Class of COVID: For high school seniors, pandemic taught lessons in struggle, perseverance

This story is based on original reporting from Minnesota Public Radio and Elizabeth Shockman

It’s been four years since Minnesota schools first shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 15, 2020, Governor Tim Walz ordered schools to temporarily close with just 35 confirmed cases in the state. Students like eighth-grader Raeline McVicker were initially excited for some bonus time off.

“We were all like, ‘Yeah! We get an extra break,'” Rae said. “We were so excited to have like a few extra days to be out of school — ‘Yay! We get to completely play hooky!'”

But that temporary break turned into the rest of the school year as cases surged. For students like Rae and her classmate Allie Meyer, it meant being thrust into a high school experience turned upside down – with remote learning, canceled activities, and prolonged isolation.

Rae struggled with distance learning. “I have to be in a classroom to be able to learn things,” she said. “I was failing my classes really badly. COVID really threw a curveball in my education.”

Allie was able to keep up her grades, but found herself depressed from hours spent online. “I spent a lot of time online…I definitely didn’t enjoy sitting on my phone for hours during the day. But, you know, I still had to be logged on to my computer for my class period, even if I wasn’t learning anything.”

The pandemic’s impact on student mental health was severe. A 2022 statewide survey found nearly a third of Minnesota students struggled with long-term mental health issues. Amerin Chamberlain, now at Venture Academy in Minneapolis, described distance learning as “a nightmare” that led to poor habits.

When schools reopened for in-person learning, the transition wasn’t easy. Rae and Allie noticed classmates seeming withdrawn. “COVID took away a lot of physical and social exercise for our whole grade,” Allie said. “Coming back people don’t have the same emotional stamina.”

Test scores plummeted and chronic absenteeism skyrocketed over 70% in the 2021-22 school year. TJ Valtierra of the Little Earth Boys and Girls Club said, “Overall, we’ve seen a lot of struggle…there’s groups of kids that are still not really recovered.”

Despite the challenges, some students persevered. Kely Bunay at Academy of Holy Angels pushed herself, motivated by her immigrant parents who hadn’t finished high school. “I just felt like if I didn’t go through, if I let myself get distracted easily by just being home, I was sort of gonna … disappoint them,” she said.

For Rae and Allie in Red Wing, internship programs reinvigorated their passion for learning after feeling stuck in a “repetitive” cycle. “The key word for these last four years has just been recovery,” Allie said. “I had to teach myself how to do hard things and how to focus again.”

As the Class of 2024 nears graduation, their resilience shines through a turbulent era. As Aisha Abdullah from Minneapolis South said, “It’s definitely always gonna stick with me…But I think I managed OK. And my high school experience was still pretty good. I’m still happy about what happened.”

Sources: MPR News Article “Students persevere after COVID disrupted Minnesota high schools”