Odessa, Part 4: Wellness Check

[0] Today, the fourth and final installment of our special series, documenting life inside one of the nation's first school districts to try to reopen during the pandemic.

[1] I'm going to wait for more people to log in.

[2] Okay, so I guess Alex is not going to join us today.

[3] So, hello, ladies.

[4] All right, so here's what we're doing today.

[5] I'm going to check your grades real quick in all the classes.

[6] Four months.

[7] into the COVID school year.

[8] The teacher we've been following at Odessa High School, Naomi Fuentes, was pulling up her students' transcripts one by one.

[9] Let's see.

[10] So English and dance, are you able to do anything to get those grades up a little bit?

[11] Failure rates at the school were up, and she was trying to help her students get missing assignments in before it was too late, and the semester would be over.

[12] It does look like you're missing an essay, though.

[13] And it's a major grade.

[14] But as had been the case all year, are you there?

[15] Yes, I am.

[16] Okay.

[17] Is that something you can talk to the teacher about?

[18] Naomi's classes were filled with silence.

[19] And with many of her students joining remotely, she had little idea what was going on for them on the other side of the screen.

[20] So she had started sending out a Google form, asking them to write in how they were doing, what she was calling a wellness check.

[21] and we asked her to read some of their responses.

[22] Okay, I'm doing fine today, not good or bad, just fine.

[23] The next one says, been working day and night.

[24] I just hate it here.

[25] I'm just exhausted of staring at the screen and being overwhelmed because I'm completely lost.

[26] Oh, wow.

[27] Okay.

[28] I'm still not doing good.

[29] I'm just overthinking, really sad, and with no motivation.

[30] The next one, I've been going through a really bad depression phase right now.

[31] I've been depressed, just not this depressed before, where I say forget school.

[32] I started counseling Tuesday, and I'm going to start going every other week because my mom seems to think it helps.

[33] I just hope I can get back to feeling like myself soon.

[34] Stress, finals, and the baby, but I'm pushing.

[35] Okay, and this student, it's not her baby, it's her nephew.

[36] she's taking care of so she's playing mom to a baby that is not even hers honestly i'm so tired physically and mentally i wake up and it's the same stuff every day i wake up turn on my computer go to all my classes eat more class then it's time for homework like it's so tiring i'm so unmotivated and my grades are showing that see they just it's almost like they're in a funk and they can't get out of it and I don't blame them.

[37] I feel just overwhelmed and like I ruined my chances of graduating on time.

[38] I'm very stressed out right now.

[39] Now my dad got a call today saying he has to go to court because of my attendance this year.

[40] I'm a very good kid and never do anything bad.

[41] So it's upsetting me because I feel like I disappointed my dad.

[42] It's been so hard for me to have motivation to do my schoolwork at home.

[43] And now I may not be able to graduate with my class, which is 100 % my fault.

[44] and my anxiety is through the roof right now and I just hope I can get myself together and fix my mistake.

[45] Financially, our family is not doing so good.

[46] My parents are thinking about selling our home and move away to a smaller house and I don't know.

[47] Life just sucks.

[48] Like it's boring and sad and lonely and then like this about wearing mask like helps because I don't have to be fake smiling everywhere I go.

[49] Oh, that's heartbreaking.

[50] I'm just tired.

[51] Didn't feel like getting out of bed today, but still did.

[52] I'm okay, not great.

[53] Wow, I just have two more and I couldn't even get through them.

[54] And, oh, okay.

[55] I'm okay, not great.

[56] I don't think I'll ever be great, but I'm trying.

[57] Just trying to clear my mind and heal myself from everything that's going on personally.

[58] I'm so sorry.

[59] I just...

[60] And I don't even know why these made me cry.

[61] Okay.

[62] I'm glad I'm doing this.

[63] It's just they're going through so much.

[64] We all are, I guess.

[65] From the New York Times, I'm Annie Brown.

[66] This is Odessa.

[67] Last fall, when we first started following the students, teachers, and staff at Odessa High School, they were just embarking on their experiment of school reopening.

[68] While many districts across the country had chosen to continue with remote learning, Texas was one of just four states to mandate that schools offer in -person learning.

[69] And the superintendent in Odessa embraced that plan for his already struggling district.

[70] This cannot be a reason that our kids fall further and further behind their peers.

