Illinois high school seniors talk life amid on-going pandemic
JOLIET, Ill. - For high school seniors it has been rough start to the school year, with the lack of social interaction, Google classrooms and for some, no sports.
At one suburban district, they will remain in remote learning on a month-to-month basis.
"It's for the safety of everyone, protecting myself, so I think it's just important to remain, you know, selfless," Cajly Gray had said eight months ago. At the time, she was a junior at Joliet Central High School.
FOX 32 spoke with Joliet Township juniors and seniors back in May about COVID-19 forcing them into online learning, and we recently spoke with two of them again who are now seniors.
"It's forced me to slow down because usually I'm like super busy, and I've been able to reevaluate what's really important," said Joliet West High School senior Adele Pelzer.
Pelzer was involved in clubs and volleyball.
"The clubs that are still meeting, they're online after school through Zoom sessions. And that's, it's harder for me to want to go because I'm sitting in Zooms all day and it just doesn't sound as appealing anymore," she said.
Gray says, surprisingly, her grades were better than expected in the fall semester. She thanks the teachers.
"They’ve gone out of their way to help us and make sure that you know we're doing good," she said.
"Over 70% of our overall grades are A's, B's and C's. And I think kids and teachers are doing an excellent job," said Joliet Township Superintendent Karla Guseman.
Guseman says the district has added teacher office hours and parent teacher conferences.
"We had to cut content out, but we kept in these central content. So all of these central skills are still being taught," Guseman said.
She says they will reevaluate virus metrics every month, hoping to get to a hybrid model soon.
The seniors have missed out on a lot, but they are hoping they can maybe have a prom.
Pelzer wants to go into business, while gray wants to be a nurse. However, right now, they just want to have a normal college career.