Zhanyah Johnson smiled ear to ear as she crossed the football field at Theodore Roosevelt High School in the District to accept her crown.

Classmates had voted Johnson homecoming queen. The 18-year-old , with a royal blue sash draped across her shirt, paused at the center of the field during a pep rally to pose for photos. For Johnson, who struggled with the mental and physical toll of virtual learning last school year, the moment was dreamlike. 

“I feel real loved,” Johnson said, her crown glistening against her bright red hair. “During quarantine, I just felt alone. Everything was going downhill. And I came back to school and I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.” 

For nearly two years, the pandemic has canceled or dramatically altered many high school traditions. Crowd sizes for graduation ceremonies were dramatically reduced, if the ceremonies were not moved online entirely. Students had to forgo school plays, academic competitions and proms.

Masking requirements, social distancing and routine coronavirus testing remain fixtures of in-person learning across the Washington region this academic year. But the availability of vaccines and a firmer understanding of how the virus spreads has made it possible to safely plan for homecoming and other rites of passage.

At Roosevelt, which is in Petworth, the homecoming pep rally where Johnson was crowned queen was the largest event administrators organized since Feb. 2020, according to principal Justin Ralston. The day after, Roosevelt vied for the division title in a homecoming game against H.D. Woodson High School. 

The festivities were not exactly as they were before the pandemic. Ralston decided against holding a homecoming dance because of coronavirus cases at the start of the academic year. 

“We had a couple COVID cases a week and, at the time, I just didn’t think it was in the best interest of our students or our staff,” he said, noting cases at the school have tapered since. “One of the things we’re still working through as a school community is how to bring students together.”

Seventeen-year-old Angelo Lanford said he craved social interaction when he was stuck at home learning remotely. 

The high school senior is a wide receiver on the Roosevelt Rough Riders football team and has ambitions to play college football. He did not play last season because of the pandemic, which Lanford worries will hurt his recruitment prospects. 

“We are finally able to get the school spirit back,” said Lanford, who was named homecoming king. “One year of school was taken from us.”

Before the football season was officially canceled last year, Christopher Harden, the team’s head coach, said he answered phone calls nearly everyday from players wondering if they could practice. 

The teenagers lit up once they learned they could finally play this season. 

“It was like a kid waking up on Christmas and seeing a room full of gifts,” Harden said. “Their year off put a little bit of a spark in these guys and have them a little more hungry and have them a little bit more dedicated.” 

That dedication translated to success: Roosevelt was 7-1 heading into its homecoming game against Woodson on Oct. 29, the day after the pep rally. They needed a win to secure the division championship. 

Roosevelt fell behind early in the game after Woodson scored two touchdowns in the first half of the game. But the Rough Riders steadily regained ground to take the lead, widening it after halftime. 

They won 20-12, bringing the title home for the first time in more than four decades.