There is a fear of going back to distance learning again with the new COVID-19 variants and staff shortage. 

Almost two years ago to the date, schools were forced to convert to online school. Fast forward another two years, schools have opened but more variants of COVID-19 have spread.  

 When the COVID-19 variant – Omicron – first came on Dec. 1, 2021,  schools all around the Bay Area either went online or were at risk of going online.  For example Hayward school board and Milpitas school board voted that both their separate school districts would take a week or two off and have classes online according to The San Francisco Chronicle. 

There is a collision of opinions. Parents and school administrators didn’t think it was  enough to actually stop the spread of COVID-19 and improve student safety.  Many claim it’s unnecessary to shut down for one week and go back the next week because if you do have COVID-19, you have to quarantine for 10 days, so a week does nothing for the sick students. 

Even students have started advocating for what they believe schools should do. According to the same article from The San Francisco Chronicle article, 1,200 students in Oakland school districts signed a petition that said they will walkout and stay home if their schools do not improve COVID-19 safety measures.Students demanded N95 masks for all students, weekly COVID-19 testing, and better social distancing but with a shortage of N95 masks and the expenses of getting enough COVID-19 tests for all students weekly. The school simply could not meet the goals.  Thus, the students proceeded with their walkout.

Sequoia did not have these walk outs but these questions exist at Sequoia. Sequoia students also fear the same predicament of going back to online school and losing more of their in person education. 

Students didn’t realize how much they liked social interaction. 

“I feel like I came out of quarantine wanting more interaction with my friends. So in a way, it sort of helped me and that’s sort of why I don’t want to go back because I’ll miss out on the social life,” said junior Rylan Butt. 

During distance learning students did not have a connection with the teacher and classmates. They can make those relationships stronger now. 

“I definitely feel more connected to not only my teachers but also classmates this year compared to last year,” freshman Ryan Stanberry said. 

In the classroom, students are not as easily distracted. 

 “It felt more like there was a lot less class participation because a lot of us didn’t want to participate or the teacher was talking at you for like an hour and a half, so it felt more disconnected,” Butt said.