreading it since I isolated quickly and took precautions.” Though the virus has no longer been a widespread issue within the school district, cases have still appeared. 

For Waukee Schools, online learning is a familiar experience for many as teachers and students learned to navigate the new form of learning back in 2020. This proved especially difficult for many teachers in the district, having to learn a new form of teaching effectively. Mr. Yeoman, a teacher at Waukee School, explained his experience. “Going online was a huge adjustment. We didn’t know exactly what to expect and most of our classes had few resources that worked well for online learning. I felt like our administration was doing what they could to support us, but this was something that hadn’t been done like this before. We, the science team, tried to work together to make the new materials and adapt what we already had. It was one of the most stressful times in my teaching career.” 

Additionally, many students also had mixed feelings about dealing with online learning, and the possibility of returning to it. Sophomore Armin Hodzic states “If we went online again I feel like there would be a huge crisis for students. Having that feeling that school isn’t mandatory just because it’s online would cause a GPA drop. Many students would also not be able to attend activities and extracurriculars. I feel as if I would be one of those students struggling”. 

Overall, most students and teachers do not want to consider the possibility of revisiting online or hybrid learning. Since the outbreak in 2020, many students in the district have had their own experiences with the virus, making it easier to follow precautions to act against it. As many countries continue to monitor the new variant and the way it works, regular procedures should continue to be followed to prevent another wave from occurring.
https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/whats-new/covid-19-variant-update-2023-08-30.html