Say goodbye to Zoom and hello to in-person learning. It is a whole new school year and this time around it is a bit different, with COVID having everyone all masked up. As the upperclassmen and North Atlanta staff know all and well, it is very common for the next freshman class to come in bigger than the last. On top of that, this year has seen an increase in the amount of new students in each grade, which is apparently more than the school had thought. Drivers, you know what stand-still traffic feels like, right? Well that is what it feels like in the main stairwell between floors six and seven of our campus. Can we get a move on?

One of the bigger surprises this year, however, was the inflation in the amount of IB juniors. Who would have thought that the first thing you decide to do after coming back to the building is to tackle the challenge of taking IB? Clearly these students love a challenge as much as they love to show their strong Warrior spirit.

Luckily for teachers, they are allowed to see the class rosters before school starts. Wait, are they really lucky?

Some teachers like Sr. Williams – who teaches IB Spanish – were a little surprised to see the large number of students this year. While he only had about 65 students across his three classes in years past, he now has a whopping 96 students over all three classes. “This is my 13th year teaching IB and I have never seen this many students before,” he said. “The amount of new students has been an adjustment for sure.”

Classes maxed to capacity seems to be a norm now at North Atlanta High. A good number of teachers now have at least a full classroom of students, with no empty desks. For these teachers, more students means more materials needed for the classroom. In the case of Sr. Williams, he has been forced to add 10 new desks, frantically search for new books and materials, and even spend more time grading assignments. “The amount of students makes it so that the life of a teacher is harder,” he said. “It is even taken more time to learn the names of my students. I used to get those down within the first couple of days.”

For teachers and students alike, having a packed classroom is not ideal. Teachers have struggled getting new materials for the classroom. A positive COVID case in a crowded classroom means more students will be out of multiple days of class due to contact tracing. In a more positive light, however, more students in the IB program is a good sign with regards to students reaching higher heights. After all, for Warriors, reaching these new heights is what it is all about. Go Dubs!