[71] Not only did the district reopen its classrooms, they also resumed extracurriculars, like football and marching band, despite the obvious risks of spread.

[72] We know statistically that students that participate in extracurriculars, whether it's athletics or the band or cheerleading, et cetera, they do better academically.

[73] The hope was that these in -person connections to other students, to teachers, would offer students a tether to school that could keep them motivated and help them through this extraordinary year.

[74] But right from the start.

[75] It's the magic is not happening.

[76] Teachers like Naomi Fuentes were unable to connect with their.

[77] students, many of whom had chosen to stay remote.

[78] A lot of them are having to work.

[79] A lot of them log in from work.

[80] I would just, like, have my earbud in and be in class and still be working, be making the smoothies or, like, taking people's orders.

[81] And students like Joanna Lopez were having a hard time keeping up.

[82] And so I'm just struggling.

[83] Then.

[84] The ICU at Odessa Regional Medical Center in Odessa, Texas, is at its capacity with COVID -19 patients.

[85] The virus surged in Odessa, and the nurses at Odessa High became overwhelmed.

[86] It's definitely at this point, like, gotten very, very out of control.

[87] Just days after the third football game, two marching band members tested positive.

[88] And I said shut down both buses, quarantined all students.

[89] And the nurses had to quarantine over 40 students who had been exposed on the bus ride to the stadium, meaning they wouldn't be able to play at the final game, senior night.

[90] and morale was at an all -time low.

[91] Today, in part four.

[92] The semester comes to a close, and the marching band plays its final game in Odessa.

[93] All right.

[94] On a Monday evening in mid -November, we asked our friend and local producer Mitch Borden to go to the Odessa High School marching band practice to see how the students in the band were doing.

[95] How's it going, John Alex?

[96] I'm tired.

[97] Normally, this would be a triumphant week for the band.

[98] There were only four days left until the final game, the last game that the seniors would ever play in.

[99] But the energy that day was noticeably low.

[100] A bunch of people are quarantined, so there's barely anybody here now.

[101] Almost all of the clarinets, the saxophones and the horn players, were at home.

[102] After the quarantine of the band buses the week before.

[103] How's it going?

[104] Listen, man, I mean, I think we have over 40 kids in those sections that are quarantined.

[105] Even the head director had been quarantined.

[106] So the drumline director, Jimmy O 'Loggi, had stepped in and was trying to figure out if they'd be able to perform without all of those kids.

[107] Let's just to see what it's going to sound like.

[108] This is going to determine that we're going to play it on Friday or not.

[109] Here we go.

[110] All right.

[111] For the students who were at practice, they'd been dealing with a dramatically scaled -back season since the beginning.

[112] But early on, they were enthusiastic about making the most of it.

[113] Now, especially since the quarantine, most of that excitement was gone.

[114] It sucks.

[115] I mean, I wish we could, it could be, like, years before.

[116] Yeah, it's the last game of the year.

[117] And I'm kind of ready for this to be over.

[118] I'm just ready to get it over.

[119] Yeah, it's been really tough for a lot of people.

[120] It sucks.

[121] I mean, that sounds bad, but, like, I don't know.

[122] I'm just ready for it.

[123] You don't have to memorize it.

[124] And it wasn't just the kids who were quarantined that weren't there that day.

[125] Another student was missing.

[126] The student we've been following most closely.

[127] Do you know if Joanna's going to be here?

[128] Fair enough.

[129] The senior symbol player, Joanna Lopez.

[130] We hadn't heard from Joanna in a few weeks.

[131] She'd stopped returning our phone calls and most of our text messages.

[132] and we'd heard that she'd also started skipping band or showing up late, which was weird, given everything we'd learned about her.

[133] Of all the students we'd met this year, it was clear that band meant so much to Joanna.

[134] It had become a kind of safe haven for her.

[135] Early in the pandemic, her dad lost his job in the oil fields due to COVID, and Joanna had had to get her first job working at a smoothie place to help pay her car bill.

[136] And she chose to do remote school, in part so she could keep working during school hours.

[137] And as her family's finances got worse, and she struggled in remote classes, band was pretty much the only thing keeping Joanna connected to school.

[138] The drumline director, Jimmy O 'Loggy, was the teacher she trusted, the teacher she went to and she needed help.

