The Lake Stevens High School distance learning shutdown produced mixed reactions among students and staff. Some loved it, some hated it, but despite this it showed the Lake Stevens School District that a plan needed to be put in place for future crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

So far, the district’s plan for distance learning is only as a last resort. Students would continue with all six of their classes rather than three per quarter and remain on as close to a normal class schedule as possible. Allegedly, this would be a temporary solution, and teachers are being updated and preparing accordingly.

“It was comforting, as a staff member, to know that there is a plan, that it’s not just ‘we’re going to do this until we can’t and we don’t know what‘s going to happen next’,” Kelly Guilfoil said.

This time around, however, students have more ideas on changes they would like to see, especially as the ones’ whose education is at the core of this. The majority of responding students shared concerns about the teacher-student relationship and workload/due dates and just general improvements to aid student and teacher mental health. Students want their voices to be a bigger part of this decision or at least considered.

The Student Advisory Council (SACo), while still a new organization, has not been consulted in regards to school shutdown plans. It would be in the best interest of the school board to reach out and discuss with the SACo representatives to gather a clearer understanding of the student body and their experiences.

“I do think that the SACo would be a very, very valuable place for them to get information,” senior Grace Davis said.

The objective of the SACo is to provide students with student representation to share their voice and input with administration and the school board, especially on decisions like a second shutdown. With the uneasiness of the students and the idea of returning to distance learning again, it’s more important than ever to hear student voices as these plans are set in place.

“I feel we would be able to distill the information, the general dissatisfaction from the student body and communicate it clearly and like, have specific issues to discuss, but we haven’t been given that opportunity to try to discuss and work out some of the issues that the students feel really strongly about,” Davis said.

25.5%, in a sample size of 55, reported performing at their best with in-person learning, and less than 10% reported not performing well.
Students were also asked how well they learned material in distance learning.
Only 12.7% said they absorbed material at their highest level in distance learning, and 47.3% reported not learning well. The difference between students’ feelings about their performance and actual learning is striking.

Beyond academics, some students are noticing a positive change in their mental health.

“Now that we’ve come back to in-person, my mentality has improved tremendously. School may not be the best thing in the world, but I don’t think I could take doing distance learning again,” sophomore Faith Nance said.

Students want to know what lies ahead in order to stay on track, academically and emotionally.