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What's Up With Mountain Alliance?


Hey, Watauga! Did you know that there is a club at the high school still doing really

awesome things? Mountain Alliance is a service and adventure non profit at Watauga

and Avery high schools. Since COVID-19 took us out of school, the leaders of Mountain

Alliance have been working hard to have fun activities available to all of the students at

Watauga.


When asked about the kinds of programs Mountain Alliance is currently offering,

Jeremiah Stanton-Rich, the Watauga Program Director says, “We are offering both

service and adventure programs including hiking, climbing, canoeing, clean ups,

gardening, trail building. A lot of the same programs that we would do in a normal year.

For safety reasons we are not planning on doing some trips that we have done in the

past such as caving or extended trips.”


Stanton-Rich also talked about their new program, “ Since school has not been in

session, we have not been running our after school program School's Out. We were

able to create a new hybrid program called School's Out+ that provides academic

support as well as activities for students to participate on Mondays and Fridays. We

have also been offering some virtual options including a once a week option for

students to come and eat and hang out with one another.”


Sophomore Kyle Hollars has been participating in a lot of activities and said, “It's felt

relatively normal, especially in comparison to the return of school. Even though we have

to follow all the same precautions, the smaller groups (6-10 students and a few staff) outdoor setting has let us have a lot more freedom, while still remaining masked and

socially distant. Of course it' still a bit strange to have to take a few steps back to take

a sip of water, or to wear masks while canoeing or playing badminton. I don't mind

though, I'm just glad to have a safe and fun way to see friends I haven't seen since

March.”


Mountain Alliance has put in a lot of guidelines to make sure they are keeping students

safe on trips. Stanton-Rich says, “A lot of our guidelines follow the CDC as well as the

American Camp Association which includes precautions like wearing masks on all

programs, social distancing when possible, and providing opportunities to sanitize often.

We are also limiting transportation in our vehicles so students are not in an inclosed

space for long. We are having parents complete a pre-screening questionnaire as well

as completing a day of screening with students.”


These precautions start before participants even get to the location. The student or their

parent fills out a form as early as 48 hours before the trip agreeing to follow guidelines

and stating that they don’t have COVID-19. Some students commented on how safety

measures have been going.


Hollars says, “We are required to wear masks during all of the activities, and when we

ride in the bus we keep the windows open for ventilation. Since these activities are all

outdoors, social distancing is very easy.”


Sophomore Zea Marty says, “I feel very safe doing Mountain Alliance trips.”

The School's Out+ program is held at a Boone United Methodist pavilion on Wednesday mornings. This is offered for free to everyone who registers. Students can come, get their non-synchronous school work done, hang out, and participate in service and fun

activities.


Before Mountain Alliance had in-person activities, they were engaging students online.

They had weekly Zoom ‘lunch’ hangouts, had zoom zumba, crafts that could be done at

home, and lots of other fun online activities. The Mountain Alliance leaders do an

amazing job of engaging and connecting with students, even if it’s through Zoom or with

masks on.


When asked about how the leaders have been connecting with students during COVID-

19, Hollars said, “I think they're doing a good job, Even though we have to remain

socially distant and wear masks the staff and leaders are always actively engaged with

students, especially during School's Out+. They also take suggestions for activities from

students and regularly communicate with them.”


Marty says, “I think they are doing a great job, especially under the circumstances. They

have been good about checking in with the students and making sure that we have the

support we need, while also keeping a fun and hopeful spirit that helps me stay

positive.”


Having a program like Mountain Alliance helps students and staff to stay positive

through difficult times like these. Even now that we are back at school, students still

need to interact and have fun with their fellow students and Mountain Alliance provides

that. Marty says, “These past few months have been hard, but Mountain Alliance has

helped me to stay positive and has allowed me to have fun with people that aren’t my

family during this weird time, which has been wonderful and very supportive.”


If you have any questions, want to be added to the Mountain Alliance email list, or

would like to find out how to sign up for a trip or School’s Out+, please contact Jeremiah

Stanton-Rich at stantonrichj@wataugaschools.org or jeremiah@mountainalliance.org.


Written by: Kylie Broce

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