SPS has made the decision to come back to school full time this year, which means that protocols must be in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in buildings. Although there have been several rules implemented for the prevention of spreading COVID-19, there are some things that even rules cannot prevent. When everyone attempts to get to their classes, the hallways are always full, leaving no space for social distancing. Even though cases have been reduced to a minimum, COVID-19 is still a major problem, and the school still has rules that need to be created and enforced.

Freshman Samantha Loy believes that AITE is very safe about COVID-19, despite occasional rule breaks. “There are some people with their mask off walking down the hallway,” she said. 

At AITE, you must have your mask on at all times, excluding meal times and mask breaks. This is a very important and strictly enforced rule. The school has also hosted vaccine clinics and most teachers do their best to make sure that students are staying safe and following the rules: yet the question is raised of how much the teachers can do. Every day during the announcements students are reminded of the rules for COVID-19 safety in the school, yet some still don’t listen to them. Students can be seen in classrooms or the hallway with their masks worn incorrectly, despite being told to fix them. There is a bathroom capacity rule of two people per bathroom, but students regularly see three or more people at a time in there.  

One efficient practice that AITE has implemented is contact tracing. Contact tracing occurs when a student tests positive for COVID-19. Anyone sitting closer than three feet for more than 15 minutes is asked to quarantine for ten days.

Even though there are some effective rules have been implemented, other rules that could help keep students safe might include:

1. Making sure that only a certain number of students are in the hallway so social distancing can be enforced
2. Putting assigned seats on the bus for contact tracing purposes
3. Being more strict with people breaking the rules, implementing consequences 
4. Opening up the gym and cafeteria bathrooms to everyone so more than two people don’t have to be in the bathroom together
5. Making sure all desks are still three feet apart and have not shifted throughout the day
6. Checking everyone’s temperature at the door
7. Using more buses so students can sit three feet away from each other

While some of these might be logistically difficult, they might help AITE students feel more comfortable in the building. Over the past few months, things have been returning to normal. School is full time and rules have slightly changed, but the question is, regarding everyone’s safety, is enough being done?