The students of Jericho are the first kids to head back to class on the Long Island. For the first time in three years, the first day felt normal. 

As the first day of middle school started, students and teachers shared an anxious enthusiasm for what administrators are billing as a normal, pre-pandemic school year. 

“I am so excited to finally meet the kids,” said one teacher. “So they aren’t just names on a roster anymore.” 

In classrooms, students are seated next to each other without partitions and are able to share lab equipment again. 

Long Island schools, like the Jericho School District, are following state guidelines where masks are currently optional and there's no need for quarantines and daily testing. Rules and regulations that made the difficult task of growing up, even tougher.

“It was horrible,” said one student. “We missed the entire middle school experience. We didn't get anything."
In addition to comfier classrooms, more assemblies and class trips are on the calendar.