remote learning – AHS NEWSPAPER

OPINION: Should Schools Be In-Person with COVID Surge?

February 14, 2022

Philippa Konow

STAFF WRITER

COVID-19, the modern-day plague, has ravaged this world for almost three years now. Schools across the country have repeatedly opened and closed throughout these years in an attempt to battle the virus. New mask mandates and lockdown policies are still being created every day to protect students and staff. This time of high anxiety and mental decline has caused many to question what the right steps are to get the pandemic under control, especially with the new variants evading almost everything we have.

With the most recent surge of COVID-19 popping up after this year’s winter break and sending hundreds of students and staff in the Andover Public Schools district into quarantine, many are wondering if being in school in person is safe. I recall friends, classmates, and myself asking a very common question: “Why are we still in school?” This was a question I continued to hear in every class and H-Block for weeks after the break. Why are schools still open?

The pandemic has been a big struggle for the science community. There have been so many questions and so few answers due to the ever-changing state of the virus. Alan Kalf, a science teacher at Andover High School, said that “as our knowledge of epidemiology and biology develops, it can be frustrating for people to see health and safety expectations change”—referring to the changing quarantine guidelines. “No solution is a perfect solution; all involve compromises, and the government and society have decided that the risks of spreading COVID-19 are worth the benefits of being in school,” Kalf stated.

While I am worried about the current pandemic surge, the idea of going back to remote schooling is one I strongly dislike. The emotional and mental toll it can take on both students and teachers is severe. “There are studies out there that have said depression rates are higher due to [COVID-19] and the isolation while at home,” stated AHS health teacher Holly Breen.

“I have already been isolated away from other people enough through the pandemic, and I don’t know if I could necessarily go through another hiatus without it taking a major toll on my school work and my mental health,” said one student. They aren’t the only ones who struggled during remote classes. “Keeping students isolated seems to have impeded some students’ emotional and social maturity,” said Kalf.

There are some solutions that could be implemented. One shared by many students is to better reinforce the rules in place. “It would [probably] be nice to start requiring the vaccine unless you can’t get it for medical reasons,” suggested Gabriel Lima, a senior at AHS. “The virus seems to spread the most during this time of year.”

“I’ve heard that two lunchrooms were a pain last year, but I think that having the entire school packed into one cafeteria while eating is probably causing a lot of issues as well, given that there’s not enough space to safely social distance with the mask off,” suggested Diya Ganesh, a junior.

I definitely agree with having multiple lunchrooms because having one-quarter of the school in the cafeteria is extremely crowded, with not enough space to socially distance.

“Across the country, I wish that schools had better funding, classes were smaller, hallways less crowded, and buildings in better condition to be as safe as possible,” said Kalf. Having a school that isn’t big enough for all of the students definitely increases the number of cases.

The most important thing to remember is that staying safe is a group effort. Everyone needs to take their part in battling this virus by getting vaccinated, wearing masks properly, and obeying the safety protocols and quarantine guidelines.

Freshmen Adjustment Into Post-COVID Learning

January 13, 2022

Dane Connor and Ethan Zabar

STAFF WRITERS

Andover High School’s current freshmen, the Class of 2025, is adjusting to the transition into a high school environment after the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, the lives of many people changed drastically, for better or worse. School sessions were held in a hybrid or fully remote setting, and that was a huge adjustment for students everywhere. Now, Andover High School’s Class of 2025 must handle the transition back into fully in-person learning on top of the massive change to learning in a high school setting.

Katherine Johnson, an English teacher at AHS, believes that despite the setbacks caused by the past year in online learning, the class of 2025 may be able to take valuable lessons away from that period and apply them to their freshman year. “In my opinion, though not ideal, the skills that students were able to gather and hone during remote learning could be a huge asset to draw from for their high school experience,” Johnson stated. “Remote learning forces a lot of students to look at themselves as learners, and understand what works for them as students in terms of organization and time management.”

