NTI has been a new and challenging experience for everyone and has created a new way of learning because everyone is online without the teacher there to help whenever you need it. Students have had to adapt to this new system and learn how to use new tools to succeed, despite the challenges.

For most students, the regular school had its own problems that made it hard. But with NTI, students feel very stressed because they can’t see teachers when they need to, they don’t have all their work in folders because they are all on the computer, and many other reasons. Now that they’re in higher grades, they have harder work. But because they aren’t with their teachers, it may be hard to get help fast.

Students that are high risk, meaning they are at risk of hurting themselves or others, are at risk for more than just school. In many cases, it is their home life, situations with other people, or just mental health in general. While school is not the only cause of students being high risk, it does make some people stressed and worried, while having a big impact on people. Virtual learning has taken so much valuable time from students because they aren’t in school so they have to communicate with teachers after class hours by email and do all of their work at certain times because they have to get ready for the next class, this means that grades may be lower and that can worry people especially if they are at high risk.

An anonymous Lafayette student has stated, “NTI has made this year so much harder because i can’t see my friends, i can’t meet my teachers, and being in a new grade means my work is harder, these past few months have been very hard and i can’t wait to go back to regular school”. Coming from a student makes this point even more accurate because these are the people living through these times.

Not to mention that being online means they can’t see their friends or people they can turn to, and for a lot of high-risk students, having someone you can turn to makes it so much easier to solve the problems. However, there are many ways to cope with this new change, and for it not to get the best of you is very important for students to have access to their work and what has been taught because they have to see and understand it to be able to complete it. If a student cannot see their work for the week or the day, then their grades will slip and that can be very stressful for them, ultimately impacting their mental state.

Students should be able to reach these lessons by going to canvas and watching the lesson for that day, A counselor from Jessie Clark, Tonya Smith, has said, “All teachers are expected to video record a daily lesson for each class that they teach and place that lesson within their Canvas modules for synchronous and asynchronous students to review at any time.”

This will help students be able to stay on top of their work because they can go back and watch what happened in class if the student needs help better understanding the work or wasn’t able to make it to the class. She also states, “Administrators, guidance counselors, our social worker, our Youth Services Center coordinator, and our district mental health specialist are always available for our students and their families, should needs arise.”

This is very important to families and students because it lets them know that there is always someone they can talk to if their child needs someone to talk to because not every child is comfortable with speaking to their parents.

Finally, she reported, “We encourage the teachers to provide opportunities for students to engage with one another in conversation throughout each class period”, and “We believe that it is so critical for students to have the opportunity to stay engaged with their peers and establish positive relationships with their teachers (in a safe and socially-distanced manner).” it is very important for students to stay in contact with one another especially during these times because they can’t see each other as often while being online every day.