On October 25, the Alliance Public School Board held an emergency meeting to address the rise in Covid cases in the district and the amount of students quarantined by these positive cases.

The biggest change that is a result of this board meeting is that masks are now “highly recommended” instead of “encouraged”. Though masks are not mandatory, this switch advocates for masks more strongly and has seen a better result. The majority of students in each classroom are wearing masks. The only class where most kids have to go maskless is band, because you have to play your instrument. Even with that, most band members wear a mask in and out of the classroom and only take it off to play their instrument. Also, the students that are wearing masks and the ones who are not do not sit near each other in the classrooms anymore. This is to prevent the students who choose to wear a mask from getting quarantined, to the best of the school’s ability. 

The second change that was discussed at the board meeting was an enforcement of maintaining a six foot distance in classrooms. Though this is difficult in small classrooms or classes with a large amount of people, an attempt must be made. This is also difficult in classes such as weights where you need a spotter. For this, Coach Carlos Palamo has assigned specific groups of kids to each lifting station, that way he knows where certain kids were, and exactly who was around them. 

Due to Covid, this school year has been a rollercoaster, and it’s not even November yet. Staff and students have both had to adapt to the new “normal”. The only thing constant about 2020 is change, and I believe that AHS has adapted to this change to the best of its ability. The school board and administration are doing the best that they can to keep everyone in school, safe, and healthy.