Schools across the world have found themselves struggling to educate their students amid the COVID-19 global pandemic, and very few schools are open 5 days a week. Many schools are entirely online, through applications such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom, McQuaid Jesuit is one of the few schools that’s open 5 days a week to all students. 

However, to offer 5-day in-person instruction, McQuaid has had to make some significant changes.

In each class at McQuaid, it’s almost certain that one might find empty desks spotting the room, with a big screen at the front of the room projecting the digitized faces and initials of McQuaid’s distanced learners.

One might find themselves asking, ‘How do distanced learners keep up with the class?,’ to which the answer is quite surprising. McQuaid Jesuit spent nearly the entire summer of 2020 preparing the students and faculty for the upcoming school year, and as a result, countless protocols and measures have been taken to ensure an equitable learning opportunity among all students, whether they’re in-person or at home. Distanced learners have a variety of helpful tools at their disposal, including a 360° camera that enables them to see around the entire classroom. Additionally, they have the Internet at their disposal, which they can use to study or contact a teacher outside of class time.

However, it’s not all bells and whistles that keep McQuaid Jesuit on the rails.
“I have done 8 total days online, and I find that it is a reliable way to learn but it comes down to the student’s ability to stay focused while at home,” says Jack Sawyer, ’22. “In-person learning is definitely better to pick up on mannerisms from teachers and it is much easier to ask questions, follow along and stay focused.”

It’s quite evident in these trying times, being a student is certainly more complicated than ever before, and online learners clearly find themselves enjoying the privacy of their learning situation. However, over these past few months, it’s been clear that one vital aspect hasn’t been completely ruined by pandemic – students still have to put the effort in, no matter their learning situation.