School is back to normal; however, one new change is the addition of the e-hall passes. E-hallpasses are used when a student needs to do anything that is outside of class, like going to the nurse or, most commonly, using the bathroom.

Most teachers are using the e-hallpass very strictly, but some believe they are really time consuming. Some students do not find filling a pass convenient. In their opinion, they just want to use a QR code or fill out a pass on paper and go “old school.”

The school wanted this e-hall pass so they can track students who are violating any rule that goes against the school expectations. Teachers understand that the school is using the e-hallpasses because they are really helpful in order to reach out to students if they are gone for a while and they also have a way to keep everything in place.

“We have to acknowledge if the kid has made the pass. We have to approve the pass and then we have to make sure we end the pass when the student returns and make sure that the kid tells them to end the pass,” said Jim Burton, chemistry teacher. “The kids that have abused our past system in the past, which is kind of an honor system, now have ruined it for everybody.”

The students also feel that they would rather do something that is a little faster and easier than filling out a pass. Students do not understand the reason why there is a need to fill out a pass in any emergency. 

“I just think the process is really annoying; there is a practical use for it but I honestly think it’s easier to use the paper [to sign out],” said Nick Felides, senior. 

Some students think using QR codes is a little more sensible and faster. This would avoid students interrupting the teacher in the middle of class to approve the pass and then end it after they are back.

“I think it’s harder on the students and harder on the teachers to have to fill a [pass] and bring that up. It makes going to the bathroom kind of a big process when it doesn’t need to be, like QR codes last year would work better,” said Samantha Warne, junior. “I liked that [QR codes] was still a way to get permission and kind of knowing people went to the bathroom, but it is still easier and less of a big deal.”

The statistics obtained from the e-hall pass system includes vital information that administration can analyze. 

“It gives us data and information we never had before like how many passes kids have or how long they are out of class and how much instructional time is being taken out,” said Ray Utter, Assistant Principal.

There are numerous passes used in a week, which might have always been the case but there was not a way to accurately report the data. 

“On average just over 3000 hall passes are given every week. On an average day a little over 900 passes are given out per day on-campus, which is something we had no idea before and it sounds like a lot but maybe that’s how it’s always been. We just didn’t know,” Utter said.