As we entered the latter half of the second month of the school year, a survey was distributed to the entire high school student body. Its goal, simply, was to see what the students think of how the Beth Tfiloh administration has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Unsurprisingly, the majority of those who participated in the survey expressed that Beth Tfiloh has not done a very good job enforcing social distancing. While I recognize and appreciate the efforts of the administration to keep the school as clean as possible and to promote social distancing, I think everyone can improve; students should be more respectful of social distancing regulations and teachers should increase their enforcement of social distancing.

7 questions were asked in the survey, with 102 total participants:

1. What grade are you in?
2. Have you been mostly in school or on zoom?
3. Which option do you prefer?
4. Does wearing a mask in school bother you?
5. Do you use the mask breaks?
6. Are you happy with how BT has handled COVID-19?
7. Do you have any recommendations for how something can be done better at BT related to COVID-19?

The results:

1. 17% 9^th grade, 26% 10^th grade, 23% 11^th grade, and 34% 12^th grade
2. 67% at school, 13% on zoom, and 20% some combination of both
3. 71% prefer school, 18% prefer zoom, and 11% had no preference
4. 9% are bothered by masks, 38% are not bothered by masks, 43% are sometimes bothered by masks, and the other 10% are not in school
5. 79% use the mask breaks, 10% don’t use the mask breaks, and 11% sometimes use the mask breaks
6. 48% are happy with how BT has handled COVID-19, 17% are not happy with how BT has handled COVID-19, and 35% are neither happy nor unhappy.
7. And of the 40 responses received for question 7, almost 50% stated their dissatisfaction with how BT enforces social distancing.

So there you have it, the student response to BT’s response to COVID-19. Has BT been doing enough to keep everyone safe? Will a 48% approval rate from the 102 students who took the survey warrant change within the administration? Now that there have been positive tests within the high school, will people start taking COVID-19 more seriously? As a concerned student, I hope that this is a wake-up call for the school to understand that there is definitely room for improvement. We, as the high school student body, deserve to feel safe.

While there is much room for improvement for the school, I believe the students can also improve. Even when the school isn’t looking, we should still be conscious of our actions: staying socially distant with our masks on. In order for us to have a successful year, it is not solely the school’s job to enforce the rules, but also for the rules to be followed. It is imperative that both sides keep their end of the bargain, that we work together to create a safe and healthy space for everyone. Again, a huge thank you to the administration for all their efforts and to the countless number of people that make it possible for us to attend school in person.