[139] She told us that the band was the first time she'd felt like she had real friends, after years of feeling like other kids didn't like her.

[140] And it was only at practice, or when she was talking about band, that we ever really heard her be excited.

[141] But as the semester wore on, she'd started to drift away from the band, from her classes where her grades were falling, and from our conversations.

[142] But back at practice that Monday evening, about 40 minutes in.

[143] Hey, Joanna.

[144] How's it going?

[145] She finally showed up.

[146] And when Mitch went over to talk to her, I guess could you tell me what you guys are doing right now?

[147] I don't know.

[148] I haven't really been in band all week last week.

[149] So I'm not really sure what's going on.

[150] Did you stay away last week because of COVID?

[151] No, we already played the range up from here.

[152] No, just.

[153] She made a big announcement about the showgirls and the organization.

[154] Her explanation for why she'd been skipping was just stuff.

[155] And so the next day, I'm stressed about Joanna.

[156] We decided to try calling her again.

[157] Joanna?

[158] Hello?

[159] And this time, she picked up.

[160] Hi.

[161] How are you doing?

[162] Good.

[163] I'm tired.

[164] Well, I know you're so, so busy and that you have so much going on.

[165] But we just wanted to call and touch base with you.

[166] I've been meaning to get back to y 'all, but I keep falling asleep.

[167] It's okay.

[168] Don't worry.

[169] Almost right away.

[170] Joanna acknowledged that something had shifted for her in the week since we'd last spoken.

[171] Yeah, I've been really unmotivated to go to band.

[172] I still love it, but I just, if I wasn't so stressed, I, yeah.

[173] Right now, are you on track to fail any of your classes?

[174] Yes.

[175] I'm passing math, because that's like one of my easy classes.

[176] My English class, I'm passing.

[177] it's just three classes that I'm filling my astronomy professional communication and economics those are classes that you need to graduate I'm just tired what do you think that is are you like staying up late are you just feeling like yeah I actually talked about that to my friend today I told her I was like I think I'm depressed because I'm so unmotivated to do anything Like, I know I'm not lazy, but I just, I don't have the motivation.

[178] Joanna sounds exactly like Naomi's students here, stuck in this relentless malaise.

[179] These past few weeks, when we hadn't been hearing from her, she said we weren't the only ones.

[180] I ghosted everybody.

[181] I didn't not talk to anybody.

[182] And I honestly felt, like, really happy.

[183] Like, I wasn't sad or anything.

[184] I just kind of wanted to be left alone in my room, you know.

[185] Was this the time where you were also ghosting me?

[186] I wasn't ghosting you.

[187] It's just that I wasn't really like, I don't know.

[188] Like, I would see text messages from, like, people and I just wouldn't not answer.

[189] Like I said, I wasn't sad, mad, or anything.

[190] I was happy in my room, just, like, vibing, listening to music, painting, doing whatever.

[191] Yeah, I guess I just kind of wanted to be left alone.

[192] Why do you think that you were ghosting even your friends?

[193] I don't know.

[194] I kind of just, I don't know.

[195] It was just something I did.

[196] Would you say that like you struggled with your mental health this year?

[197] Yeah, I would, yeah, I would say so.

[198] Say more about that because I want to understand that.

[199] I don't know, because I, like, struggle with two main things.

[200] Like, I struggle with, like, having that mindset that nobody wants to be my friend.

[201] And, like, another reason is that, well, I'm not trying to, like, self -diagnose myself, but I'm assuming that I do have it, it's, like, it's an eating disorder, But it's nothing, I don't struggle with body image.

[202] Like, I don't feel that I need to lose weight or gain weight.

[203] It's mostly, I can't get myself to eat anything because I either throw it up or, like, I gag nonstop.

[204] And I feel like that's kind of affected my mental health a lot.

[205] And then I want to be left alone.

[206] I don't want to do anything.

[207] So I kind of just, like, it piles up.

[208] Oh, Joanna, I'm so sorry.

[209] This is a lot that you're carrying around.

[210] It's okay.

[211] Joanna said she's been dealing with this for several years since she was young.

[212] But this year, she's noticed it getting worse.

[213] We talked extensively with her and her parents about the sensitivities around talking about this publicly.

[214] But she was clear that she really wanted to share this part of her story.

[215] Like, I've talked to a loggy about it, and he's tried helping me and, like, sending me to, like, one of the counselors.

