Covid and Education
Students return to public schools in Abington
The Abington Middle/High School shrouded with morning mist on Thursday, October 15, 2020.
November 13, 2020
The students of Abington High School talked about their own opinions and experiences dealing with the two-week long online schooling and the transition back.
Abington public schools went fully remote for two weeks when there was a growing number of covid-19 cases in town and a few people were already missing school due to the virus. On Nov. 12, students returned to their hybrid model.
Abington and many other South Shore towns became a “Red Zone” also known as a “high-risk zone”. A high-risk zones qualifications are dependent on the size of a town. Abington currently has a population of about 17,000. That means that Abington had to have greater than or equal to 10 cases AND a 5 percent or more positivity rate to be considered a red zone by the state.
Loading ...The closure of school and the online transition was very quickly put into action immediately after Abington became remote. Not all students enjoyed such a change.
Owen Needle, a senior at Abington High School, felt going remote was not great. He replied, “Overall it was a very negative. Remote learning made it much more difficult to learn. Hopefully we can avoid going remote in the future.”
On the other hand, junior Jason Rizzitano had a conflicting standpoint from Needle. Rizzitano said, “At first I found it pretty difficult because I felt like the teachers weren’t helping us. But towards the end of it [the fully remote model] I had found new ways to help me learn better online.”
I was on the fence about going remote initially, but overtime I got more used to it.
— Brandon Pappacino
When asked how online school affected them in term of their grades, AHS junior Brandon Pappaceno replied, “I was on the fence about going remote initially, but overtime I got more used to it. I was able to keep all of my grades the same or even boost some.”
Junior Shea McClellen, when asked the same question, stated, “In the beginning it was hard to focus. But after a few days it became easier to focus. My grades didn’t really change.”
Abington is currently at the mercy of the virus. Covid-19 has devastated many in town. Some students have turned to remote learning through the virtual academy TECCA for the whole remainder of the year.
To stay up to date on school news, be sure to register for Constant Contact at www.abingtonps.org.
Edited Nov. 13 at 1:10pm
