Due to the students being out for an extended period of time, our district and principal, Marcus Belin, have put in a grading system to help the students. The grading system that has been put in place allows the students grades to not be affected negatively if they do not do the work. However, if the students do not complete their work, those assignments will be put in as incomplete once school resumes. 

“The only difference about the grading system is that grades can’t hurt you. Basically what we’re looking at is called ‘No Educational Harm’. We’re encouraging students to engage and do work,” Belin said.

By doing these assignments it will positively affect the students grade in the future once school resumes again. This will help many be more prepared because all work can only benefit students moving forward.

If the students do not do the work that the teacher has assigned them to do they will be able to get another chance to do the assignments during their next year of high school. During their next year the students will be responsible for their new classes but also the assignments that they didn’t complete last year. 

“As long as you have communication with your teacher it can’t hurt you, it’s not going to be counted against you. I think the challenge that a lot of people are having with this is that they’re trying to find the easiest way out,” Belin said. 

Students are suffering from a lack of motivation because they are not in their regular learning environment. This is leading to a lot of miscommunication between students and teachers. Many do not think that it is important to keep up with these assignments. 

A common challenge that the students are dealing with is chromebook issues and difficulty in loading material. It can be frustrating when things are running slow and there’s a deadline. 

Another problem the students are struggling with is that the teachers are still giving them assignments that take an extended amount of time to complete. Many teachers are having a tough time giving out the right amount of homework to help the students understand the topic better. They need to make sure that the students are able to work on homework and projects all in the allotted time. Assigning this workload can be stressful for these teachers, as they were not prepared for an incident like this. 

This situation is a struggle for both the students and the teachers, since it is all new to everyone. Even though it is difficult, everyone in the district is working together to make it as easy as possible to help the students with their workload.