What can high schools learn from their post-pandemic upperclassmen?
Like generations of students before her, Bella Alvarado, a student at Hilltop High School in Chula Vista, California, approaches the end of her senior year with mixed feelings.
Proud of her accomplishments and excited for new adventures? Yes. Ready to say goodbye to her childhood and part with friends? Not quite.
For Bella, who was looking forward to “being a kid again,” in-person schooling has been a mixed bag – some normal moments and some big differences. It took time to make new friends, manage a new schedule, and navigate academic expectations despite initially feeling behind.
“Everybody learns at a different pace,” she says. “Everybody processes things differently.”
By and large, American education is back to business-as-usual three years after schools embarked on remote learning. But particularly for juniors and seniors, whose high school experience
