No one seems totally happy with this year’s hybrid schedule, but students are making the best of it.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Horry County Schools is following a hybrid instructional model, in which half the school comes into the building for the first two days of the week and the other half comes in the next two days. When not in the building, students attend classes online — and everyone attends online on Friday. (Students also had the chance to choose a full virtual program with a separate curriculum and teachers who act more as facilitators, which about 440 did.)

 The extra stress caused by hybrid comes from the constant change in routine, a lack of teacher contact, and technical issues, students say. “It’s a lot more stressful,” Megan Hickey, 11, said. “There are a lot of glitches in the systems we use.” 

The communication disruption is another major challenge right now for those who have to learn at home. It is causing frustrations among everyone.

“The hardest thing about working from home is not having the teacher right there by your side to ask questions when you need to. I’ve had to send questions for my teachers at 4 in the evening, and I don’t get a reply until the next morning,” said Chandon Thomson, 11. “But, I know my teachers and the district are working at their best to ensure this year will be as good as it’s gonna get.”

The hybrid schedule has been in place since school began on September 8. The district checks coronavirus numbers each week to decide if the schedule will continue. If the number of coronavirus cases increases to a certain level, classes will switch to completely online. If the numbers drop a lot, full five-day instruction will resume.