By: Kenneth Williams, Keshon Miller
The beginning of the 2022 school year at James Logan marked the second year of in-school learning after having virtual school for the previous two and a half years.
The school’s principal Ron Polk has welcomed the return to the classroom, giving students a better connection with their teachers and administrators.
“I think this year has been leaps and bounds above last year. Coming back in person was a little difficult. I think the students have a renewed interest in being in school,” Polk stated, primarily due to the less stressful atmosphere on campus due to Covid-19.
“I think our adults are…past some of their anxieties about coming back during the pandemic. Yes, I think everyone’s in a better mood, you know, going forward, so it’s definitely been better.” Others felt that the 2022 school year was starting well in comparison to the last two.
“It’s going pretty well,” Economics and History teacher Timothy Wharton said. “I got four senior classes. There have been some bumps at the start of the year, but otherwise it’s been pretty great.”
ERWC Teacher George Moore-Siegmann felt students were “in a better place mentally than last year,” and thought, “there’s a better atmosphere of safety on campus, it’s a lot better vibe. I feel that it’s a lot more positive on campus.”
While teachers and the principal of the school felt so far the school year has been positive, that doesn’t mean it has gone along without any issues. The main source of stress for teachers was their new grading resource Aeries.
“As far as Aries is concerned, I don’t like it,” Siegmann said. “I don’t feel that we were trained properly in it. And I would rather that money have gone into turnitin.com for English teachers.”
Wharton also agreed that there was a lack of training given to teachers on Aries, stating, “We didn’t get enough training on this Aries system,” as well as the “Promethean Boards that came in the middle of last year.”
The lack of training with the new technology was a common talking point. Some teachers also felt the school didn’t provide enough resources for them as of late, and the quality of them has gone down through the years.
“They’re fewer and fewer resources being devoted toward the classroom and more and more resources being devoted toward programs in the district office,” Economics teacher Shane Henderson said. He also talked about the resources in comparison to his earlier years at the school, with 2022 being his 19th.
“We used to have a place called the print shop, where I would drop off my stuff and they would copy it and deliver it or I could pick it up, I forget. I think they delivered it to our box. It’s been years, but there was an actual shop at school. That would do all my copying for me. And it was great. That was when I first started teaching here and since then they have pared down the access to supplies and there are fewer and fewer dollars budgeted toward things like that.”
Most teachers asked felt that the supply and resources provided by the school weren’t up to standard. However, Siegmann thought most of his needs were taken care of. “As far as the resources are concerned, I think we have anything we could ask for and any teacher that doesn’t feel that way a little bit and I would say as a crybaby,” he said. “I can’t imagine a teacher believing that they’re not given enough resources.”
Another topic of note these past two years would be the substitute teacher shortage. Since returning to in-school learning, Logan has had a problem with keeping substitute teachers and enough teachers for every class that needs them.
“The sub shortage is probably similar to it, you know, across the board in California. It’s just an all-time low,” Polk said. “It’s a lot better than it was last year in all honesty, but you know, even still, there are days when we don’t have the correct amount of subs.”
He also expressed hope that the problem could be solved with the introduction of new teachers into the school that has a vital role in making sure every class has a teacher on a given day. “Hopefully we can start getting some folks that are interested in the teaching profession and come in and say actually, possibly, like a long-term sub in some cases, but at the same time, you know, it would be great if we could get some qualified people.”
