This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

MONROE, La (KTVE/KARD) — Virtual learning and in-person teachers are getting a taste at teaching in the middle of a pandemic; and while many students are choosing the online option, virtual teachers say there’s something special seeing the faces of the students they love…even if it’s through a screen.

“Just to say hey, we’re here, we’re all in this together, and we were just excited to see their smiling faces,” said Cherie Siratt, 2nd Grade Teacher at Jack Hayes Elementary.

Though with the new changes to classroom teaching, Jack Hayes elementary has faced some challenges.

“And we’re working through those and I think that Ouachita Parish has done a wonderful job at forming committees and whether as a parent you chose brick and mortar to have your child here face to face or whether you chose to do the VIP program, I think that anything that comes about, we have a team in place to be able to work through those challenges,” said Holly Smiley, Principal of Jack Hayes Elementary.

While one of the major changes to the school year includes virtual teaching, one teacher says it’s been exciting to learn something new.

“It’s amazing! At first it was scary, I’m not even gonna lie, it was scary, but it is sooo much fun, the kids are so engaged. I can’t even describe how amazing it is,” said Siratt.

She uses a camera on one computer and uses a dual-screen on a different computer so her students can see what’s going on.

“It’s hard not to get to see your babies because they are your babies. You are with them 180 days 8 hours a day. They are your babies, no matter what,” said Siratt.

However, on the other side of the screen is a student, eager, and ready to learn. One parent’s main concern about virtual learning was that her son would lose focus during class, so, she came up with a solution.

“We did dedicate a space for him that’s where he sets up his books, the computer, everything is set up in that space so it takes him outside of his room into that type of setting that would give him that classroom feel,” said Lakeshia Bosworth, Parent of a 4th-grade student at Jack Hayes Elementary.

Bosworth says another challenge was communicating with the teachers without being inside the classroom, but she says that problem was easily solved.

“The relationship that they have and the teachers that we have here–they are really awesome and they’re there for the students as well. I feel like as a parent, I can contact them and they respond,” said Bosworth.

Principal Smiley says that at any Ouachita Parish elementary school, parents can contact the front office for any questions regarding the VIP program or in-person learning. She says she looks forward to the future of education as they continue teaching in the middle of the pandemic.