Life at West looks much different now than it did a year ago. Gone are the days of lunches at Cali Burger, wading through crowds to get between classrooms, and congregating on the South Lawn after class. Months of online school have fundamentally changed learning for students and teachers alike, leaving many longing for the days before COVID-19.

         And, in a recent board meeting, the Salt Lake City School District made an attempt to return West to just that: sending students back to in-person school for the first time since last March. This decision has prompted a wave of new measures and a rethinking of the online model, sparking change and controversy throughout the student body and eliciting a schoolwide discourse surrounding West’s new policies.

         Some West students disapprove of the District’s decision to resume in-person school, feeling unsafe or misrepresented.

         “I think it was a poorly informed decision. The school board, in their meetings, seemed to give little to no thought toward its wider effects,” said Henry Zheng, a student in West High’s IB program. Because the reopening effort was prompted primarily by parent involvement and the threat of a potential lawsuit, rather than by students’ or teachers’ calls to go back, many feel that the decision to return was rushed.

         “They at least should have waited until the teachers were fully vaccinated,” writes Lucia Holbrook-Brown, another West student. Similar safety concerns have led many students to stay online, resulting in small in-person class sizes and a hybrid model of learning. “The largest in-person classroom I’ve seen is about 5 people, and so I don’t see much danger there,” says Kalina Manova, another West student. “[But] this disease is so unpredictable, and knowing that I might’ve contributed to its spread would pain me a lot. So I’m personally online right now.”

         Although in-person schooling can be risky, remaining online carries its own set of drawbacks. Online school has negatively impacted many students’ productivity and mental health, leaving them feeling unmotivated and alone.

“It’s been more difficult to learn online, and that’s caused some amounts of anxiety as I struggle with schoolwork,” stated one West High junior. Indeed, the Salt Lake Tribune reports that, as the duration of online school has increased, the number of students receiving failing grades has as well. Over the past year, the proportion of Salt Lake City School District junior high and high school students that received an F nearly doubled – jumping from 2500 students to over 4000.

Among those struggling with productivity or lacking the resources to learn from home, the shift to a hybrid model has been welcomed. “At first, I was scared to go back,” writes Max Hart, a West student now learning in-person. “But as far as I’ve seen it’s been pretty good. I’m happier, and it’s nice to be able to see friends again.”

Although this new in-person model is by no means a return to the West of last year, it will undoubtedly prove itself to be an important step on the road back toward normality. As cases drop and students return, West will continue this journey: paving the way for students to once again learn without worry.