[216] But I don't know.

[217] I'm just scared.

[218] Did you ever go see a counselor at school about it?

[219] No, I didn't.

[220] I want to go to the doctors, but it costs money.

[221] I don't have the money, and I don't want to ask my mom for, like, the money.

[222] Because it is a lot.

[223] And we don't have insurance.

[224] I'm very impressed by how cozy you've made your office in a high school full of fluorescent lights, I have to say.

[225] I know.

[226] We have to turn off the lights and then get lamps.

[227] I have like one, two, three, four, five lamps.

[228] And then I have like a little Christmas tree that's decorated according to every holiday.

[229] That's so fun.

[230] If Joanna had gone to see a counselor at school, she might have ended up in the lamp -filled office of Maricella sample.

[231] one of three counselors at Odessa High who focus on mental health.

[232] You know, maybe if they're depressed, anxiety, family problems, we try to work with the students to find coping tools, techniques that work for them to help them get through what they're going through.

[233] When COVID first hit, Maricella says, and essentially every student in the country was suddenly remote, it had a profound effect.

[234] When we started the pandemic and we shut down the schools, in the beginning, I mean, there was hardly any contact with them.

[235] And I think they just became so shut off.

[236] And they just became used to being at home and, you know, sleeping a lot and not having a lot of human interaction.

[237] So I do feel that their mental health has dropped significantly.

[238] So Maricela was relieved when Odessa High School reopened.

[239] But of course, many of the students did not come back.

[240] And it's those remote students she's most worried about.

[241] Because without having them in school, it's hard to identify who needs their help, a job that typically falls to teachers.

[242] And even if they are identified, it's hard to reach them.

[243] Like, if I could just hear their voice and just make sure that they're okay, then that would be a little bit better.

[244] But when you don't hear from them and then there's no response, I do worry.

[245] Yeah.

[246] Are there students that you feel like you're missing?

[247] Or like, are there students who are falling through the cracks?

[248] Oh, completely.

[249] Completely.

[250] I do feel like kids are being missed out on.

[251] They're falling through the cracks and we lose them.

[252] Definitely, kids are getting missed.

[253] Everybody's trying their best.

[254] Everybody works nonstop.

[255] Our principals, I have no idea what time to even leave.

[256] I mean, I think everyone is trying their best.

[257] And I think students are trying their best as well.

[258] They don't know any other way to cope and they don't know how to get out of it.

[259] So, yeah.

[260] Yeah, we've, some of the kids that we've been talking with, they're saying that they actually want to be alone, like they've gotten used to it.

[261] They don't want to be around other people.

[262] Are you hearing that?

[263] And how do you make sense of that?

[264] Yes, I am.

[265] I mean, I think at some point they wanted to have that human interaction.

[266] They wanted to be around their friends and, you know, hang.

[267] out, but they had to learn how to cope with being alone.

[268] And so now they kind of sabotaged themselves by just wanting to be home and depressed and alone.

[269] And they are so used to being in the room shut down and they don't even want to sit at the table with their family to eat dinner.

[270] Or, you know, they're so used to being on the phone that putting their phone down is like, you know, like you're killing them.

[271] And they just want to be alone.

[272] They want to be left alone.

[273] and not have any interaction with anybody.

[274] To be clear, Maricella has never met Joanna.

[275] She doesn't know her story.

[276] And mental health experts have acknowledged that some students do do better with remote learning or in very small group learning sessions, students with severe anxiety, for example.

[277] But in general, what she's seen this year is more students who have come to think that they're better off alone, when they may be actively making their situation.

[278] It's almost like sometimes they, I don't think they think that they need school anymore.

[279] Do you think that they're right?

[280] No. I think that they need to come to school.

[281] They need, you know, interaction with other human beings, that they need to be here learning.

[282] I mean, I also know that we should have some grace with them because they are going through a lot.

[283] They are struggling.

[284] What do you feel like you've learned about yourself this year, Joanna?

[285] I don't know.

[286] Like, honestly, the one big thing that I did learn is, it's going to sound like I'm repeating myself, but that I really do enjoy being alone.

[287] And I've told my mom that I have, like, I have, like, a feeling, like, for the future.

[288] Like, whenever I move out.

[289] that I would want to live by myself.

