Dublin City School students are setting their alarms a little later than usual lately. It’s one perk of the switch to online classes since quarantine began.
“I wake up, I sleep in, because we don’t have to be in the class at the time it starts (anymore),” says Katherine Whitt, a senior at Dublin Jerome High School. “You can go on whenever it’s convenient for you.”
Dublin City Schools was quick to the draw the moment Governor Mike DeWine announced mandatory school shut downs due to COVID-19. Schools officially closed after March 13 and remained closed for the rest of the academic year. And yet, classes persisted.
This idea would have been unheard of just 20 years ago. If a pandemic of this same caliber had hit at the turn of the century, classes would have been postponed indefinitely. With modern technology, it only took a couple extra weeks of preparing for the schools to launch classes online.
“Decision-making in Dublin City Schools is remaining almost the same,” says Jill Reinhart, DCS’s executive director of teaching and learning. “We’re just meeting remotely. So, as we’re having conversations around what our topics that are relevant for remote learning we’re meeting in Google Meets with our principals and with our central office staff. We’re coordinating with the surrounding districts ... as well as thinking hard about quality remote instruction.”
Dublin students in grades K-5 attend classes online through Google Classroom, and students in grades 6-12 use a software called Schoology. Depending on the class and the teacher, students access live or pre-recorded lectures through their internet devices.
“My teachers usually post videos that they pre-recorded just going over the assignment or going over how to do things,” says Isabella Francati, another senior at Dublin Jerome High School. “They make it as easy as it can be, so I’ve had absolutely no issues.”
While Whitt and Francati’s teachers have been very accommodating during this extraordinary time, it hasn’t always been easy adjusting to change. It may seem as though being home all day would boost productivity, but as many of us have learned, it’s quite the opposite.
“It’s so difficult,” says Whitt. “I see my dogs and I want to play with them. And then my mom starts watching some reality TV show and I want to hang out with my family now. There are definitely a lot of distractions. And there’s my bed, and if I do homework in my bed then I’m just going to take a nap.”
On top of struggling to stay focused and motivated, both students have not seen their friends in person since the last day of school. Luckily, they have found ways to keep in touch with their friends.
“It’s nice to be able to spend a lot of time with my family."
“We do a lot of group FaceTime calls, and I text them and Snapchat them regularly and really just try to keep up with each other’s lives even though we live just two minutes away from each other,” says Francati. “I am a captain of the lacrosse team so I have a lot of communication with my coaches and we talk regularly in our group chat, just to keep in touch.”
Francati has officially committed to Villanova University and will continue to play the sport there next year. She is making sure to continue her training and conditioning in case Jerome’s lacrosse season starts back up and, of course, in preparation for her first college season.
“I have a partnered (program) with The Ohio State University, a lifting program on my phone and a lot of stick work drills from my coaches that I do daily. And I go on runs on the paths in my neighborhood.”
While Francati has been focusing on conditioning, Whitt has been trying to learn sign language since she wants to become a special education teacher in the future. Both have found blessings in disguise while cooped up at home all day, namely with their families.
“It’s nice to be able to spend a lot of time with my family, but I know for some kids it’s not like that. Some kids have it rough at home,” says Whitt. “For me, at least it’s nice to be able to hang out with my family and I get to eat whenever I want and I don’t have to worry about running out of snacks. ... It’s nice to be comfy.”
Dublin City Schools has made sure to leave no student behind in these challenging times. They have provided any student in need with a Chromebook along with internet hot spots to access their classes. On top of this, they have offered grab-and-go breakfast and lunch meals.
“I can’t tell you enough how proud I am to be a part of a community that has come together,” Reinhart says. “That’s not just our teaching staff, that is every single staff member in Dublin as well as the parents and the kids. This community has rallied around a very scary time to come together to support our kids and educate them (and also) supporting our whole community.”
Brendan Martin is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
