One of the most popular topics these days is back to school at EPISD. The question is, would it be best to go back to dealing face-to-face with students and teachers? Due to the quarantine, the classes were canceled almost more than 10 months ago. On March 13, 2020, the statement was given that the classrooms would close due to the pandemic and to avoid contagions, the classes would continue online.

With the passage of almost 1 year, with the return of the winter holidays and the new year, a statement was given that the face-to-face classes will resume on January 19. For many, it is a relief to be able to leave their homes to work or study, for many others, the doubt remains in their heads about whether it would be the best option to return to class or stay a while at home, protecting themselves from the virus.

EPISD released a chart showing the capacity of students allowed in Elementary, Middle and High Schools, based on the level of contagion in El Paso.

Based on this, the EPISD planned its great return to school, which not only benefits students stressed by being at home. “We are really tired of being in our homes all day, without moving or having an activity, just sitting. in front of a computer more than half the day,” said Danae Lopez, a student at Bowie High School.

This return also benefits the stressed teachers of having to upload all the results of the exam papers to the net. “It is very stressful to be used to having your own order with papers, and that everything changes out of nowhere and that our entire grading routine it is different from what we are used to, with the return to school maybe it will be a little easier or at least more relaxing not having to be at my house all day,” said the teacher of Bowie, Blanca Estrada.

The stress of young people due to online classes, led many to decide to simply leave school to start working, or at least until face-to-face classes were resumed. “I think the most exhausting thing about online classes was to be all the day sitting, without the possibility of changing a classroom, moving, talking with your friends or something like that, so I decided to leave school for a while,” said a young man named Marc Gonzalez who currently works in construction.

A large part of the parents of the students or even the students themselves, repeat the fact that it is a great danger to go back to classes. “I live with my grandmother and my mother, I will not risk my grandmother dying because of me, since, it is quite dangerous, I can bring the virus to him and I would not realize it,” Bowie student Jeannine Muñoz said.

The parent of Muñoz adds that keeping her daughter healthy is the top priority.

“I will not risk taking my daughter to school, where she is full of viruses, I do not know where her classmates could have been, the measures to take care of her.”