Covid-19 has made an indescribable impact on everyone’s lives, including those here at CHS. Over quarantine, the Canfield Local School District made the decision to offer an opportunity to learn online for students that were uncomfortable with attending “normal” school.

Due to Covid-19 being very unpredictable, many school districts had to adapt quickly to the new guidelines. As a result, many online programs were created in a short amount of time with limited knowledge of how to best benefit students online. Students’ perspectives on online school have been mixed so far. 

Claire Audia, a CHS Senior, decided to go online this semester. She thought that the stress and extra precautions from the pandemic would distract her from doing her best. Audia expressed that she enjoys online school. 

“I was worried at first but now I like it,” Audia said. 

Audia has her own schedule, and does work on her time. Even though she enjoys online learning, Audia misses being able to interact with her peers, as most online students do. 

We asked Tim Stranic a series of questions about his online experience and his answers gave a good explanation of what to expect from online schooling. Stranic chose online school for multiple reasons.

“I thought about how I was afraid that the rest of the high school students wouldn’t take the mandate as seriously as they should.” 

Stranic also said how he was nervous about having diabetes, he might be at high risk. He was asked if he was getting anything out of it along with if his grades were improving. 

“I wasn’t learning as well as I would in person, my grades stayed about the same but were so much better when i came back.” 

Stranic mentioned how he followed his schedule, which consisted of getting up at a certain time and following his classes in the exact order that was assigned. He also spoke about how sometimes the teachers would provide a list of questions with readings, but it seemed all out of context. Some of what was promised for online learning was given, but not to the best possible effort. The last question asked of Stranic was why he came back to school and the response…

“I was already coming for the band and online was just too hard, I also needed the social interactions with my friends and teachers. I had missed that a lot.”

Not everyone seems entirely pleased with the online school program. A student, who preferred to stay anonymous, expressed negative feelings towards the whole situation. Just as most students, she decided to go online to further protect herself and family. However, quickly came back to in person learning due to many conflicts. She did not feel as if she was getting enough out of the education given.

“No promises were fulfilled.” 

Some classes worked, while others didn’t, including physics and gym. She mentioned that neither her or her sister were doing well with the classes, especially because some did not have teachers that were present or fully involved. After a couple weeks of online school, this student decided to return to on-campus learning. 

“I needed structure and normalcy.” 

When Canfield High school first started the online learning program, teachers took seven days to prepare. Going online was not an easy transition. Some students had difficulty grasping the material while others seemed to like it better. The principal, Mr. Moldovan, explained how learning online was a struggle for many students, but also said there were many other courses offered online that Canfield High School didn’t provide. Making the transition face-to-face the following year called for multiple new procedures to take place; new rules came about to make the transition back to school easier for all students and staff members. Some students chose the online program rather than going to school due to how comfortable they felt. It came down to the students preference.

Canfield High School’s online program was effective for some of the students. Some even chose to stay online. Staff members worked hard to make sure all students were still learning while Covid-19 unexpectedly came. Moving forward, Canfield High School continues to learn more on how to improve the learning process to ensure the students are getting the best education for their futures.