Last week, SweetwaterNOW asked you, our readers, for your opinions on how the school year is going so far in Sweetwater County amid the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.

Out of 303 people who completed the poll, 197 people were parents or guardians, students, or teachers with Sweetwater County School District (SCSD) No. 1. The other 105 responders were associated with Sweetwater County School District (SCSD) No. 2.

Of the responders, 220 were parent or guardians, 64 were teachers, and 19 were students.

According to poll responders, wearing masks and enforcing mask use, changes to students’ social lives, and learning new technology have been the primary challenges faced this school year so far.

Parent Challenges

Over 45 percent of parents and guardians said changes in their children’s social lives has been one of the biggest challenges, and 43.1 percent said encouraging their kids to wear masks in school has been the biggest challenge.

Teacher Challenges

Of the teachers who responded, 64.1 percent said that both enforcing the use of masks among students and learning new technology to educate students have been the biggest challenges. Providing education online was the next biggest challenge selected.

While all teachers who responded said they are teaching in-person, 39.1 percent of those teachers are also teaching online.

Several teachers from both school districts reported high amounts of stress and expectations due to teaching both in-person and online classes.

“While I understand the decision to provide school online for students who need it, the expectations and reality of teaching both in person and online at the same time is overwhelming to say the least,” a SCSD No. 1 teacher said.

It is super challenging and exhausting doing both online and in person.  I am not a new teacher, but feel like it’s my first year.

– SCSD No. 1 teacher

“Teachers need more support and kindness during this time. I know many teachers that are close to a breaking point with all the stress of this school year,” another SCSD No.1 teacher said.

However, a SCSD No. 2 teacher said the school year is going a lot better than initially expected by staff.

“It is going MUCH better than expected!!! The kids rarely complain about masks. I’m grateful to be teaching in person. I also teach the distance students online. Interesting fact, 40 percent of students who completed first quarter distance end are coming back to school,” the SCSD No. 2 teacher said.

In-Person Student Challenges

Students reported the biggest challenge this school year has been wearing the masks, with 76.5 percent responding with this answer.

“Wearing the mask is SO HARD! I can’t hear my teachers speak and they can’t hear me! It is very frustrating!! I am typically a student with an A/B average and this quarter my grades are REALLY suffering and I believe that the lack of communication has a lot to do with it. I feel like my education is subpar and the teachers are apathetic,” a SCSD No. 2 student reported.

“I don’t like being in a mask, but it’s for now, not forever hopefully.”

– SCSD No. 1 student

“The schools doing a great job dealing with what they’ve been given but there are always ways to improve it for everyone,” a SCSD No. 1 student said.

Online Challenges

Of the respondents, 203 parents reported their children were attending in-person school, while 16 said their kids are participating in online learning.

Additionally, 17 students said they are attending school in-person, while two said they are doing online education.

Of those respondents participating in online learning, changes in social life was reported as the biggest challenge this school year.

One SCSD No. 1 parent whose child is attending online school said the year has been “awful” as the lessons are not challenging and there is no “incentive” to turn in assignments.

“The lessons are not challenging at all, I have listened to many a lecture and they are boring without any mental stimulation whatsoever… All my son has to do to get an “A” is simply turn in assignments and even if they are late he can get full credit so there is no incentive to turn in assignments on time. This is not how you achieve responsibility and discipline in a student. He turns them in on time because I make him otherwise what is the point? The system is a complete joke and an utter failure for the students,” the parent said.

A SCSD No. 1 teacher said it has been a struggle to engage students online.

“It often seems as if parents of online students do not enforce or encourage their children to get any work done. Many children are away from school for many days at a time. It has been a struggle to engage online students, But we are always making progress,” the teacher reported.

Both parents and teachers alike have asked for patience and compassion when dealing with online education.

“Not all parents are good education teachers. Be patient with us when we are trying to do online classes when our normally in-person students need to stay home,” a SCSD No. 1 parent said.

Safety in Schools

The majority of respondents, parents and guardians, teachers, and students, reported they feel safe while attending school in-person.

Do Parents Feel Safe Sending Kids to School?

Of those polled, 79.3 percent of parents and guardians said they feel safe having their children attend school, 11.3 percent said they were unsure, and 9.4 percent said they do not feel safe.

“Students have been amazing at adapting. Adults, no so much. They continue to ‘let their guard down’ both in an out of the school settings, and have caused some big outbreaks,” a SCSD No. 1 parent said.

“We need to rethink the way schools are working, and maybe cut the classes in half and have the first half in the morning and second half in the afternoon, and alternate online schooling.”

– SCSD No. 2 parent

Do Teachers Feel Safe Teaching at School?

Of the teachers who responded, 64.1 percent said they feel safe teaching at school, while 20.3 percent said they were unsure, and 15.6 percent said they do not feel safe.

“We’re not really following any of the guidelines we said we would. Temperature checks are a joke. Students often remove or don’t wear masks. Cleaning in between classes is nil. No attempts at increasing ventilation. Impossible to teach online and in-person at the same time,” a SCSD No. 1 teacher said.

“Mask wearing, sanitizing, etc. has gotten extremely relaxed. This needs addressed ASAP!”

– SCSD No. 1 teacher

Do Students Feel Safe Attending School?

Of the students who responded, 47.1 percent said they do fee safe attending school, 29.4 percent said they did not feel safe, and 23.5 percent said they were unsure.

“It’s kind of hard to feel safe because some students try to get away with not wearing masks,” a SCSD No. 1 student said.

Rise in Anxiety and Stress

Despite most respondents reporting they feel safe while attending school, the changes implemented this school year due to COVID-19 has seemingly increased anxiety and stress among students and teachers.

Parents reported that their kids are feeling nervous about the possibility of school shutting down.

“The teachers are doing a phenomenal job, but the changes the children have had to endure have made their impact. And that constant fear of the schools shutting down lingers over my kids’ heads more than it does my own. They need peer interaction, normal peer interaction. My children have developed so much anxiety about school, since the shut down and now going back, I feel like we will never come back from this,” a SCSD No. 2 parent said.

Teachers said expectations on them, due to COVID-19 and outside of COVID-19 changes, are effecting their stress levels.

I’m so glad to be in school with children giving them quality education. The hardest part this year is feeling lack of support from admin and still pushing us to do everything we’ve always done instead of relaxing some expectations under the circumstances.

– SCSD No. 1 teacher

“The challenges that I have and am facing stem from new expectations set that aren’t even all truly COVID related. Way too many new things coupled with all the new technology, dealing with students online, the ever-present discomfort of the absolutely necessary masks, and the fear of the unknown is just making it difficult. I honestly feel admin is doing their best with who and what they have. We all need to remember that although we are creating a new “normal,” this will not last forever,” a SCSD No. 1 teacher said.

Praise for Being Adaptable

However, many parents, teachers, and students praised both districts for the effort that has been made to adjust to the current public health crisis.

“Thank you to the schools for being flexible in this pandemic. This has truly been a gift to the community. I am glad we have options based on our needs. To my knowledge this has never been done before. I hope this continues moving forward,” a SCSD No. 1 parent said.

“They are doing their best in dealing with kids whose parents tell them to disobey the mask mandates,” a SCSD No. 2 parent said.

Even more so, parents and teachers have given kudos to the students for being so adaptable.

“The kids are handling it better than the adults,” a SCSD No. 2 parent said.

“The student’s are doing a great job at adapting to all the changes. We as adults could learn a lot from them.”

– SCSD No. 2 teacher