I think we can all agree that 2020 has definitely been a year to remember. First a global pandemic called the Corona Virus threatens our population, then schools and public workplaces world wide completely closing down because of it. And not to mention the election too. Not only has it all affected students and parents, but also the entire staff here at Imagine Prep Surprise. 

If you have not been up to date lately around the end of June 2020, the Corona Virus cases spiked to around 10,475,817 people within the U.S’s population. Ever since then there was a huge shut down across all states, most of all the public work places were closed down causing a lot of people to either lose their jobs or have to work from home. Most students even had to finish school last year (2019) and start school online, this year (2020). But recently here at Imagine Prep,  the option to start having people back on campus in a hybrid model was introduced.

Starting on Sept21 and 22, Imagine Prep Surprise started administering students back onto campus and into the Hybrid Learning schedule. If you do not know, Hybrid Learning is where students are allowed on campus two days a week. Some students come on Mondays and Thursdays and others go on Tuesdays and Fridays. The students who come on Mondays and Thursdays (last names that start at A-L) are in the red cohort and the students who come on Tuesdays and Fridays (last names that start at M-Z) are in the gray cohort. 

Wednesdays are solely dedicated for students who need extra time to catch up on missing or late work, on these days students only have one live zoom class they need to log into before the end of the day. Students also have the option to continue working completely online, they have the same access to all classwork as those who come in during the week. Again for the most part, Hybrid Learning has made a significantly positive impact on us all during this time. 

“It has been really nice to get students back into the building in any capacity,” Imagine Prep Principal, Chris McComb said. “When you walk the halls and see kiddos in the classrooms, it does bring back a small sense of normalcy. I have also witnessed both students and teachers begin to find their footing while more easily navigating their new realities, which I hope is a positive sign of things to come.”

Taking a teachers perspective, Hybrid Learning has definitely been a huge step forward. Not only have all their previous lesson plans and schedules been thrown into the wind, but so has their entire grasp on their students ability to learn too. Teachers have to not only change their lessons and activities but they’ve also had to learn how to use new technology to better impact their students ability to get the education they need to be successful. 

For example, before Hybrid Learning was an option, students had to do school completely online. Thus meaning we were all on computers for multiple hours on end, all day, all week and with little time for breaks. So you could definitely say that Hybrid Learning has definitely been a huge step forward for us all. But keep this in mind, teachers are doing their very best to do their part just like everyone else. So please, give your teachers and the staff at Imagine Prep some extended grace during this time. 

“As a science teacher it saddens me that I can only do demonstrations of labs instead of having students complete the lab themselves because of our COVID policies, students cannot share lab equipment,” Biology teacher Sara Camren said. “Going along with that, we can’t do as many activities in class as we usually do, again because we’re trying to decrease or eliminate shared materials.”

Taking a students perspective, things have definitely been challenging. We’ve come a long way from finishing out last year (2019) completely online due to the shut down, to also starting this year (2020) online. And now, some still continue to stay online and others do part of the week online and the other on campus (the Hybrid Learning schedule). Although this time has been challenging for all of us, students have definitely had to go the extra mile this year and last. 

Overall, Hybrid learning has been a new adventure for us all whether or not you’re still doing school online or if you’re part of the Hybrid Learning experience. During this time everyone has been adjusting to this new reality of living and learning, whether you’re at home or in the building. Students, teachers and staff: take a breath and keep moving forward. Things can be stressful and maybe even a little chaotic at times too but, we can do this. Work hard and stay positive Imagine Prep.