Chapter 15: Finding Our Balance: A Conversation about Returning to On-site Instruction During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021–2022

This chapter illustrates the experiences of two college professors during the COVID-19 pandemic teaching at the DeVry University Advantage Academy (DUAA), a dual-enrollment program where students complete the final two years of their high school classes while simultaneously taking college-level courses and earning an associate degree. The article represents a conversation between both professionals. It reveals their observations about the outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and faculty at the DUAA as instruction returned to on-site learning during the 2021–2022 school year.

Students attending the DUAA select between an associate degree in business or an associate degree in information technology and networking. The school had an enrollment of 158 students during the 2020–2021 school year. The student population consisted of 42.4 percent male and 57.6 percent female. The following demographics represented the student body: 46.8 percent Hispanic, 37.3 percent Black, 9.5 percent White, 4.4 percent Asian, and 1.9 percent two or more races. In addition, 62.7 percent of students were considered low income (DeVry Advantage Academy High School (11–12) 2022).