Now that society has recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, we are able to get back into the regular swing of things, including our regular weekly school schedule. Although, with the latest discussions, many staff and students have expressed a need for Asynchronous Wednesdays. Back during the Covid-19 days Cobb County decided to enforce a system called Asynchronous Wednesdays that allowed students to do schoolwork from home. As of right now, we have 3 asynchronous days in the entire school year. In latest discussions many students (and parents) have stated that they believe having Wednesdays to regroup should be brought back into the picture.  

The school board believes that these days are beneficial to not only students but also to teachers as it allows them to catch up on grading assignments and lesson planning. The goal of these days is to help everyone catch up while not taking away from the time spent at school. Asynchronous Wednesdays are also more than just a catch up. These days can also be spent learning how to master lessons and units that certain students don't quite understand or need more assistance with. Even though regular school days provide for a hands-on learning experience, asynchronous Wednesdays allow students to grasp the concept of catch up, and self-discipline and responsibility.

While having these days back would benefit a lot of people, many students and staff have expressed concern regarding bringing them back. Having friends and socializing plays a very big role in school, some say that they would miss seeing their friends on the selected days, “Not seeing my friends at school would really suck." Stated Reese a junior at Hillgrove High school. Students have also stated they sometimes have trouble with the work, "Sometimes it's just like the work doesn't like load, or emailing the teachers and not getting a hold of them, like all the time." Expressed Madison Atkins, a junior at Hillgrove. 

The students aren't the only ones with concern as some teachers have stated certain issues they deal with as well, “Student completion and then ability to communicate effectively with students when they have questions. Yes, I use remind, but the school district stopped supporting remind.  So now I have, like, limited communication options. They said they are working on, like, a chat feature on CTLs that will work like remind, but as of right now, it's only one way, so I can communicate with students, but students can't communicate with me, so they can't ask me questions. And since I have, like, limited capacity on remind, I have less character and like less ability to communicate." Mentioned by Coach Curran an English teacher at Hillgrove, she also mentions steps that students can take to ensure a great working environment, and better outcomes that might benefit everyone involved, "I know many teachers will distribute the assignment in advance. Just look over it before you go into the asynchronous days. So, if you have some questions about the expectations or the instructions, you can ask them in person in advance. So, then you feel comfortable doing it at your house. I know sometimes not everyone can post things in advance, but just communicating with your teachers, even if they can't respond to you right away, or even if they don't see your question right away, they will see that you tried to reach out and tried to get help, and they are going to take that into account like when they're trying to help you."

While the return of Asynchronous Wednesday would benefit a lot of people, there are areas of concern and the need to address certain aspects of it. As of right now, Cobb County continues to test the boundaries and limits of these chosen days, in the hope of finding a solution to the consuming workload. They also want to ensure that we as a community will be pointed in the correct direction. Which brings up the discussion, Should Asynchronous Wednesdays be brought back?