COVID-19 is affecting students in Council Bluffs, Iowa. In the Council Bluffs School District, students currently go to school every other day.

School districts are having students come on separate days to minimize the number of students in the school so that social distancing is easier. When COVID-19 had first started, the school closed for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year. 

When the virus was new, cases were rising rapidly. Now that the number of cases has slowed, many schools are open for students. Despite the fact that schools are now open, some students have issues with the new system for the school. 

“Sometimes it’s hard to interact with your teachers, to stay motivated, and there’s a lot of technical difficulties,” said senior Ellie Perrine. 

Some students like every other day schooling and others do not. It’s split between the students that want to learn and the ones who do not. Many of the students think there are positives and negatives to the new system.

“Being able to work in the comfort of your own home, and being able to eat lunch at home,” said senior Ellie Perrine, when listing positives.

“It’s hard to listen and work at the same time when the teacher is explaining something and then you can’t ask for them to come over and help when you’re stuck,” said senior Mackenzie Peterson, explaining some of the negatives of online schooling.

Overall, going to school every other day might be what is best for the safety of TJ’s students; but it isn’t helping the student’s success in the long run.