Four years ago, Sydney O’Connor said she couldn’t wait to start high school. She was just starting to enjoy ninth grade, then COVID happened.

“Everyone is treating it as a spring break and then, you know, the more time went on, it got less and less exciting," she said.

Sydney rolled with the punches as classes shifted online, then went hybrid and finally, back into the classroom. But, she said, getting sick in the middle of all it was a challenge.

“Last year, I did get sick right before the AP exam schedule in May, so I did have to retake five AP exams a month later, which was definitely not fun," O'Connor said.

The students at John Jay High School in Hopewell Junction weren’t alone in facing new obstacles to overcome. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 84% of public schools nationwide agreed that students' behavioral development had been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

Elizabeth Keating is a guidance counselor at John Jay. She said she has seen the toll firsthand.

“There's been learning gaps," Keating said. "We went to this virtual format and platform and students didn't have the in-school support that many need for success and to be able to do well in school.”

Keating also serves as a college career readiness counselor. She said in addition to kids being behind in classes, they were also missing extracurriculars that could help them once they graduate high school.

“I have students who maybe would have liked to have taken a construction course, or metals course, just to see what that was like," Keating said. "But we were virtual. We weren't able to do that. We have students who maybe were interested in musical theater, but because our productions were shut down due to COVID, they didn't have the ability to do that.”

Sydney said she’s made the most of her opportunities during these last three years and she’s ready to take on college and a career.

“People are going to come in to college with a resume that they built based off their passion," she said. "So I know a lot of people did really incredible work in athletic fields and became really amazing athletes when they had all that time off. You know, I kind of started my own tutoring business during that time, so everyone kind of found their own passion during the lockdown.”