Johnson is of the belief that from a teacher’s standpoint, expectations for students should not change, but should come with empathy after a long time struggling with the threat of COVID. “My standards have not changed,” Johnson said. “Students are people; we are all here to learn from each other and to do the best work we can do. We’re here to think, and read, and learn, and write, and laugh… I appreciate that for all students the past couple of years has been intense and challenging. We all need to be sensitive and approach one another from a place of compassion, understanding, and kindness.”

She continued by saying that teachers had adjustments to make as well. “As a teacher, logistically, remote learning forced me to be incredibly clear about my expectations and pacing.” She then stated that she sees this year’s freshman class as highly engaged learners, and hopes that as a teacher, her class is a safe and productive learning environment for the new additions to AHS.

Sahil Khosla, an AHS freshman, felt that the trajectory of his peers’ maturity dipped during the pandemic. “Overall, I feel as though the growth of most of the people around me has stagnated, and I find more and more of them beginning to approach education and school with carefreeness and listlessness,” he said.

However, Khosla felt that COVID’s impacts are beginning to fade. “Overall, the effects of COVID only really affected my eighth-grade year, as that was when the experience was new to all of us,” he added. “We’ve been going through it for so long now that the memories of how we did things before seem less realistic with each passing day.”

Although their eighth-grade year during the heat of the pandemic is over and memories have started to fade, many freshmen still feel a great impact from their time with COVID. Brody Harris, another member of the freshman class, said that life, especially school, has still been difficult for him as a result of COVID’s impact. “My eighth-grade year was very bad grade-wise, and I am in classes that are a little lower than I would like to be in,” stated Harris. “For example, my eighth-grade math teacher did not let me do geometry this year and Algebra 1 is mostly repeat stuff I already know.”

Harris also felt like communication with teachers was as difficult in his freshman year as it was in eighth grade with the pandemic present. However, he did credit the teachers, acknowledging that the school staff had just as difficult a time.

Possibly the biggest worry about the pandemic impacting incoming freshmen was that they have matured slower during their time in isolation and that as a result, they’d have a more difficult time making responsible decisions. Conversely, in an unofficial survey run by ANDOVERVIEW staff, two-thirds of the interviewed students felt that socializing with their peers was as easy as it had always been, despite a possible dip in social maturity.

Ms. Reidy, an AHS math teacher, gave some comments about the freshmen’s transition into high school. During their last year of middle school, the class of 2025 was thrown into an online learning environment, and Reidy believes that the high school workload shocked inexperienced freshmen. “They didn’t have that year to ramp up work,” she said.

Reidy stated that the increase in workload from middle school to high school is a difficult transition for everyone, and the circumstances given to the freshmen have only made that transition more difficult. She added that she felt the freshman being isolated for so long impacted their ability to socialize with peers and adults. “They weren’t with anybody,” she said. Reidy felt that the freshmen’s excitement to be back in person for introduction to high school would provide a boost in energy and morale, and in turn, motivate them to make up for the lost time.

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APUSHing it? High AP Drop-Out Rate This Year

January 13, 2022

Drop-Out Rate in 2021-2022 School Year Brings Light to Difficulty of AP Classes

With many students dropping out of Advanced Placement and Enriched classes, a pressing question persists: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the student drop rate in these classes?

AP classes, which are college freshman level courses taught in high school, are known to be both quick-paced and work-intensive. Throughout the year, some students will request level changes down to honors, bringing a bit of light to the difficulty of some of these classes. According to some AP teachers, Andover High School has experienced more students moving down from AP levels this year than ever before.

When one thinks of an AP course, there are a few infamously difficult ones that come to mind: AP U.S. History (often abbreviated to APUSH) and AP Calculus are among the few. But what do actual students and teachers of these classes have to say about them?

APUSH is a class that is known to be extremely difficult. The pace, depth of content, delivery, and assessments of APUSH are more challenging than what students are used to. “For juniors who are first taking an AP class, it’s quite an adjustment. If you think about it, it’s literally skipping two grades,” said Mary Robb, who taught APUSH up until this year.

STAFF PHOTO / Melody Tang
AP students Larissa Cardine (left), Julia Kole (middle), and Julia Benjamin (right) study in the morning before class.

