There was still quite a bit of uncertainty this year with how spring ensembles would look because of the unpredictability of the pandemic. Jenn Kauffman wanted to be sure that all her students remained engaged, so she created alternative learning classes to give them more opportunities and exposure to areas of music that they don't get to spend a lot of time on during the average year. One day a week they didn’t have regular band but instead the students went to their alternative class. Students chose between jazz band, music theory and composition, or beginning band for their alternative class. In the jazz band they learned some history of jazz, experimented with improvisation and put together a performance for the Spring Concert. For music theory and composition, the students first learned basic principles of music theory and then worked individually and collaboratively to create their own compositions that were shared and critiqued in class. Finally, the students who chose beginning band were allowed to learn any instrument that they wanted and found a peer mentor to help them learn the basics and be able to perform a few short pieces by the end of the semester. When she did their end-of-year surveys, the alternative learning classes were so popular that she plans on keeping them as part of their curriculum in the future!