Comfort and Connection

By: Malone, AmeriCorps Promise Fellow serving at Minneapolis Public Schools- Longfellow Alternative High School (through Check & Connect)

My students returned in person this week and they are so excited!! Many of them have been struggling with attending online classes for the entire year, and have continuously been asking when we'd be able to come back so they can get their motivation back, meet with their teachers, get extra support, and have a safe and quiet place to focus. This week, the building was filled with shrieks of my student's children seeing their childcare teachers for the first time in months, the anxious feelings of a first day of school, and the energy of students relieved at seeing each other's faces. This week has reminded me that despite the distance, the communications we've had with students has provided them with some comfort and connection to school while they could not be in person, and that these relationships can only become stronger (and more fun!) now that we're in person together.