The new modified “In-School” schedule brings an entirely new set of challenges to staff and students at Quartz Hill. Like all changes, this implementation brings positive and negative consequences for students’ mental health.

Up until now, Quartz Hill Students have been on a strict distance learning schedule. This has brought up a large discussion about mental health, as students have felt the pros and cons of this schedule. Many students were brave enough to share their mental health struggles with me for this article. Sophomore Abby Rosales shared her story by saying, “As quarantine began, I already wasn’t in the best headspace, and distance learning just perpetuated that. My anxiety and depression got worse, and I slipped into two eating disorders… I lost touch with my friends.” Abby’s struggles in distance learning are the same struggles that many of the students I interviewed shared.

 Sophomore student Kennedy Starr elaborates on this journey by stating, “Normally I would have school as an escape so I could be with my friends and forget about the stuff that happened at home, but I couldn’t with virtual learning and a lot of my friends became distant…” Distance learning has been a time of extreme isolation for everyone involved, whether for safety or mental health reasons. The time alone took a long time to get used to, and even now affects students’ daily lives.

With “In-School” learning being implemented while also having distance learning available, there is a divide between students returning to campus and students that will not.

Kennedy Starr shares with us why she will not be returning to campus by saying, “I personally don’t see the point in risking the health of the students… it’s already so late in the year that I’ve just now adjusted to virtual learning, and I can’t change my routine… I think I will suffer more than I am now.” Physical health has been discussed just as much as mental health in this past school year. While cases have dropped in Southern California, the pandemic is still very real and ongoing. The only way to guarantee safety is to remain home in the distance learning schedule, which many students chose to do to better their family’s health.

Other students chose to return to the “In-School” modified schedule, as they felt it would positively impact their lives. Abby Rosales is one of these students. She states, “As we go back to school, I think things will be better, as I am forced to socialize. I’ll be able to at least see people, which I think will help me be more in touch with mine, and others’ lives.” It is basically a consensus that among those going back, they are most excited about getting outside and interacting with their peers and teachers.

Whatever schedule you have chosen to do, please remember that we are all going through this together. As we gradually move towards getting back to “normal life,” please remain patient with others and, most importantly, yourself.