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NP3 Teachers Cautious About Return to School

By Surya Tanikella
Staff Writer | The Pacific Times

NP3 teachers yearn to return to school, but feel cautious about doing so after a long time of distance learning.

“Returning to school after this period of Distance Learning will be a challenge. We are returning in a different format than we had before the start of the pandemic. We won’t see it return to what we knew as normal for some days, so I am feeling cautious but optimistic,” said Luis Larin, a social studies teacher at NP3 Middle School.

Returning back to in-person learning will have a lot of rules and precautions.

According to Sacramento County guidelines, students and teachers will need to social distance, wear face coverings, and have their temperature checked. Frequently touched surfaces cleaned and disinfected regularly.

“Personally, I am vaccinated and I do understand how important meeting with students in person can be so I am going to do what I can to help out those students that maybe haven’t handled a year of Distance Learning as well as others,” said Jonathan England, a teacher from NP3 High School

Many parents are not ready to send their kids back to school in person. According to Melissa Mori, the principal of NP3 High School, only about 30% of the students are returning to in person learning.

Peter Riehl, a teacher from NP3 High School said, “I miss the students and my colleagues and normalcy so much, but I need to be convinced that COVID numbers are going to continue decreasing greatly due to vaccines before I’d feel close to 100% comfortable with a regular schedule.”

According to the captain’s log that was given to NP3 High School students on March 1, 2021, NP3 High School staff is working to bring back students to school five days after Sacramento county is in the red tier. The red tier means there are less than or equal to seven COVID-19 cases per every 100,000 people.

“Honestly, I’m a little hesitant with students coming back to school. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely miss seeing students in the classroom, having conversations with them, even telling them to stop talking and get back to work,” said Nida Qasmi, a teacher from NP3 High School.

According to NP3’s captain log given on March 15, 2021, students in NP3 High School and Middle School students will go to campus only twice a week. Students whose last names start A-L will go to school on Monday and Tuesday. Students whose last names start with M-Z will go to school on Thursday and Friday.

“The prospect of seeing my students sparks good emotions in these last months of the year,” said Rebecca Clark, a teacher from NP3 Middle School.

If Covid-19 cases continue to drop, NP3 High School and Middle School will be welcomed to come back to in person learning on the week of April 12, 2021 if Sacramento County is in the red tier by that time.

“I’m really excited to be moving closer to in person learning, however the hybrid schedule makes me a little nervous. The unknown challenges of trying to teach distance learning as well as two different groups of live students make me uneasy,” Nicolas Kons, a teacher from NP3 Middle School said.

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