Students adjust to policy changes

Three weeks into the school year and students seem to be adjusting to new school policies.  Changes include ID cards, shorter passing periods, and a new loss of privilege penalty. 

“The school is not controlled democratically,” Principal Dr. Marlene Hammerle said. “The APs meet with their bosses and make sure the decisions are legal, ethical, and do not hurt the kids.”

The most visible policy change is the requirement for students to wear ID cards. 

“The mandatory ID cards rule was enforced to ensure that the people in the building are supposed to be on the campus,” Dr. Hammerle said. “Students must realize that we live in a security-conscious world and we are just preparing them for their future.”

 Along with proper identification of all visitors, staff and students, time between classes was reduced to five minutes.  Dr. Hammerle said that the reduction in passing periods ensures that the hallways will be clear faster and more students will be in class.

“Since we’ve allowed students to learn their routes and understand that when the warning bell rings there are only two minutes until they’re tardy, there have been fewer hall sweeps,” Dr. Hammerle said. “Also, the hallways clear out faster because students don’t want to receive a strike from hall sweeps.”

Students who repeatedly violate school policies may find themselves on the Loss of Privilege List, also known as the “three strikes rule.”  Under this policy, students can have only three student code of conduct violations before losing privileges.  Students on the loss of privilege list cannot attend school or sports events, may forfeit their parking space, and may lose senior release periods. 

“I am a firm believer that students will rise to my expectations as they usually do,” Dr. Hammerle said.