As the public schools in Prince George’s County reopen, Greenbelt students and teachers are entering classrooms that are different from the ones they remember.
“It kind of feels like a ghost town,” said Patrick Gleason, an Eleanor Roosevelt High School English teacher, about returning to the school.
Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) Chief Executive Officer Monica Goldson announced plans to reopen schools February 17. In the first phase of the timeline, which began April 8, families of special education, pre-kindergarten to 6th grade and 12th grade students had the option of selecting a hybrid learning schedule that includes two days per week of in-person learning.
According to PGCPS, an estimated 32 percent of families indicated their children would return to school for hybrid learning.
Greenbelt resident Christine Doran is the mother of a 6th grader who returned to the classroom for in-person learning at Greenbelt Middle School. Her daughter didn’t like virtual learning and didn’t feel motivated to keep up with it, Doran said in an email.
“The teachers did a great job but, for her, being in the school environment surrounded by her peers was a vital component of learning,” she said. “In this case, I think the advantages for her mental health and wellbeing outweigh the risks of [Covid-19] at this point, though I wish I didn’t have to weigh up one against the other.”
Gleason said he had expected PGCPS would reopen as he saw local counties make the same decision. But returning to the almost empty high school was a surreal experience for him.
“We just have such a low number of students returning. It’s not a normal return,” he said. “But I think … some students really do want to be back and need that, so I’m just willing to do whatever I need to do for the people I’m serving.”
According to Gleason, only one student out of the 62 12th graders he teaches elected to return for hybrid instruction.
“I really enjoy building relationships with students and getting to know them – just being able … to greet someone in-person as they’re coming in,” Gleason said.
Although the student is present in the classroom, she still learns on Zoom with the rest of the class. Until all of Gleason’s students return for in-person learning, he said Zoom allows them to interact with each other, which is especially important in an English class in which they share and discuss ideas.
Teaching students on Zoom and in-person is a hard juggling act, said Greenbelt resident Melinda Brady, a substitute teacher at Berwyn Heights Elementary School.
Brady teaches kindergarten through 6th grade. She said the little kids are very excited to be back in the classroom, but there’s going to be a learning curve in balancing teaching on Zoom and in-person simultaneously.
“As a teacher, it would be easier to have everybody in one place,” she said. “But also as a teacher, we need to be doing what is best for the kids and for their [families].”
Brittany Gaddy is a journalism student at the University of Maryland writing for the News Review.
