DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Students and parents agree, there is no competition when comparing this school year to the last one.
“Pretty chill, less COVID strict,” said McKenna Meyers, a sophomore at West De Pere High School.
“Last year was a little bit dicey, but this year was situation normal,” said William Dorsey, a parent of a De Pere High School student.
“It felt just like any other year, like it was back when I was in second grade or freshman year before everything happened, or middle school,” said Maxwell Kalk, a junior at Kimberly High School.
While school feels back to normal now, getting here might have been hard to imagine back in late August.
“Universal masking, so requiring all students and staff to wear masks indoors, beyond that we are working to build relationships on the first week of school,” said Mark Holzman, Manitowoc Public School’s superintendent, on the first day of school.
With limited exceptions, students were able to stay in the classroom all year. Some, never even having to wear masks.
However, it wasn’t smooth sailing for all. Many parents grew frustrated with their children having restrictions, while others in different districts did not.
“I mean I’ve watched this charade for a year and a half now,” Andrea Klitzke, a parent of a student in Appleton public schools, said before a school board meeting in October.
By the end of February, most districts made the decision to make masks optional.
“We’re still at a critically high level, but we see that coming down significantly over the next couple weeks, so we’re comfortable making that transition,” Oshkosh superintendent Bryan Davis said in February.
Ditching the masks, being able to sit with who you want at lunch, and other pre-COVID normalcies had positive effects.
“You were like more in the classroom, so you got the connections with your teachers too, so you felt more comfortable to ask for help,” said Meyers.
However, challenges remain. Some of them perhaps have been lingering, only to grow worse with the pandemic.
We have such an epidemic of health issues,” said Lisa Sackman, a teacher retiring from Appleton schools. “There is just no way for us at the school level to be able to tackle all of these things.”
Another concern for many districts is having enough teachers.
“Right now in our district, we have 7 total consistent subs,” said Luke Goral, the administrator for the Denmark School District. “We have 120 teachers. That means every single day we have openings.”
Everyone can agree, keeping COVID at bay will make it easier to run down the issues that remain, and also keep students heading in the right direction.
“Kids love to be around their friends both for the classroom setting and after school activities,” said Becky Dorsey, a parent of a De Pere High School student. “It was definitely a huge win over last year.”
