Going back to school is a hot topic right now amongst residents of West Orange, and rightfully so. Many parents, faculty, and students are worried about the circumstances of possibly not going to school and the consequences we may face if we go back to school. A lot can go wrong. 

If the students and faculty of West Orange High School take the correct steps to ensure safety amongst the student body, then logically, this would mean there would be no problems. However, even if this is the case, everyone that goes to the high school has connections outside of the school, including family and friends that might not be taking COVID-19 so seriously. That can include partying, contact, no masks, or basically anything that can help push the spread.

The idea of separating the students by last name to keep the student body entering the school to a minimum is actually a great idea, and I feel the West Orange school district is handling COVID-19 better than the neighboring districts. Many school districts are allowing all of the students to come into school at once, and some are even protesting against wearing a mask, which allows the cases to rise. 

Even though I applaud West Orange High School and West Orange in general for attempting to take measures against COVID while trying to get the students in-person education, the cases are slowly rising (with one week of November having multiple cases scattered throughout the town’s schools), and I believe that it’ll be awhile before we can actually physically go back to school. 

However, one day we’ll definitely be back in school if the cases come down and don’t rise anytime soon. This means that America as a whole has to take the correct steps, not just West Orange.