[290] You know, I don't see myself with anybody.

[291] I just want to be alone.

[292] I feel like I'm much more happier that way.

[293] My happy place isn't being with friends or family.

[294] It's just me being alone, doing what I love to do, whether it's like listening to music, watching Netflix, painting.

[295] You know, just doing my own thing.

[296] What have you painted recently?

[297] Like what kinds of stuff?

[298] actually i'll send you a picture on my phone right now i'm very proud of it because i'm i'm not really good at drawing but this painting um it's one of my favorites can you tell me about it just because we're a radio show so i'll have to describe it if you don't yeah um it's just basically like a a girl she's alone in her room.

[299] But she looks happy.

[300] And she's, like, sitting on a rolling chair.

[301] And there's a desk in front of her with her computer.

[302] And her room is just, like, filled with, like, a bunch of, like, plants, books, posters, teddy bears, her cat, her MP3 player.

[303] You know, it's just kind of...

[304] I feel like it's me. In my conversation with Maricella, I had asked her what she does when she encounters students who have retreated into themselves, students who are convinced that being alone is really what they want.

[305] She told me that she tries to find with them the parts of social interaction that they used to find joy in, and then to draw them out into the world so they can be reminded of what that felt like.

[306] And maybe they can start to want it again.

[307] For Joanna, that social interaction had mostly happened at band.

[308] And despite the fact that she had been skipping practice, there was still one game left.

[309] You know, now it's like I don't care about the game on the field.

[310] I care about what we're going to do tonight and how we're going to just have a blast.

[311] Jimmy O 'Loggi, the drumline director, knew that this year Joanna and many others had lost touch with much of what brought them joy.

[312] And he was taking it as his mission to try and help them find them.

[313] it again on Friday night.

[314] Annie, we're going to play as much as we can in the stands.

[315] I'm hoping that their lips are exhausted because of so much playing.

[316] Sorry, my bell's ringing.

[317] Okay, but I told them, I said, let's get out there.

[318] Let's have a good time together.

[319] Let's forget about what's happening outside of these stadium walls for a few hours.

[320] You know, you guys dance, you chant, you cheer, you do whatever.

[321] Just go nuts.

[322] You know, release that stress that you're hiding, that you're having a lot.

[323] inside of you.

[324] Just release it all.

[325] Let's forget about the world for a bit.

[326] It's okay to get lost in the way from everything, just for a bit.

[327] On the afternoon of the final football game, despite a quarter of the band missing, the rest of the members braved the band buses one last time.

[328] But Joanna didn't make it on the bus with the rest of the drumline.

[329] Everybody beat me to the bus, so I had to be in a different bus than everything.

[330] everybody else.

[331] So I was in a bus with the flutes.

[332] I'm sad, no. You're sad?

[333] Yeah.

[334] I don't want to be in the bus by myself.

[335] Her only company was Mitch, the local producer we sent to the game to record.

[336] What are you going to do now instead since you're all alone?

[337] Talk to you.

[338] You're the only person I can talk to right now.

[339] And she sounded pretty bummed and down on the game the whole bus ride.

[340] I'm not really excited for it, so it's kind of just like do it and get it over with.

[341] Do it and move on.

[342] Yeah.

[343] When the band got to the stadium, though, and she started to interact with the other kids.

[344] You all sound like you're having a good time?

[345] Because we're the fun of section.

[346] The other sections are really boring.

[347] The centers, they just sit down.

[348] She seemed to be perking up.

[349] What's on your mind right now, Joanna?

[350] Nothing.

[351] My mind's just like, what's on my mind?

[352] Empty, brain.

[353] She has nothing to her movement.

[354] Those moments were fleeting.

[355] We have, like, our moments that were, like, having fun and everything.

[356] But then I would remember.

[357] Like, I would look at other seniors.

[358] And, like, I would look, like, at the, like, at the smart people.

[359] That, like, their attendance is good.

[360] They're passing all their classes.

[361] And so I would look at them and be, like, they're not struggling.

[362] They could be, but they're not showing it.

[363] And I'm out here stressing that I might not be able to.

[364] graduate.

[365] I don't know.

[366] I was just kind of everywhere.

[367] Like, mixed thoughts.

[368] So Joanna was distracted.

[369] In fact, the whole band seemed pretty distracted.

