On Oct. 19, all FCBOE schools had transitioned from the Yellow Schedule to the Green Schedule because of declining numbers of positive COVID-19 cases. However, as of Nov. 20, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Fayette County Public Schools among students rose to 35 and 423 students in quarantine (FCPS COVID-19 Case Status Report). As a result, on Dec. 3, FCBOE schools went back to a slightly revised version of the Yellow Schedule.
“Since the beginning of the year, as of [Nov. 30], we have had 33 positive COVID cases in our school population,” said the school’s principal, Dr. Daniel Lane. “That number [of people in quarantine] changes daily, but today [Nov. 30], we have 116 students in quarantine. We have had as many as 165.”
If a student does not test positive for COVID after being quarantined because of contact tracing, they still have to remain in quarantine for 10 days, as there is a possibility that their original test could be a false negative. However, this means that the student is likely to miss important events having to do with extracurricular activities. Many seniors have had this dilemma.
Senior Austin Carmichael commented on his time in quarantine and what he had to miss as a result of being in quarantine due to close contact.
“I was supposed to run at our state cross country meet, which I got quarantined during so I wasn’t able to run,” said Carmichael. “I missed Homecoming which was the day after I got quarantined, and then I was supposed to perform with my band at the school talent show. That wasn’t fun.”
Senior Soret Braxton is on the cheerleading team but she went into quarantine from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13 as a result of close contact.
I missed out on my Friends & Family showcase event for cheer where we show off our routine in the school gym on the Friday before our first cheerleading competition,” said Braxton. I also had to miss out on my first cheerleading competition and also had to miss Senior Night.

The transition from being in quarantine to coming back to school was not as seamless as it could have been for students in certain classes.
“For most of my classes, I just kind of came back in and it was like I just picked back up where I left off,” said Carmichael. “There were some teachers that I emailed like four or five times throughout the entire time I was in quarantine and they never responded to anything. So I came back and I had no idea what we had done the last two weeks.”
In addition to missing out on extracurricular activities, many students also had trouble catching up with school work after being in quarantine for two weeks.
Senior Vanessa Nape expressed how hard it was academically after being in quarantine. “I had no idea what was going on when I came back,” said Nape. “It was very hard.”
Because of quarantine, seniors missed moments they had waited for and also struggled academically. Still, being in quarantine is a way to protect yourself and other students from contracting the virus.
“I was definitely looking forward to these events, especially Senior Night because it was something I had been waiting forever since my freshman year,” said Braxton. “It was hard and pretty sad for me being at home and not being able to contribute to my teammates’ success and also not being allowed to be a part of all the excitement.”