For the students that are still attending school part time, the debate over what the options should be for next year has been the argument of the year. The disagreement is over whether students should be allowed to go back to school or remain online or start the whole hybrid learning system. Fox News summarized hybrid learning as, “All students in the San Diego Unified School District now have the option of attending classes in person as part of an on-site/online hybrid model, favored by a majority of parents in a survey released earlier this year.” They also can continue their studies online, though those doing exclusively distance learning now are in the minority, district officials say. Some people may want to just stay at home and do online and possibly take the easy route of highschool, while others want to go back and get in the same routine that they all were used to before so that they can go back and try to learn without anymore distractions and procrastination from actually learning the material. Students should all be able to go back in person under certain circumstances.

Back in March 2020, we all expected to have an early spring break because COVID-19 had just hit and the schools had planned to be closed for just two weeks. It then turned into over a whole year without being in school and having our lives back. In the San Diego Unified School District news for reopening, Board President Richard Barrera stated that, “Our plan to reopen classrooms in April is the result of groundbreaking collaboration between our city, our county and our professional educators. From the start of this crisis, we have remained committed to reopening when it was safe and responsible to do so. Full vaccinations for educators are part of that safety plan, and we are very grateful for our regional partners helping us to achieve this goal.” In other words, the district is on board with the idea of resuming normal life. 

As schools begin reopening, they should meet some protocols before being able to attend full time. For example, everyone should be vaccinated, not just for the safety of the teachers, but for the sake of the students who would go home to their parents and who still might not have the vaccine yet. However, if this is not possible, everyone should have their temperatures checked once a week, and if feeling ill at the slightest, they should be allowed to go home for an amount of time that would let the student work on the school work online. Additionally, because we have done three quarters of the school year online, the majority of our school work would remain online as well. This would give the students the opportunity to turn in their work on time without having to step on school grounds. Junior Ben Lighter states, “I think that they should have it as an option to go back to school or to stay online because students have gotten so used to staying at home it might be hard for them to get back into that routine.” Additionally, junior Ava Lancia stated that, “I think going to school should be an option if the students’ parents do not think it is safe for their child to go back to school. But I think everyone who has the opportunity to go back really should try because you are only in highschool once.”