Despite the rise in local COVID-19 cases, some Elementary schools in Poway were able to go back on Jan. 19 and the rest returned to half-day in-person instruction on Feb. 1. Elementary schools across Poway have had to take many precautions in order to keep the students and staff safe. 

They have an ¨A¨ and ¨B¨ system set up so that some students are at school for hours and 35 minutes either in the morning or afternoon so that fewer students are at school at the same time in order to keep everyone socially distanced and as safe as possible. 

¨The first thing everyone does on arrival is wash their hands, and the last thing that gets done in the day is wiping down all the surfaces in the room, sanitizing the toys, and computers,¨ Midland ESS high school aide junior Garret Nielson said. 

At Midland Elementary the after school program (ESS) is still open, but the class sizes are reduced. Students at ESS have to be separated while doing activities, and while completing homework they have to be spaced apart from each other. Students and staff must wear a mask at all times. 

¨Some of them do not like wearing masks, and some of them do, but it is hard as an ESS teacher to constantly be reminding them, and they do not want to listen,¨ Midland ESS aide senior Breana Foreman said. 

Being online can create many issues for elementary students that would not be a problem if they were back at school. For example it is much harder for them to focus at home, and learn everything on a computer. There are a lot of distractions at home that can take away from the learning process, as well as tech problems that younger kids may not know how to fix. 

¨My sister is unable to maintain her study habits because there are so many distractions at home. Going to school is better for her because she gets to ask the teacher’s real question and get more help than she would in online learning,¨ sophomore Harper Hakim said. 

In-person learning has helped students who are having trouble learning through a computer. Even though many precautions must be taken to keep everyone safe, it is beneficial for some students to be back in school.