We have focused too much on how regular schools are functioning during the pandemic but let’s ask ourselves, how are catholic schools functioning during the pandemic? Dominican Academy is a catolic school where we get an inside look at how the school is handling students remotely. 

I interviewed Kristen, a junior at Dominican Academy who told me everything there is to know about the school and about remote classes. 

I asked Kristen if the school offers a remote learning option or everything is all in person and she told me this, “ The school offers two options both remote and hybrid Tuesdays and Thursday are for the upperclassman (juniors and seniors) Monday and wednesday sophomores and freshmen go in the school. Fridays are a mixture of both. 

I also asked her if anything changed throughout the pandemic since you have last been in the building and her response was, “To enter the building everyday you have to take a health screening that includes the temperature aside from that you have to fill out a google form that is going to be asking you a series of questions one of the important questions is if you think or have been exposed to Covid-19. On other days if you feel sick it is your responsibility to stay home and call to say that you will not be able to attend class and then take the classes remotely.”    

I also asked her why did she choose to take classes remotely and she said, “Well personally in my opinion it was a safer decision and the school in general is small (bigger version of a townhouse in NYC) and fitting the students and faculty in the building even if it is on different days it won’t be that safe for others and especially for people who easily get sick. When you come to think about it the bathrooms are really crowded because the basement has 1 bathroom and it is the smallest bathroom, the first floor has 1 bathroom with 2 stalls in it and that’s it, the second floor has no bathroom, the third floor has 1 bathroom and 1 stall in it, the fourth floor has 1 bathroom but it has 3 stalls and the fifth floor has only 1 bathroom with 5 stalls.” 

Finally I asked her how does her school looks remotely and she said, “On days where the students don’t meet in person, classes are held remotely for everyone. The days that you do meet in person that are hybrid they would go into the building with their health screening being approved and the students who are fully remote would meet at the same time as the students who are hybrid, on zoom. Additionally, to make the day better for remote and hybrid they installed a device called an owl. The owl is a microphone that comes with a computer that shows the students faces on zoom that are remote that only the teachers can see but the teacher has the option to project their faces on the board or not.” 

From what Kristen told me I now know how her school, Dominican Academy is functioning during the pandemic and I was stunned to learn so many things about her school. In the end I can say that Dominican Academy is doing a great job at keeping their students safe and educated.