This year’s Virtual learning has proven to be a challenge for all of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). The school has worked hard to make the virtual learning system work. What is perhaps most challenging is adjusting to a new school through a virtual setting, which is what the class of 2024 is doing.

Virtual learning does come with its challenges, but with Jefferson’s rather challenging curriculum it may be even harder for freshmen and froshmores to adjust. Despite the rather obvious obstacles in their way, the class of 2024 does not falter before these challenges. “Virtual learning is pretty nice. The classes are pretty smooth and uniform and the pacing is great,” freshman Brian Zhou said.

However, there are still some problems with virtual learning that the students have noticed. “It is a pain to keep track of all the various communication platforms we utilize. We have to check Blackboard, WebAssign, and Google Classroom, and if we’re taking an AP course, we also have to check AP classroom. Blackboard is also often really slow and it can be troublesome to access the assignments,” Zhou said.. 

Blackboard has also occasionally shown a few problems because of the number of people using it that has been overloading the servers and slowing down classes. Despite the challenges, the community of Jefferson has worked hard to make our virtual learning experience the best it can be. 

“The teachers have been amazing so far. They were really understanding about our situation and various technical problems, and I really look forward to meeting them in person when the pandemic passes.,” Zhou said.

FCPS has put in a lot of effort to make our experience as smooth as possible. 

“There are over 1800 of you, and you’re learning, and there are, you know, hundreds of teachers that are teaching, and we have this great learning community and to not see each other and we have to be connected. And it’s hard,” principal Dr. Ann Bonitatibus said.

Although virtual learning this year has been difficult, FCPS has put effort into making the transition from normal in-person schooling to online schooling seamless. Undeterred to the difficult adjustment to high school in a virtual environment, the class of 2024 is managing to prosper.