APPLETON, Wis. (NBC 26) -- From the computer screen to the classroom, for Sarah Phelps, this school year was defined by constant change.
"This is nothing like any of us have ever experienced before," Phelps said. "Every time you feel like you'd get your feet under you, something else would change. So we had to be really flexible."
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On the last day of class, Appleton parents and students reflected on the past year of school in a pandemic.
Phelps is a music teacher in the district and has a daughter at Houdini Elementary. She says COVID-19 changed her career.
"There are these nuggets of treasure that we discovered when we think 'how can we rethink some of the ways that we've always done business?'" Phelps said.
Though she learned lessons as well, sixth-grader Carina Aponte says nearly seven months of virtual class set her back.
"I feel like I kind of missed a step," Aponte said. "With just being online, it was really hard for me to adapt."
But Carina's mother says the online portion of school gave her quality time at home with her kids.
"[The best part was] family time," Renae Aponte said. "We definitely grew closer as a family.
Other parents were eager to get their kids out of the house back in March, when many students at Houdini first stepped back in person.
"It was nice spending time with the kids, but then after awhile, it becomes a lot," Appleton parent Tamara Broeske said.
But as a parent and Badger Elementary teacher, Phelps says a pandemic-influenced school year has made her hopeful for the future.
"[We will] move forward to serve our families and love our kids as best we can moving forward," Phelps said.
In an email sent to Appleton families on Friday, the district announced it will no longer require masks inside of schools starting next week. Summer classes are set to begin June 14.
On Jan. 19, the Appleton Area School District is gave students of some students the chance to move back to in-person learning for the first time in nearly a year.