Andover High School junior Bori Kim said, “APUSH is definitely a challenge, but it’s not always hard. The pop quizzes are hard to study for, though, and projects are a lot of work. The key to APUSH is time management.”

AP Calculus, which is one of the most notoriously difficult AP classes, is split into two levels: AB, which teaches half a year of college calculus in one school year, and BC, which teaches one full year of college calculus in one school year. “AP Calculus specifically is also, for some students, the first time that they struggle with math,” said Megan Mulert, who teaches both Honors Calculus and AP Calculus AB. “For a lot of students, it’s the first time that they actually have to put in the work and learn how to study.”

While there are usually only one to two students who drop down from BC to AB, Mulert said she has had around 10 this year. Mulert remarked, “The main skills you need for AP Calculus are algebra II and precalculus, and… most of that for them was during COVID. So, I’ve seen the effects of the pandemic much more this year even than I did last year.”

AP Calculus BC teacher Karen Waters also brought up an important point: although there were many students who moved down this year, there were also many students who were taking courses in a level higher than they were recommended for. This might have played a role in the increased number of students moving down, since they were not well prepared for the rigor of the class.

Shawna Chu, a senior at AHS, said that AP Calculus BC is especially rigorous because there are no “homework grades or participation grades, so your grade is just however well you do on tests.”

A couple students interviewed mentioned that APs weren’t as difficult as they thought. Several say that most of the difficulty is self-inflicted. AHS junior Yash Kalwani, who is taking four APs, explained, “Honestly it’s not really a lot of work, it’s just poor time management that leads juniors to struggle with APs.”

Procrastinating can become an AP student’s worst enemy. AHS junior Annie Song, who is in AP Chemistry, also gave a piece of her advice. She jokingly warned, “Don’t be like me and play nine hours of games before you start homework.” Altogether, the general consensus is that APs definitely require more work and effort than a college prep or honors course. However, as long as you don’t procrastinate, the work shouldn’t become crushingly overwhelming. Unfortunately, many students are tempted by procrastination and it snowballs into being behind on lots of classwork and homework, which often results in doing poorly on tests.

AP Tips and Tricks

Although AP classes are infamously difficult, there are many tips and tricks on how to get through these courses while maintaining a good grade.

Interviewed teachers stressed to always ask for help, to be at every class present and participating, and to do homework every night so as to not fall behind. AP Calculus BC teacher Karen Waters mentioned that summer work is important as well, observing that students who really put in the effort to thoroughly do their summer work did better when classes began.

Mary Robb, an AP U.S. History teacher up until this year, also noted the importance of reaching out for help when needed, mentioning that the students who came to see her during H-block were the ones who showed the most growth throughout the year.

“If you pay attention in class, you should be pretty set for the tests anyways. I say to not go in over your head because if you end up taking too many APs, that can take up a lot of your time,” junior Annie Song added, “Depending on the person, it can stress you out a lot, so know your boundaries… [and] always make time for yourself.”

AHS Junior Bori Kim also commented, saying, “Think about which ones may help you in college or [in] the major that you’re thinking of [pursuing].” Being proactive, attentive, and staying on top of your course load is really the secret behind surviving AP courses.

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To Switch or Not to Switch

March 26, 2021

Students Express Pros and Cons of Hybrid and Remote Academy Changes at AHS

By Naomi Bloom

STAFF WRITER

Some AHS students have switched between remote and hybrid learning for a myriad of reasons, and the majority of those interviewed (aka, the Switchers) were happy with their choices. However, getting students switched is a complicated process that not everyone can work with.

“The process of switching instructional modes is very complex from a scheduling perspective,” said Assistant Principal Scott Darlington, adding that many students requested a switch, but with a limited amount of space in the classroom, it was difficult to process everyone’s requests.

For example, senior Alana Miller didn’t get to switch from hybrid to remote. She was concerned about school safety in regards to COVID-19 and because of stress as well. She also mentioned the transitions between in-class and at-home days within hybrid have been “extremely hard on students and teachers.”

Miller told ANDOVERVIEW that in order to switch, one has to be “extremely proactive and fight to get switched.” She even thinks the school was making the process a difficult one in an attempt to dissuade students from trying to switch from one type of instruction to another.

