Throughout the school closure, staff and faculty at JAMS were busy preparing to welcome back a full complement of students. Thanks to all the generous donors to the JAMS COVID Emergency Fund, many infrastructure improvements have been achieved.

Campus improvements and protocols include

• Pedal-operated handwashing stations and waste bins
• New public toilets
• New tiled floors in classrooms and bathrooms (easier to clean than concrete!)
• New outdoor seating for distanced studying and socializing
• Two isolation rooms for quarantining students if needed
• PPE (personal protective equipment) for students, faculty, and staff
• Special cleaners and sprayers
• Rearrangement of classrooms, dorm rooms, library, and computer lab to achieve social distancing

In addition, the dormitory assignments and class schedules were adjusted to make each grade level a “pod” for containing virus spread. The adjusted class schedule allows the larger classrooms to be used more often. Only the smaller elective classes are held in the small rooms, with perhaps ten students at a time. The girls also eat in shifts by class in the dining room. Finally, as per the Kenya Ministry of Education, interscholastic extracurricular activities such as sports and music competitions are shut down until the pandemic has subsided. JAMS has hired two JAMS graduates to assist with managing the COVID protocols on the campus where 163 students now live and study 24/7 and two dozen instructional and support staff work each day.

The JAMS COVID Emergency Fund also provides for COVID testing and medical care as needed for our students. Thank you to all the generous Friends of JAMS supporters who make this important work possible!