TRACK: Back in early March, Westchester, NY was one of the first locations in the United States to see a high number of COVID-19 cases. According to The New York State Department of Health, as of November 1, 2020, Westchester County has a 4.23% rate of coronavirus cases, which is one of the highest infection coronavirus rates in New York State when adjusted for population.
AMBI: Keyboard typing
TRACK: Grace Ruggiero attends Rye High School as a freshman, while Charlie Hafitz attends Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua as a junior.
TRACK: Westchester County schools have been taking the utmost precautions with their students’ health. Charlie Hafitz recalls an experience with the school nurse after requesting Tums for a stomachache. Move this anecdote to the top.
ACT: I went to the nurse’s office for that bit of a stomachache to get some Tums and since a stomach ache and nausea is a symptom of the corona virus they isolated me in a room and put on big dress and masks and they called my parents and they forced me to all go home.
TRACK: When the whole fiasco was over, it turns out it was just a tummy ache. While these precautions do seem extreme, it is clear that each high school is going to great measures to keep its students safe.
TRACK: Both high schools have taken similar precautions to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks, including mandatory mask-wearing, social distancing, and hybrid scheduling.
ACT: GRACE: Rye High school has implemented multiple rules during the pandemic to refrain from outbreaks such as one-way hallways and social distancing at all time including at lunch.
TRACK: Horace Greeley High School has implemented quite a complicated hybrid scheduling system, which has changed throughout the course of the school year. For the first month of school, they divided the days into two parts with an hour-long transition period between. Charlie would go in twice every 3 days – morning or afternoon.
ACT: CHARLIE: Now it’s 50/50, so I go in everyday either morning or afternoon.
TRACK: Rye High School has a more streamlined scheduling system allowing students the option to participate in a hybrid schedule or a fully-online schedule.
ACT: They split us up into 2 groups and as a group B student, I go in Tuesdays and Fridays and group A goes in Mondays and Thursdays and Wednesday’s everyone is remote and we get out early for cleaning.
TRACK: As high school sports play a huge part in student’s lives, both Horace Greeley and Rye High School have handled the situation similarly.
ACT: Rye responded to sports by continuing all low-risk sports in the fall with masks and social distancing but all high-risk sports have been postponed to the Spring if they are fall sports. Confirm examples of each kind of sport.
TRACK: High-risk sports include football and volleyball, while low-risk sports include cross-country. Each high school has a protocol for students showing symptoms of COVID, which varies by school. At Rye High School, dramatic measures are taken to prevent any spread of the virus.
ACT: If a student starts showing symptoms of COVID-19 they alert the teacher immediately or alert an adult that works at the school and the nearest adult will escort them through a special hallway which nobody uses except for these students who are having COVID symptoms and they take them to the COVID-19 nurse which is a totally separate nurse than the regular one
TRACK: For both students, virtual learning has been a challenge.
ACT: Personally, as a visual and hands-on learner, it is very difficult to receive information and be tested on it while doing virtual school.
TRACK: It is clear through the accounts of Grace Ruggiero and Charlie Hafitz that high school for the 2020-2021 school year looks very different compared to previous years. Looking ahead, there is much uncertainty regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Westchester County schools will continue to adapt to the constantly changing circumstances of the virus in order to keep their students and districts safe and healthy.
For Baruch College, this is Lile Ruggiero in Westchester County.