Underneath this year’s student body lies a grading period unlike any other, marked by a sinkhole of percentages. This past semester,  Lakota saw its highest number of failing students. Over 118 students at West failed three core classes.  School leaders, teachers, and students all know the root cause:  COVID and Quarantine.

Assistant Principal Ms. Bella explained the trend between COVID and priorities. She noted that the drop in grades often happened to students in quarantine.  For example, a C student may not be able to stay as engaged with school when they are at home. Of course, it is also no surprise that many of us realized that some elements of the classroom (interaction with teachers, more guidance) are essential for learning to take place.  Struggling students who have this in-class support struggle when left allow.   Ms. Bella additionally noted how COVID forces priorities to change for some students, who now must focus on their life outside school. For example, students at home might have to focus on babysitting or chores more than their school work.  

To combat the unavoidable hardship of the pandemic, the “new quarantine rules” were put in place. These new rules allowed staff to keep more students in the building and less in quarantine.  Keeping students in the classroom is also crucial to create student/teacher relationships, which Ms. Bella cites as a motivator to do better work for most students. 

This era of learning will take a toll on students forever. That fact might sound hopeless but our schools ensure that they are invested in aiding us. They understand that holding these times against us is not the solution. Ms. Bella when I asked what the increase in failures said about West students she responded by saying that students simply needed more help than they thought and that they are looking forward to developing a brighter second semester.