Everyone expected the numbers to go up due to switching from level 2 to level 1. After several students were sent home on Monday, the fear of being quarantined has become scarier than the fear of getting COVID.

“Having already spent a month out of school, I worry that being quarantined will have a bad effect on my grades,” Kaitlyn Ryberg (’24).

As students slowly trickled out of classrooms yesterday, the feeling was surreal. Many classrooms kept getting interrupted over and over and students were being called out and sent to the gym.

“In my history class, Mr. Moore was receiving phone call after phone call to send kids to the small gym. I felt like I was going to be sent home, but I was excited that I did not have to leave,” Abigail Holland (’24) said.

As well as students, many teachers are being quarantined and other teachers are subbing for them during their planning. On Google Meets, the quarantined teachers are trying to conduct classes virtually, while subs are in the classrooms. Even principals are subbing when necessary. Dr. Shelmire is one of those principals subbing today.

“My first hour teacher got sent home and joined us through Google Meets, but it took a while to get into the Google Meet because of sound issues,” Jordan Vogt (’23).

As students arrived on Tuesday morning, there were several news vans in front of the school and the students suspected they were here to report about the mass student quarantine yesterday. However, after interviewing Chris Regnier, a local reporter from Fox 2 News, the real reason was the number of bus drivers being quarantined.

“We are just reporting on the issue. There were thirty drivers and twenty-three [bus] assistants quarantined,” Regnier said. “There were a lot of families impacted both yesterday and today so we’re just trying to follow the families who might have had students unable to take the bus or find a different way to school.”

“There were thirty drivers and twenty-three [bus] assistants quarantined,” Regnier said.

Families, students and staff alike all live in constant fear of being quarantined. With thirty bus drivers quarantined, along with hundreds of students in the area, tensions all around are at an all-time high. We are all curious to see what the district’s next course of action will be.