However, Darlington explained the process itself has been much more difficult than expected. This is because in the fall, many more requests to switch were accepted, so as a result, there is very little room for new people to switch now.

“We are following a district process in determining who can switch instructional modes,” he said. “[In] many cases, it just depends if there is space in the same type of class as in the other instructional mode.”

Aside from Miller, the other four Switchers interviewed by ANDOVERVIEW were able to make changes at the end of term two. They all had rather smooth transitions and were all happy with their new learning model. Sophomore Angela McNeely said that during her switch to remote, she only had to change one of her electives and that everything else went as planned. Her switch to remote from hybrid “feels really refreshing” so far.

Santiago Montez, a freshman who switched to the remote learning, said that while there are the pros and cons of each instructional mode, both are still good. For example, he missed hybrid because you get to be around people in class, but he liked remote because it’s safer and he added his teachers in remote are better with technology, as they have had to use it more.

For those of you who are looking to switch if there is an upcoming opportunity, here are some tips for switching:

Sophomore Alison Dalton, who switched to remote, said the experience of switching can vary from person to person, but students should try to switch to the option that allows them to stay more motivated.

Senior Isabella Gervais, who switched to hybrid, said that while “school is school” and there will always be times that get stressful, it’s important to “make sure that you are doing the best for your mental and physical safety.” She also said students will have support from their teachers and friends, so there’s no reason to be afraid to try to switch.

STAFF PHOTO/ Erin Li
Senior Isabella Gervais studying on her computer during in person H-Block.

In addition, Darlington told ANDOVERVIEW that students who are switching will need to use a support team of their guidance counselor, teachers, parents, and their assistant principal, if needed, to help with the switch. “Learning remotely full time is very different from in-person hybrid learning,” he said. “[They] may require different strategies for students to organize their school work and time.”

Synchronized Classes at AHS

March 26, 2021

By Olivia Janasik

STAFF WRITER

For the second semester of this school year, Andover High School has decided to make synchronous classes mandatory for all students to attend. Students must be in class for at least a certain period of time, depending on the teacher, leaving many students anxious for the rest of the school year.

Throughout this past year, senior Maeve Snell “prefers asynchronous classes because they allow [her] to work when it is best for [her] and take advantage of [her] schedule.”

Senior Lizzie Jones agreed, stating that “over the course of this year, [she’s] learned how to manage [her] time better, with asynchronous classes [she’s] had a much more flexible schedule and time to work on assignments.” She continues by adding, “I like that I could take a shower or go get a snack, get a break in the midst of my day without having to worry about paying too much attention to classes I had already completed the work for, it just made it easier”.

Although Snell feels that “the synchronized meets are unnecessary but in classes such as math, I think it makes sense to have synchronous lessons”.

However, moving forward, the school has decided to hold synchronous classes for all students, not only affecting those at home, but the learning experience in-person as well. Senior Ben Entner stated that he dislikes “the classes where we are fully synchronous because when I am at school, it makes it difficult to feel as though I’m getting time to talk with my teachers or get any sort of individualized attention. I think these online meets aren’t helpful when I’m at home because it’s often difficult to pay attention in class and get my work done while at home as well.”

Also affected by this sudden change are the teachers at the high school. Entner added, “I think this also makes it more difficult for teachers to focus on both students at home and at school at the same time.”

However, this may result in a more engaged classroom and a rise in academic achievement amongst students. Mrs. Michaud stated, “Keeping your camera on during synchronous classes shows that you are engaged and interested in participating in what’s happening in the course. Trying to be a part of the classroom community, whether it is in person or online, is important in the hybrid environment. As a teacher, it also helps to gauge how students are feeling when you can see their expressions.”

This year has definitely impacted students and teachers a tremendous amount, and synchronized classes will continue to do so throughout the remainder of the year. “I’m hoping for a brighter future next year, where synchronized classes will be mandatory because we’ll all be in school instead of the hybrid classes we have now,” says senior Lizzie Jones.

