SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. – The first week of February is a big one for middle and high school students within the Central Valley School District with many students returning to the classroom. They will start with one day of in-person instruction per week.
“Three hundred and 21 days…that’s how long it’s been since I stepped foot in my high school,” said CV senior, Riley Buell. “Social interaction is what is missing in this pandemic, and it’s a really important thing in kid’s lives.”
The district is phasing their middle and high school students into four cohorts based on their last names. A goes Monday, B Tuesday, everyone learns from home Wednesday, group C is up on Thursday and Friday, those in cohort D will finally have their day on campus.
When Riley heard about the plan that would give him a shot at a somewhat normal last year as a Bear, he told KHQ he felt one thing. Gratitude.
“Being able to sit in a desk and that social interaction is what even someone at my age needs,” he said.
Riley says the past several months have been emotionally taxing, to say the least, on him and his peers.
“It’s been hard,” he said. “I had a lot of plans this year. Prom. All (that) senior year stuff someone would want to do. It came to a point when we just had to accept this. We didn’t have a choice. It was what we had to do for the general public and their health.”
Riley says he’s gone through several emotions since schools abruptly closed in March of 2020.
“At first I was angry….but what does that do,” he said.
Riley says he’s been committed to maintaining a positive attitude in recent months. He says Monday, even only having a classroom with four or five others, felt encouraging.
“It was great, walking back in, even though everyone has a mask on, it was another normal morning,” he said.
He says he can tell his fellow students were all smiling under their masks at the glimmer of normalcy during one of the biggest years of their lives.
For a look at the precautions, the district is taking to keep students safe and maintain in-person learning, visit: www.centralvalleysd.org/
