In March of 2020, schools were shut down across the country due to the emerging pandemic, and many had high hopes schools would be back in session two weeks later. Those two weeks turned out to be almost two years of remote learning while the COVID-19 pandemic became more massive than anyone had predicted.

The closure of schools affected many students for the worse. According to Mental Health in High School Students at the Time of COVID-19: A Students Perspective, an article by Aditya Thakur, school closures and social distancing during the pandemic worsened existing mental health problems and also sprouted new ones.

Research points to the pandemic causing a lack of routine, which increased the feeling of isolation and loneliness associated with mental illness among students.
At South, the adjustment period upon returning to the building was a struggle for some. For others, returning has been a breath of fresh air.

“I think when we first came back, those first couple of weeks, it was kind of like a honeymoon phase. Kids were very, I wouldn’t say, scared, but just getting acclimated back to the school environment so it was very quiet. Currently, it feels like we’re back to school normally,” said Dean Ornelas.

According to Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health in Adolescents: A Systematic Review, 683 adolescents at the University of Toronto struggled with anxiety, depression, burdensomeness, and belongingness due to the social distancing guidelines put in during the pandemic. Developing these alone can be difficult for anyone, and adding school and a pandemic on top of it can weigh someone down even more.

Many students across the US struggled with in-person return, not just Plainfield students. Some express their longing to be back on Zoom again.

Macey Langtry, from Glenbard West High School, tells New York Times that she misses being on daily Zoom meetings at home. From already dropping an honors class, and having horrible test-taking skills after the long break, anxiety levels for her and her peers are through the roof. She expresses that this year, to her, is far from normal.

Madison Bonifas, a senior at Plainfield South, expresses her struggle adjusting back to in-person learning.

“[I am not adjusting] well. I prefer doing online learning; being online was a better learning environment for me.”

Although there is a spike in stress among students, some teachers are glad online learning is over.

“The remote part was terrible. I didn’t have any sort of relationship with the kids,” said Danielle Salvatore, a freshman English 1 and sophomore English 2 honors teacher.

Returning has been an adjustment for everyone, but specifically, freshmen have struggled with the process. Freshman experience pressure with adjusting to high school in a normal school year. In an interview with Verywell Family, Jonathan Jassey, a pediatrician, says, “There is more pressure on them to succeed now because the college landscape is such a competitive space. They start to realize that starting high school is the next step toward their future.” Freshman year is a big step in the process of growing up.

“Something else that I noticed is there’s a big difference in social-emotional skills, even social skills. There was a lot of reteaching of behavior expectations and classroom expectations because they’ve been at home either alone or with their parents for a long time, almost two years now. I think they forgot what it was like to be in a classroom,” Salvatore said.

Students have complained of staring at the computer all day to now being in the building full time. The transition has weighed on many students’ emotional health. Staff in the building are trying to help with this.

“The things we have put in place is we have our triangle teams,” Ornelas explains. “I think one of the reasons we try to work together as a team is because again not everyone’s going to be comfortable talking to me, their social worker, or their counselor. So if we introduce to them as many adults in the building as possible, hopefully, they can find somebody to connect to.”
Staff encourages students to reach out to adult staff and counselors no matter what they are struggling with.

“Students can always come down to student services,” Mark Reyes, one of South’s social worker, expresses, “If a student needs to talk to someone, they can simply tell a teacher, ‘Hey, I’m having a rough time.’ and if they don’t feel comfortable talking to a teacher about that, they can just ask to talk to someone in student services and they can come down and meet with their dean, consular or social worker.”

Reyes also suggests that students not only reach out for themselves but for their peers. The action of peers supporting peers helps staff in the building help other students even more since students know a lot more about their friends due to social media and closer connections.

One way to keep yourself less stressed, according to Elizabeth Scott with Verywell Family, is to stay organized. By keeping a clean, organized study area that is free of distractions students can lower their stress levels, encourage test prep and studying, and keep good relationships.

According to D.r Jan Hall, executive director of mental health at Timely MD, a few other tips for managing stress include getting enough sleep and rest, practicing self-care like meditation and taking time to yourself, being active, and having a healthy outlet to release stress.