With the many changes to schooling this year, students and teachers alike have had to find ways to adapt to their new normal. With the sudden and unexpected closure of in-person classes in March of 2020, it seemed like individuals at Latrobe was confused and scared. It was determined that school will continue to take place through online learning, so teachers had to adjust their specific classes to be able to be taught through their computers. With remote learning from Spring to the end of the semester, teachers taught using google classroom and google meet. This gave them some time to be able to get familiar with the new style of online learning and prepare for what is to come next year.

As expected, the pandemic continued to get worse. It was decided that a new style of learning was necessary to keep everyone safe. Hybrid learning was introduced to Latrobe, which combined in person learning with online learning. This gave teachers a way to get more important work done in person and the ability to assign work online for days students weren’t in class. Tests were a difficult situation for lots of teachers. Tests taken in person are what teachers and students are accustomed to, but when the school was forced to go fully online things had to change.

By moving tests online, students would have to take tests behind their computer screens. Because of remote learning, cheating could be extremely easy for most students. Teachers had to make changes in order to make tests as fair as possible. In Mr. Saveikis’s  AP Human Geography class, students were required to keep their webcam on at all times during exams in order to be sure they were not using outside materials for test answers. However, some tests were allowed to use notes taken from the class/book.

Another example of teachers adapting to online would be Ms. Balko’s Ceramics classes. Obviously ceramics is a very hands-on class requiring students to use clay provided by the teacher, which had to be kept in very specific conditions to not harden. Students had the choice between a few different options in order to earn the necessary skills:  they could take clay home from the school in order to make projects outside of school. They also had the option to do a different kind of project- cardboard sculptures. This gave students more options while still maintaining the understanding of sculpture skills. 

Teachers continue to adapt to changes while heading forward through this unpredictable year. If things continue as they have been, students and teachers at Latrobe will continue to be able to get quality education in, no matter the circumstances.