[370] And Jimmy O 'Loggi was growing increasingly frustrated with just how disengaged the kids were.

[371] The same notes you've been doing for four years.

[372] He said you could see it in their faces, blank stares, their heads turned away from the drum major, not paying attention.

[373] And he got her and you follow her instructions.

[374] Do you understand me?

[375] And he got so upset that right in the middle of a song they were playing.

[376] He stopped them.

[377] Everybody shut your mouth, look at me. Climbed up on the drum major's podium and turned on his mic.

[378] Raise your hand if you're seeing him.

[379] This is it, guys.

[380] This is your last game.

[381] Can we please?

[382] come together and forget about the world for another hour and a half.

[383] I don't care what's happening outside of this barricade right here.

[384] I don't care what's happening.

[385] I don't care about the virus.

[386] I don't care about anything.

[387] Can we come together and have a damn good time?

[388] Let's forget about the world.

[389] Let's get up.

[390] Let's play together.

[391] Let's have a good time.

[392] But do it together.

[393] Let's have a blast.

[394] This is the last one for you.

[395] Four years, guys.

[396] Four years.

[397] That's a lot of work.

[398] That's a lot of sweat and tears.

[399] And thank you, let's have a blast, all right?

[400] Okay.

[401] When it's a good speech for Malagi, you know it's like it's going to touch your heart.

[402] Since he's very like hard on us.

[403] Yeah, you feel, you feel good.

[404] You know, now it's about us.

[405] Now let's have a good time of them.

[406] And if you can see, look at all the smiles on their faces.

[407] That's what it's about, man. Let's be happy, you know.

[408] Did they get there?

[409] Oh, yeah.

[410] Look at him.

[411] Jimmy told us that the band had agreed to try and play with so much heart they would get the players on the opposing football team to dance.

[412] And in the process, Jimmy himself started to have more fun, going from being the disciplinarian to something more like the DJ at a high school dance.

[413] You got the dance team doing a move, and he got, you know, little kids emulating and stuff.

[414] So, you know, everybody's having a good time.

[415] We forgot that the score is 22 to 0, you know.

[416] Anybody watching would think that we would winning, that we were winning 22 to 0.

[417] All right, guys, we're having a good time.

[418] You can think you're having a good time, but with your masks on.

[419] The band kept dancing and playing.

[420] Can we have five minutes left?

[421] And the clock kept counting down until the game was over.

[422] The Eagles 29, Broncos 7.

[423] And then it was time for the final moment of the night, a moment that was often the most emotional of the entire season, one that would leave many kids in tears.

[424] I think it was just like the dismissal that I might miss. The drum major was about to climb up on her podium, to lead the band in a kind of call and response.

[425] Like, who's the best band in a man, Bronco band?

[426] Karen Broncos go big red.

[427] To thank the senior.

[428] and announced for the final time that the band was dismissed.

[429] All right.

[430] Everybody, me and that, dismissal.

[431] And with that, the season was over.

[432] All right, Joanna, so tell me about tonight.

[433] Tonight was fun.

[434] I said I wasn't going to get emotional, but I started tearing up.

[435] I said I crying.

[436] I thought I was the only one crying, but then I turned around, and John was crying, and Josh was just like, don't cry because you're going to make me cry.

[437] And J .C., you gave me, like, a big hug.

[438] And, yeah.

[439] It's crazy that it's my last.

[440] I remember, like, my freshman year, like, how excited I was and nervous.

[441] Yes, it's sad that it's my last game.

[442] What do you think you'll miss most about marching band?

[443] The people.

[444] My friends.

[445] And I'm going to really, like, miss going to don't even house and like his mom making us pizza and cookies and like us polishing our symbols that's what i'm going to miss jeline is just very welcoming and i just made so many great friends you know jimmy or mr uloggy you know at one point was just like i want you guys to forget about everything that's going on outside of the stadium and did you at all at any point feel normal or get to forget about you know all your troubles i i was kind of you know sad because I'm so behind and it's scary to think that you might not graduate.

[446] But then towards the end, I was just like, loosen up.

[447] You'll get there.

[448] Next March you season?

[449] I'm going to see you out for the rest of the year, but I'm going to miss y 'all next March season.

[450] Oh, no, no, I'll be in Odessa.

[451] I'll be in Odessa, no matter one.

