Wednesday afternoon, the plan for reopening Palm Beach County (PBC) Schools was announced. As reported by the Palm Beach Post, when the county emerges out of Phase 1 of the state's reopening plan, the first students who will be allowed back in PBC high schools will be the freshmen, followed by the sophomores two weeks later, then the juniors two weeks later. Finally, a whole month after emerging from Phase 1, the seniors will be allowed to attend high school. Many PBC seniors are enraged by this decision and are asking PBC officials to reconsider allowing seniors to be the first to attend campus when schools begin reopening. Leaving seniors to be the last to attend campus is both illogical and saddening. 

Seniors, being the eldest of the school, are the most mature and most likely to take social distancing guidelines seriously. Many of us are worried about missing major milestones like pep rallies, graduation, prom, senior trip, etc. if this pandemic does not calm down. Thus, we are very motivated to adhere to the advice of public health officials.

Additionally, seniors will be the most adversely affected by online learning. Our coursework is the most difficult in the school. Many common senior classes, like physics, chemistry, economics, calculus, etc, are the most difficult to teach online due to their rigor. Also, since first semester senior year grades are important in college admissions, it is important that we have as normal a first semester as possible in order to have our best foot forward when applying to colleges. Attending school earlier will also allow us to have better access to our college counselors and deans that help us send in necessary paperwork and meet college application deadlines as early as October and November. 

Furthermore, many seniors take privilege periods, which means that they do not have a full schedule of classes and leave a class period or two earlier than the rest of the school. Because many seniors leave before formal dismissal, classes later in the day will be less crowded and social distancing will be easier. Having class periods later in the day with lower student attendance will give school staff more time to disinfect desks and classrooms in preparation for learning the next day. Many seniors also are able to drive to school. This eliminates many parents, family members, or other non-students from having to drive to campus to drop off a student and possibly bringing the virus.

On a more emotional note, this is our last year in high school. We have already missed many junior year milestones and don't want to miss any in senior year. Freshmen will more than likely have three full years of classes ahead of them. Our junior year was already cut short and shortening our senior year as well would definitely destroy our high school experience. This will be the last year we will be able to see our friends on a daily basis and not be thousands of miles apart. Even if its socially distanced in a sterile classroom, seniors will take anything over going to college without feeling like we had a great ending to this chapter of our life. 

*Note: This petition is in no way trying to encourage PBC officials to reopen schools before advised by local health officials. The only point being made is that, when it is safe to reopen schools, seniors should be allowed to go back to school first. This petition is not commenting on reopening plans in elementary and middle schools. 

Palm Beach Post article: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20200713/youngest-students-will-return-first-when-pbc-schools-reopen-schools-chief-says