Friday marked the four-year mark since the closing of New York City schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mass lockdowns, curfews, closures, masks and remote learning became the normal way of life for students in 2020, even though they may seem like a distant memory now.

Parents and students heard from former Mayor Bill DeBlasio on March 15, 2020 that schools would be closed due to COVID, changing the dynamic for families at home who had to adjust to remote learning.

“It was scary because for safety reasons they had to shut it down… but I just prayed to God that COVID ended,” said one Castle Hill parent.

Educators say that while it flipped the way of conducting school on its head, it forced the education system to make some beneficial changes.

"So it's really forcing us to look at best practices, what's effective data driven instruction, the ability to monitor what's happening in real time with systemic management,” said educator Stephen Ritz. “I think 100 years from now, history will reflect that the pandemic was one of the greatest evolutions in education that we could have ever imagined and fought that in real time."

Some parents spoke with News 12 claiming that some of their kids are still struggling to get on task and up to their proper grade level in certain subjects.