Over the summer, many superintendents and school boards made a difficult decision about whether they would bring their students back into the classrooms or allow them to continue to learn from home. In St. Louis County there are many districts that have different opinions on COVID-19. Around the St. Charles area, many school districts are learning completely virtual. However, some are going to school every day with no online learning at all. There are very few districts that are actually holding in-person classes, one of those few being Fort Zumwalt. Our district is offering all three of these options, virtual, hybrid, and in-person.

Virtual Learning:

Virtual learning only consists of students learning from home. Students do not have the opportunity to go to class in person. Therefore teachers have to set up all of their work online and have Zoom calls or Webex meetings.

As far as an entire district going virtual, Webster Groves School District is one of those participating.

“I am happy that we are doing virtual because I feel like it is safer this way,” Webster Groves High School senior Alex Hill said. “But it’s also hard for the teachers to keep us locked in during the zoom calls because there are so many distractions in our houses.”

Hybrid Learning:

Hybrid Learning is where students are split into two groups. Each group goes to in-person classes for two days a week and virtual learning for the rest of the week. This helps ensure that the spreading of the virus is more limited to the students that are in each group. The Fort Zumwalt School District is giving students an option a lot like this. Students are allowed to come to school for a few of their classes each day and do the rest online.

A school district in St. Louis that is following this procedure is Wentzville School District.

“I like having hybrid learning at my school, because I can work on assignments at my own pace,” Timberland High School senior Claire Sitzmann said. “Communication with my classmates and teachers about assignments and group projects would be one of my biggest difficulties.”

In-person learning:

In-person learning is where students will go into school and learn hands-on. This option comes with a lot of safety procedures. Students have to wear a mask and social distance in classes and at lunch. Also, sanitizing stations are set up in each classroom and throughout the halls.

“I like going to school because it is a lot easier to communicate with my peers and teachers,” junior Madelyn Small said. “My biggest difficulty would be wearing a mask the whole time.”