It’s the first day of school, and everything has changed. New lights illuminate the main hallway with its new gray and blue color scheme. Brand new walls and carpet have been added to revamp and furnish A hall. However, the school has not only changed aesthetically, but it has also internally with the addition of key new staff members and teachers.

One new member is Dr. Jason Johnston, the recently hired head principal. He has plenty of praise for Allen and said that he loves being here.

“[A] sense of community, pride and enthusiasm comes from a system that has [only one] high school,” Johnston said. “It’s really a neat place to be.”

Coming from a family of educators and being experienced in other school jobs like being a teacher and coach, Johnston knows how he wants to be seen by students.

“I hope [the students] see me as somebody that is approachable,” he said. “[Someone] that cares about them and about their success and that cares about making sure that we are all trying to be respectful of each other.”

Johnston will also enforce current rules rather than creating new ones. This is one of many new ideas he is bringing to the school.

“I think that the one thing that I have tried to ask of the administrators is that we understand our purpose,” Johnston said. “I’m trying to hold us accountable, but I’d much rather create an atmosphere of controlled autonomy than I would of rules.”

To get to know the students last year, Johnston spent time talking to student leaders and PALs. He is also making an effort to be active in the hallways during the school day.

“I try to be present where students are and then make conversation,” Johnston said. “I am certainly focusing on student leadership and increasing student voice here on the campus.”

Along with Johnston’s changes in communication with the students of the school, there are the not-so-small changes, like in A Hall.

“We couldn’t renovate the whole building all at once,” associate principal of administrative services Jared Miller said. “They [are going to] take it in phases. So this was phase one, which was the main hallway and A hall.”

However, this is not the end of construction. In fact, these renovations are a part of a 15-year plan to renovate. Phase two will start next summer. Phases three and four will then renovate the rest of the hallways. Along with these renovations of existing areas, there will be a new multipurpose room and gym.

“They already have—in the gym area—drilled and set their beams, the pillars, [and] the big concrete pillars that go on the ground,” Miller said. “With that construction being outside of the school building, work will continue during the day as we’re here in school.”

Outside of the actual school campus, there will also be the construction of a STEAM center off of Exchange and Ridgeview.

“[I’m] pretty sure they’re completing the design phase,” Miller said. “[Construction] should begin sometime this school year.”

However, all these renovations and additions to the school highlight one huge problem. The student population is outgrowing a high school that is already bigger than most. Even some of the new staff members have taken notice.

“Because of the [school’s] size, it’s harder to get to know everybody on a more individual, personal basis,” associate band director Joel May said.

Similar to his students, May is sometimes overwhelmed with the school’s size. Because of his job of directing a band of over 700 people, he constantly needs to figure out ways to adjust to the size.

“Even as organized as I thought I was, I realized there’s a whole other level to being organized when you’re here,” May said. “It took weeks to even get that in control, just to feel like, ‘Okay I think I’ve got everything situated where I can do what I need to do.’”

Students and teachers new to the campus are all slowly adjusting to the crowded hallways and the labyrinth that is Allen High School, but the school has even had an impact on returning staff.

“I taught here 10 years ago, so I already had an idea,” May said. “Even pulling up, I still had that ‘Oh my gosh this place is so big… everything just keeps growing, [and] it keeps getting bigger’ [thought].”

Even with the changes to the school’s looks and staff, new members like May have been welcomed with open arms.

“[When the band directors meet], it’s much more collaborative,” May said. “It’s an equal opportunity for everybody to express their opinions. Nobody is looked at [as] weird for any idea or thought.”

Though the new teachers haven’t been here long, they already have advice for their students to be successful and achieve their purpose.

“Set goals that you can see long-term,” May said. “That way, you don’t set parameters on yourself to only be good; [you set them] so that you might surpass your expectations and end up further ahead.”