For many months, the administration at SCHS has brainstormed ways to keep the halls clear throughout the school day and not have them be so cluttered. It has been a growing problem where kids would skip class and either hang out with friends in the halls or even bathroom, but with the new system, e-hallpass, this refrains kids from skipping.

“E-hallpass will allow our teachers to see how many passes a student has requested throughout the day and to give permission for passes that students have requested,” Activities Director Ben Owens said. “This new system will benefit our school by controlling the number of students in the hallways and it records the amount of minutes of class time that is missed for each student.”

While the halls stay unpopulated with students, this system also allows certain students from being in the halls at the same exact time. Whether the students have issues with one another or just can’t stand each other, the system can record that one student is in the hallway and will not allow the other to leave the classroom.

“The system can keep specific students from being in the hallways at the same time. So if there is an issue with two students for example, and one student is out with a pass, the second student’s pass will not be granted. This can help solve conflicts during class time,” Owens said.

Students have been able to manipulate the old system of purple passes and go to a different location that was not granted by a teacher. The main place kids meet up in is the bathrooms. This makes it uncomfortable for students who are using the restroom and don’t manipulate the system.

“The majority of our students are well-behaved individuals who do not manipulate the system. They are tired of a small percentage that monopolize the bathroom, when all they want to do is use the facilities and get out,” Fine Arts Teacher Nick Saubers said.

As there are many good things about this new way to navigate the halls, one problem arises and that is when a student requests for a pass, a teacher has to approve it, and the receiving teacher has to end the pass showing the kid arrived accordingly. If the time starts to add up, this can look bad on a student’s record showing they haven’t been in class for long periods of time.

“A disadvantage would be if a student or teacher forgets to clock back in. Also, teachers must use this process properly and consistently for it to be effective,” Owens said.

“We are just trying to learn the system. We are not putting any ownership on what is working and what is not working,” Head Principal Dr. Ted Happel said. “The goal is to let the system and process work out for a couple of weeks and get used to everything before we start going after students with disciplinary actions that don’t utilize it appropriately.”

Altogether, the new e-hallpass system was brought to light because of past conflicts and issues regarding students skipping class, and administrators hope this puts a stop to all of that and gets students that don’t want to be in class back to learning again with ease.