[452] Wait, when we get back from Thanksgiving, bro.

[453] Not long after the game, we had a final call with Naomi Fuentes.

[454] Back when we first started talking with her, when Odessa High School was preparing to reopen its doors, she and the other teachers had worried about the cost of reopening, worried about what the trade -off might be when it came to public health.

[455] The city of Odessa got hit hard by the virus, but their fears never fully materialized in the schools.

[456] Instead, the story of the semester at Odessa High had been a story like this one.

[457] of students struggling to stay afloat and moments like these feeling difficult to create and just that momentary.

[458] When I think about like the sort of permanent damage of this time, we talk a lot about the kind of permanent damage for kids who are at this like very tender learning age of reading or math.

[459] But even for kids who are juniors and seniors, like what is the potential kind of permanent damage of right now?

[460] it's almost like this is where they need to make that decision like do you see your future can you picture past this moment and I need to make sure they don't they don't fall they know that there's something beyond right now and this isn't going to last It does seem hard to ask that of a 17 -year -old to say, like, you, like, don't take this personally, you know, it's not you.

[461] It's the pandemic, you know.

[462] Or, like, just find the motivation and get out of bed and, like, stop scrolling on your phone.

[463] Yeah.

[464] It sort of makes me think about you as a student.

[465] You know, you described yourself as, you know, not a great student and you really struggled with motivation in school.

[466] And I wonder how you think you would have done if your senior year was the year of COVID.

[467] Like, how would that have changed the trajectory of your life?

[468] Wow.

[469] You know what?

[470] I think I would have been one of those who fell through the cracks.

[471] Like, I would have been one of the ones who struggled.

[472] And I totally would have just given up.

[473] And I would have been one of the ones that, you know what, I just, I'm just going to go get a job and, and work and just quit school.

[474] I don't know.

[475] I probably would have quit school.

[476] I don't know.

[477] That's tough.

[478] I mean, at the beginning of the year, you were really skeptical, and you said that if you had been given the choice, you would have chosen to be all virtual.

[479] Does it work?

[480] Was it worth it to bring kids back into the class?

[481] Looking back, I know why.

[482] said that but then now it's like I'm glad that they brought them in because I don't know it's almost like I do think it it's helping some of them like we would have lost way more we would have had a way higher failure rate had they not brought them back in even though yes I was definitely worried about COVID definitely worried about the numbers but then when they brought everybody back and the numbers didn't spike as much as everyone thought.

[483] It was like, okay.

[484] And then we saw the kids face -to -face doing better.

[485] It's like, okay.

[486] It's okay.

[487] Odessa was reported and produced by Soraya Shockley, Annie Brown, and me, Sindhu Nyana Sanbundum.

[488] With help from Mitch Borden and Diana Winn.

[489] Editing by Liz O 'Balen and Lisa Tobin.

[490] Engineering by Chris Wood.

[491] Fact -checking by Ben Phelan.

[492] Original composition by Dan Powell, Marion Lazzano, and Rochelle Bonja.

[493] Special thanks to Austin Mitchell, Larissa Anderson, Clifford Jay Levy, Dana Goldstein, Kate Taylor, Jan Hoffman, Benedict Carey, Clifford Krauss, Apurva Mundavili, Ken Belson, Laura Kim, Nora Keller, And Lauren Jackson.

[494] Here's what else you need to know today.

[495] The U .S. State Department is urging Americans to leave India as soon as they can safely do so, and to avoid traveling there, because of the country's enormous outbreak of COVID -19 infections.

[496] On Thursday alone, India's health ministry reported more than 379 ,000 new infections, a global record, and nearly 3 ,700 deaths.

[497] And what we're seeing is people have gotten vaccinated, an extraordinary number, 6 .3 million vaccinations in New York City to date.

[498] In an interview on Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that with the permission of the state, New York City plans to fully reopen on July 1st, allowing restaurants, stores, gyms, hair salons, and stadiums to operate at full capacity for the first time in a year.

[499] Look, based on all of the progress that we've made in this city, we can go back to full strength.

[500] The city's infection rate has fallen from a second wave peak of 8 ,000 a day to about 2 ,000 a day.

[501] Health officials say that if the city stays on its current trajectory, that number could drop to below 600 by July.

[502] That's it for the daily.

[503] I'm Michael Babaro.

[504] See you on Monday.