As the pandemic rages on, schooling does not stop. At H-F athletes, teachers, and maintenance workers attend school every day almost as if everything was normal.

It begs the question, what is it like to be in a potentially harmful environment every day? What has the pandemic done to the lives of teachers and other people at H-F? What has changed since last year?

English Teacher Ameera Odeh talks about how schooling has changed in these unprecedented times. “E-Learning is a brand new experience!  It truly is completely different in that teachers are learning new ways to teach the same skills they’ve been teaching,” Odeh said.

 “ I personally went through a lot of training to learn new technology to help me.  As many others in our field would tell you, this has been a new experience unlike any other,” 

Odeh is one of the few teachers who go to school almost every day.  She then goes on to talk about what a typical school day entails for her during this time of COVID. 

“I put in a lot more work and hours thinking of ways to teach the same skills.  My days are longer and go beyond the typical school day.  It has been quite an adjustment,” Odeh said.

However, teachers are not the only ones going into school. Tech Facilitator Brian Dvorkin also makes the trips to school frequently. 

Dvorkin goes to school every other week, and as a member of the tech department, was already semi-isolated from the rest of H-F, to begin with. Now, with H-F being essentially abandoned during the day, and students participating in E-Learning, he just like Odeh has seen an increase in work and a longer workday as well.

“I am connected to work more frequently.  The “workday” seems to not have a well-defined end.  But, it is also easier to connect with my peers to help resolve problems.”

 “The additional technology increased the frequency and ease of connecting with a peer.  The effect is that work seems to be more constant without well-defined boundaries,”   Dvorkin said.

One thing that everyone who works at school seems to agree with is that H-F’s handling of the pandemic makes them feel safe. The security check-in procedures and temperature checks add extra reassurance to those at school that they are being cared for and that they are being looked after.  

They also, of course, miss the kids. When prompted about what it’s like to attend a school with no kids, they all thought it’s a rather weird change.

“It’s very different.  There’s definitely a huge void without our students here.  Teachers do what we do because we love interacting with our students.  We truly miss that!” Odeh said.