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Remote Learning: Tips and Trials

February 8, 2021

By Avi Shapira

STAFF WRITER

Opinions on remote learning have been mixed across the AHS student body, but learning remotely, whether in remote academy or hybrid, has been difficult for many.

Online school has caused many health issues because of extended screen time, lack of movement throughout the day, and inability to interact with other students often. Those health challenges are also hindering people’s ability to do well in school.

“I have really bad headaches and it’s gotten so much worse this year due to online school,” said junior Ollie Neilly. “It’s very painful and it makes it hard for me to concentrate or have my camera on.”

“It’s been difficult to get outside and get fresh air, or interact with friends, pets and family,” added Atlas L., a junior.

Anya Lazar, a junior, also said that remote learning negatively affected her posture.

“We worried even before this pandemic about how much screen time students are getting, it creates a sedentary lifestyle… you’re not moving around and being social,” said health teacher Candice McVeigh.

During remote days, students interviewed said they have to spend between six to eight hours on a computer just for school-related work, and in remote academy or when hybrid is all remote teachers hold class-long meets. Most homework also requires going online to complete, and most teachers spend the entire class lecturing.

Abby Clement, a sophomore, said “A lot of the time, after spending a day completely online without much of a break, I do not want to go back online and do more school work so I put it off, procrastinate, and end up becoming more stressed.”

Teaching online is also difficult for teachers, whose health is affected and have to design “more engaging activities [online], while also considering the time that students need to look at the screen,” according to Chinese teacher Lin Wu.

STAFF PHOTO/ Erin Li
Ms. Wu teaches in-person and remote students at the same time during an H Block.

Despite all the challenges with online school, it’s possible to make it easier for both students and staff.

Some students said they prefer having independent work rather than a live remote class.

Neilly said it’s easier to concentrate on independent work, and Google Meets can be stressful.

L said both types of classes have benefits. “It’s easier to learn when I can hear the teacher talking about a subject, but I overall spend less time sitting in front of my computer and it’s easier to get work done when it’s independent work… it’s easier to go at my own pace.”

Sophomore Shannon Chu suggested a mix of both would be good. “My French teacher… gives the beginning of class off for us to do some [independent work] and then our actual class is only 45 minutes.” Other students expressed similar ideas.

To make remote classes easier, McVeigh mixes independent work and lecturing, and also makes sure to include group work in her health classes. “I heard from some kids that they appreciate that,” she said.

Many students said that mask breaks, or any short break in the middle of class, were helpful for them.

“Our brains can’t focus for long periods of time so having a ten to twenty minute break in the middle of class would help our productivity and focus levels and give us time to get away from the screens and stretch,” said Neilly.

Students said it would be helpful if they got less homework in general.

L said less homework would mean they wouldn’t “burn [themself] out by spending all of [their] time focusing on school work.”

Chu questioned whether homework is necessary. “If homework is making kids more stressed how is that helping at all?” she asked.

“Our education is already being affected by our mental health and the inability to concentrate,” Neilly explained. While he agrees that some homework are necessary, many teachers could give lower amounts of homework.

Because of these challenges, many students have had to skip or miss classes because of technological issues or headaches. Due to the online platform, making up this work is more difficult, and students interviewed suggested that teachers post an agenda and don’t take points off late work to make making up work easier.

Some students thought having physical textbooks and getting more assignments on paper would be helpful.

I think physical books [are better than] online books, for the reading experience,” said Chu. Physical books would also mean students have to look at screens less.

Lazar had a mixed opinion. “I actually hate doing assignments on paper because writing hurts my hand, so I prefer being able to type everything. Physical textbooks would be great because I have a lot of issues with loading the online ones.”

Multiple students suggested teachers should change the way they grade assignments.

“Teachers could not rely on tests and quizzes for grades as much as they do right now, since it’s very hard to learn an entire topic when everything around you is a distraction and you can’t pay attention,” said L.

“[Teachers should] give more opportunities to improve grades, be more lenient, etcetera,” said Clement. She suggested teachers grade on completion rather than accuracy of homework assignments.

Remote Learning: Yay or Nay?

