CLAY COUNTY – Students around the county are working through the shortcomings and highlights of distance learning as a result of the coronavirus.
After students left school on Friday, March 13, preparing for the weekend, they expected to return to school the following Monday, just as they always have. They were instead informed over the weekend that they wouldn’t be returning until after spring break at the end of the month. More weeks were tacked onto their time learning from home until Gov. Ron DeSantis announced earlier this month that students were not returning to campus for the remainder of the school year.
“It was talked about as a possibility among us that Friday, but we didn’t expect to reach a point where we’d finish the school year from home,” Lake Asbury Junior High eighth grader Taylor Thigpen said.
March 13 was the last day of school at LAJH for Thigpen as he’ll be moving onto high school when the next school year starts. He and many others at the school won’t be giving LAJH a proper goodbye. Thigpen said it was hard to come to grips with that because LAJH was a special part of his life. He of course learned there and met friends, but he was also heavily involved with helping the district acquire funds from grants for various projects and programs.
Before he left school, he along with other students and school staff had a few projects in the works to help not just LAJH with grant funding, but other schools and district programs as well. Those projects are up in the air now.
“I’ll still see some of them but there are some people I might not ever see again and that’s sad,” Thigpen said. “And the projects we were working on...who knows what’s going to happen with those now.”
That’s the case for sixth graders in elementary school and seniors in high school around the county as well. Orange Park High senior Abigail Ferry, who is also the class president, said the experience has been different from student to student. Ferry is a dual enrollment student so much of her time wasn’t spent at the high school to begin with, and because the district already leans into distance learning and online aspects of education, transitioning to a completely at-home classroom wasn’t difficult for her.
She knows students that were able to switch to distance learning just as easily as her, but she also knows students are having a hard time with it.
“A lot of students already work at their own pace but for those students that really leaned into their teachers, this can be more difficult,” Ferry said. “A big struggle for everyone is the motivation. All of this is very dependent on you doing your own work and so having to commit to doing all of this in the comfort of your home...it’s easy to get distracted or unmotivated to login on this day or that.”
Thigpen said teachers have been great about being available at all times of the day and allowing students to turn in assignments later in the day. As class president, Ferry’s workload has been doubled as she’s not only trying to complete her senior year online, but she’s responsible for things like ensuring students get Grad Bash refunds.
“It’s tough as a student going through this,” Ferry said. “You want to be sad about Grad Bash being canceled, or about graduation not happening, or about not seeing your friends in your last year at the school but then you feel guilty because people are dying of this virus. So, there’s this guilt we’re all having to work through but at the end of the day, this is the best option for the safety of people.”
The Clay Today is hosting a video yearbook for all graduating seniors. Students will be able to record a short video sharing their favorite memories, thanking teachers or talking about their favorite athletic or club moments. Students can submit their video for free! Parents and local businesses will be able to purchase a video to congratulate their students. Find out more about our virtual yearbook here.