MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — As students head into the final stretch of the school year, classrooms are looking a lot more like they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
WPTV wanted to see exactly what's changed and what lessons teachers are continuing to learn.
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Martin County High School teacher Jamie Herd is in her happy place: a full classroom.
"The environment is so much more active and alive," Herd said.
When WPTV visited her leadership class about a year ago, it looked completely different. Everyone was wearing masks, some students were learning virtually from home, and the desks were spaced apart.
One of the first things Herd did was put the desks back into groups so students could work together again.
"Clearly teaching is more than just standing up and delivering material," Herd said. "It's watching students interact and work together and form those relationships."
A year ago, a giant whiteboard at Martin County High School was plagued with contact tracing scenarios that took up Principal Al Fabrizio's time and energy.
Now, the board is wiped clean of health protocols, and the focus is back on teaching and learning.
"We knew we couldn't walk in the 2021-2022 school year with the same mindset as the 2019-2020 school year," Fabrizio said. "The world has changed. Our kids have changed. We knew we could not take a cookie-cutter approach."
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Fabrizio said the pandemic taught educators to take a closer look at students' social and emotional needs.
"There's the socialization element, the routines that are established on a campus and in a classroom," Fabrizio said. "There's the expectations campus-wide and in a classroom."
Herd has adjusted along the way too, combining some of the tactics she learned during the pandemic with the traditional classroom model.
"Some things I've kept because there is value in what we learned last year," Herd said. "For instance, recording some videos for my students."
Another thing you'll still see is the plexiglass on Herd's desk. But it's not for the reason you may think.
"My husband worked very hard on this plexiglass, so I can't take it down yet," Herd said. "I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings."
A light moment born from some darker days.