As you may know, the district has taken many precautions to slow the COVID-19 spread. What you may not know is the work teachers are putting in to keep students safe.

The school is enforcing the precautions advised by medical professionals.

One of the biggest ways teachers are helping counteract the spread is through washing down desks between each period. Teachers use a microfiber towel and a powerful cleaner on each desk.

In the beginning of the year, the district provided all teachers with sanitizer and lessons on how to properly clean down the desks.

Masks are to be worn by all students, and teachers are required to enforce mask wearing and social distancing. This can be difficult when students in the same class are close friends and find it difficult to stay apart, but teachers attempt to remind students of this important requirement.

While some students deem masks “uncomfortable”, they are necessary for safety. The University of Maryland Medical System said, “Cloth face masks are effective. They create a barrier between your mouth and nose and those around you. This makes it more difficult for the droplets that spread coronavirus through coughs, sneezes and talking to reach other people.”

Teachers remind students to wear their masks correctly and enforce appropriate distancing as best as possible.

Are the current protocols set in place enough? A common reaction I got to that answer was that many teachers were unsure, but all were thankful that we are still in school.

The precautions taken by students and teachers are lengthy. Social studies teacher Jennifer Adams said, “All of these things are taking a toll on everyone, but I would rather do protocols than have to be virtual full time.”

Benefits from the COVID-19 protocol include keeping the school cleaner and, of course, being able to keep the school open.

I asked Adams which protocol she thought was the most effective, she said, “I don’t know. I’m hoping… I’m hoping that these protocols we have in place with cleaning and social distancing will help us lessen the cases [of COVID-19]; time will tell”.

Musical director James Craley said, “washing hands and wearing masks” were the most effective protocol to prevent the COVID-19 spread.

Some rooms in the school are small, so trying to space seating is difficult.

There are a lot of precautions to keep up with, so, who is enforcing all these precautions on the teachers? Journalism teacher Sarah Buttiens said that keeping up with the safety measures is a “professional expectation.”

Adams said that the administration and Principal were the ones who were enforcing the rules.

While Business teacher Michael Twigg said that everyone is checking up on each other.

All of the teachers stated the same thing when faced with the question, “How strict are you when it comes to keeping up with the COVID-19 precautions?” Adams, Twigg, and Buttiens all said, “strict.”

Aside from the various new sanitization protocols and rules to enforce, teaching, itself, is different than it ever has been in the past.

Before COVID-19, “90% was hands on teaching with teamwork, activities, sharing utensils, partners, but now kids can’t work together if they’re six feet apart,” said Buttiens.

While interviewing I noticed that three recurring statements among all the teachers were “hard” “Different” and “A lot of work”.