February 7, 2021

By David Irza & Rachel Irza

AHS Senior & AHS Sophomore

Nay

This last year has been a mess for everyone. From government workers to grocery workers, everyone has had to deal with the pandemic. Schools were closed, and businesses closed. With all of this going on, many people struggled to stay on top of schoolwork, bills, and other issues. In school, many students were having trouble in school, and I was one of them. Dealing with remote learning is extremely difficult, and it adds more stress to a busy day. Personally, I think AHS has had a poor performance catering to the remote students. They should consider a reassessment of the situation, and provide more resources to the cause. To start, the district gives remote students VHS classes for courses “not offered” through the high school. This is supposedly because of a lack of staff to teach all the classes. They resorted to a third party system, The Virtual High School (VHS). VHS offers a wide variety of courses, but the difficulty of the year long courses is ridiculous. As a senior this year, I enrolled in a Physics class, supposedly for high school students. It was the difficulty of a third-year college course. There was a lab, lab report, problem set, and quiz every week! The extreme rigor of this course caused me to fall behind in other classes, and use other class time to try and catch up in this VHS class. It was extremely frustrating, and I was extremely stressed in order to try to get my grade up. I spent all of my time after school trying to work on this course, and it is a poor reflection on how the class was run. Not to mention, the “instructor” was located in Nepal, which is a day behind us. I was not able to access for extra help. I was extremely disappointed in the set up of this course. Not only was VHS a significant issue. For world languages, AHS gives remote students the program, Idiomas, to learn their language of choice. However, to call it a course was a stretch. There was no teacher to student communication, and it took forever for the teacher to respond to emails. Assignments were given with poor instructions, and there were many assignments which weren’t graded properly. I am still waiting to hear about several grades for my course which were submitted before winter break! I don’t understand how the district thinks this program is good for remote students. I understand that COVID-19 is a widespread issue, and that everyone is going through a difficult time. However, I feel Andover should have grasped the situation much better than this mess of a program. AHS had an entire summer to figure out if they needed to hire extra staff, or if they needed to add extra programs to ensure the proper education of students. I find this experience as a remote student to be extremely disappointing, and this is a poor example of what AHS “stands for.” I hope the district learns from these mistakes and helps other students who are having issues.

Yay

Remote school seems like a walk in the park, but it does come with its own difficulties. I chose to participate in Remote Academy because I felt that going to school would be too risky during the COVID-19 pandemic. I had taken some classes online over the summer, so I felt I was well equipped to succeed. Remote school has presented issues that I did not anticipate. When I was in class last year, there was a fine line between school time and personal time. Remote learning has fractured this boundary. With no solid differentiation between home and school, I quickly found school work and academic pressures to be invading my personal space. Consequently, I needed to find ways to feel comfortable in both worlds. I managed to accomplish this by making time to do things I love, like artistic activities, reading, and playing games with my family. Virtual High School (VHS) is also a hot topic among many students. Some enjoy the classes, while others feel they are not worthwhile. I was introduced to VHS when I took geometry last summer. I found that learning a complex subject, such as math, is difficult within this program. The classes have no lectures, and there is no structured communication between the student and teacher. Therefore, it was up to me to learn the material on my own, with very little assistance. As a sophomore this year, I am enjoying my cybersecurity course through VHS. I have been doing well because I am interested in the material. Also, I have an instructor who has made herself accessible, so if I have a question, I receive a quick response. I feel I have learned more in this course in four months than what I absorbed in the geometry class I took last year. There have been many times when I have lost enthusiasm and motivation to learn remotely. I found the best way to tackle these issues is to take care of myself. When I feel worn out, I take time to decompress by reading a book or taking a quick walk in the neighborhood. I do miss seeing my friends in class. Seeing my friends over the internet isn’t the same as interacting with them in class. We don’t get to meet during lunch, chat in the hallway, or share a laugh during a class discussion. Though my friends and I meet over FaceTime to keep in touch, it’s not a fulfilling substitute for in-person socializing. Overall, I doubt that I will switch to hybrid this year. Although school is extremely important to me, the health and safety of my friends and family is my first priority. Remote learning has its drawbacks, but I am able to maintain peace of mind by staying home. I am hoping I will see everyone at school in September!