CINCINNATI — Aidan Adkins is a junior at Walnut Hills High School. On Wednesday, the school opened for in-person learning for the first time since last March.

What You Need To Know

  •  Walnut Hills High School opened for in-person learning on Wednesday

  • The high school is testing a pilot concurrent learning program for students who aren’t comfortable returning

  • The school has also implemented COVID-19 safety measures

“I’m not super excited to go back just because remote has been working so well, but I am ready to go and meet my teachers and have some in-person instruction for the first time in over a year,” Adkins said.

Adkins is one of the thousands of Walnut Hills students who have been doing remote learning for the past year. It’s something Adkins said she's enjoyed. But she said she understands it’s time to go back.

“I am of course a little hesitant, but with everything that I know the school has in place like temperature checks and better cleaning procedures I do feel pretty safe going back to school,” she said. “Definitely safer than I would have been a year ago.”

And for those students who aren’t comfortable returning, the school is offering its pilot concurrent learning program. This will allow students to be in class remotely due to ongoing crowding issues.

Aiden’s mother, Amanda, applauds the move.

In addition to the new concurrent learning program, the school has also implemented COVID-19 safety measures.

Socially distant lunches, no lockers, and temperature checks are just some of the measures in place to keep students and staff safe during the pandemic. 

“That was (a) game-changer to allow them to keep their same class, their same teacher that they’ve developed a relationship with all year,” Amanda said.

Overall, she said she’s comfortable with her daughter returning to school. 

“They’ve done, based on what I’ve seen, everything that they can to make sure that they’re safe so I just have to have some trust that it will work,” she said.

Even with all the uncertainty of what the remainder of the school year will bring, Aidan said she’s going to put her best foot forward. 

“Mostly, I’m looking forward to just going back and being able to see my friends and just to see people and finally meet my teachers in-person and just really finish off my junior year with some kind of sense of normalcy,” Aidan said.

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