CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The five Corpus Christi Independent School District high schools that were utilizing the hybrid learning model on Monday returned those students as well as others who were learning virtual back to the classroom.
The change will enable those students to finish out the final six weeks of the school year by learning with in-person instruction five days a week.
“It’s been good," said Dr. Sandra Clement, CCISD's executive director for school leadership. "Today ran pretty smooth, at all of our campuses in welcoming those kids back.
"Our principals were treating it as the first day of school, because it really was for many of those students, and for ninth graders, that’s the first time they ever stepped foot at the school."
According to data from the district, approximately 50% of students at the five schools are estimated to finish out the school year learning with in-person instruction. The projections for each high school as of Friday, were:
- Carroll - increase to 50%, from 34%
- King - increase to 48%, from 39%
- Moody - increase to 60%, from 55%
- Ray - increase to 46%, from 42%
- Veterans Memorial - increase to 42%, from 36%
Clement said the return to full in-person learning will hopefully benefit those students academically.
“Our students who are at home, virtually, are struggling as far as higher numbers than our students who are on campus, learning directly in the classroom from their teachers," Clement said. "So, I think just the routine, and maybe even the building, that whole environment that you’re in, and access to school resources, keeps them on track. We’re very worried about the learning loss that’s going to be left after this pandemic."
Clement also said the change is anticipated to improve the students’ overall mental health, as returning to seeing people face-to-face is a big deal for students. She also said teachers and administrators appreciate having more kids back in the building as well.
“We miss our kids, our teachers miss their kids, they miss seeing their faces," Clement said. "I've talked to several teachers where the kids came back, and even at the middle school level, because we didn’t have the hybrid model, ‘oh my gosh, I got to see my kid today, I hadn’t even met them face-to-face, and it was such a joy,’ And those kids could feel that."