In July, a new discipline system was brought to the board as a way to identify behavior of students who were not following the rules of AHS and affecting other students’ learning. The system is that each student gets so many points at the beginning of the year and for each tardy, skipped class, or suspension they get so many points taken off. The system was brought to Alliance to help students make the right choices and become more responsible, but some kids at Alliance High School didn’t get the memo. The administration was being serious, as a few seniors are being expelled for exceeding the amount of points. Mr. Oestman, the assistant principal, said, “Our goal is not to get rid of everyone but to have more disciplined kids.” To come up with this system there were a lot of people who researched how other schools did there discipline systems, they also looked at their success rates and their expulsion rates. The discipline matrix idea was brought to the board due to many concerns from students and staff because some kids never showed up for class. Mr. Oestman said, “It’s less subjective” and “if there’s more of a set consequence then students will follow the rules.”

I think now that some kids are getting expelled it will make others realize that this could happen to them if they don’t become more respectful of the rules. Some people may think that it is unfair that some kids are getting expelled, but there are kids that come to school, are never tardy and only miss a day here and there. Those kids are trying their best to be the best they can be, and the kids that never show up to school are just “getting by.” Everyone wants to see their fellow classmates walk across the stage with them, but I think that this was the right choice to make on behalf of the school board and staff at Alliance High School. Ms. Ashley Belmer, the Physical Education teacher at Alliance High said, “The rules are in place for a reason, and if you let one person get away with it you have to let everyone get away with it.”

This new system will ensure a healthy learning atmosphere for students that have the desire to learn and go far in life. The school board and staff at Alliance High want our school to be the best it can be and this is the start to something bigger and better.