Dozens Leave Campus During FLEX Period Daily
Despite the closed campus, no consequences for students who leave during school hours.
By Riyana Siva
Despite the closed campus, no consequences for students who leave during school hours.
By Riyana Siva
Schools across the state have different policies relating to the ability of students to leave the campus during school hours.
Pioneer has a closed campus, which means that students are unable to leave the campus during school hours unless called out by a guardian or given special permission to leave for specific reasons. A closed campus is a policy put in place due to liability concerns for the school but also for students’ safety.
Assistant Principal of Student Services Kiera Strockis is one of the administrators that monitors the front of the school.
“It's a safety concern. Our job first and foremost, other than to help students learn, is to keep them safe, and if something were to happen and a student wasn't here, we wouldn't be able to ensure their safety and we want to make sure everybody is safe at all times,” said Strockis.
Although the official school policy is that students can not leave campus during school hours, there have been large amounts of students leaving campus without permission. One of the main times students leave campus is during FLEX.
During FLEX periods, the weeks of Feb. 26 and March 5, Pony Express staff stood at exits of Pioneer’s campus and counted the number of students leaving without permission. The largest number of students leaving was on March 8, with a total of 73 students who walked off campus. When students returned from their 11 day break on March 2, 52 students left campus. Even on days when there was heavy rain due to a storm such as March 9, 55 students were still seen leaving campus.
Many teachers are aware and concerned about the large numbers of students leaving campus during FLEX, especially science teachers whose classrooms sit at the front of the campus. Physics teacher Trevor Davis sees students leaving campus on a daily basis, sprinting by his classroom.
“I don't understand why we don't have someone in each corner for every FLEX. That's two people and seems doable. I don't get why we're not doing anything,” said Davis.
One sophomore, speaking on conditions of anonymity, leaves campus during FLEX because of the lack of food options on campus.
“I get why they want us to stay on campus, but if we aren’t allowed to leave, at least have good food or improve on it, like give the students a survey on the food made available to us," they said.
Although enforcing the rules using the presence of supervisors is one method to prevent students leaving, some staff believe that positive reinforcement and fun activities could also help solve this problem.
“I think we should encourage students to embrace their creativity or mindfulness and just have fun, which is something many students nowadays don't often get to experience anymore,” said English teacher Stephanie Harvey. “Maybe we can have a teacher or a few supervisors chaperone on the field or basketball courts so students can play sports. I know the Wellness Center often holds activities or classes during FLEX to practice mindful activities which I believe are quite beneficial. Maybe teachers or the library can provide ‘blind book date’ options for students wanting to experience a new literary adventure.”
Although Pioneer is a closed campus and finding a solution to students leaving is important, it is also equally important to make Pioneer a positive place for students rather than creating a negative and uncomfortable learning environment.
“I would hate to make Pioneer become a prison, I don't want to put walls up. I think most of our students take the education here at Pioneer very seriously and there are a few that do not and they leave. But I don’t want to put walls and gates up and make Pioneer become a prison,” said Assistant Principal of Student Services Tim Gavello.
Pioneer has a closed campus, which means that students are unable to leave the campus during school hours unless called out by a guardian or given special permission to leave for specific reasons. A closed campus is a policy put in place due to liability concerns for the school but also for students’ safety.
Assistant Principal of Student Services Kiera Strockis is one of the administrators that monitors the front of the school.
“It's a safety concern. Our job first and foremost, other than to help students learn, is to keep them safe, and if something were to happen and a student wasn't here, we wouldn't be able to ensure their safety and we want to make sure everybody is safe at all times,” said Strockis.
Although the official school policy is that students can not leave campus during school hours, there have been large amounts of students leaving campus without permission. One of the main times students leave campus is during FLEX.
During FLEX periods, the weeks of Feb. 26 and March 5, Pony Express staff stood at exits of Pioneer’s campus and counted the number of students leaving without permission. The largest number of students leaving was on March 8, with a total of 73 students who walked off campus. When students returned from their 11 day break on March 2, 52 students left campus. Even on days when there was heavy rain due to a storm such as March 9, 55 students were still seen leaving campus.
Many teachers are aware and concerned about the large numbers of students leaving campus during FLEX, especially science teachers whose classrooms sit at the front of the campus. Physics teacher Trevor Davis sees students leaving campus on a daily basis, sprinting by his classroom.
“I don't understand why we don't have someone in each corner for every FLEX. That's two people and seems doable. I don't get why we're not doing anything,” said Davis.
One sophomore, speaking on conditions of anonymity, leaves campus during FLEX because of the lack of food options on campus.
“I get why they want us to stay on campus, but if we aren’t allowed to leave, at least have good food or improve on it, like give the students a survey on the food made available to us," they said.
Although enforcing the rules using the presence of supervisors is one method to prevent students leaving, some staff believe that positive reinforcement and fun activities could also help solve this problem.
“I think we should encourage students to embrace their creativity or mindfulness and just have fun, which is something many students nowadays don't often get to experience anymore,” said English teacher Stephanie Harvey. “Maybe we can have a teacher or a few supervisors chaperone on the field or basketball courts so students can play sports. I know the Wellness Center often holds activities or classes during FLEX to practice mindful activities which I believe are quite beneficial. Maybe teachers or the library can provide ‘blind book date’ options for students wanting to experience a new literary adventure.”
Although Pioneer is a closed campus and finding a solution to students leaving is important, it is also equally important to make Pioneer a positive place for students rather than creating a negative and uncomfortable learning environment.
“I would hate to make Pioneer become a prison, I don't want to put walls up. I think most of our students take the education here at Pioneer very seriously and there are a few that do not and they leave. But I don’t want to put walls and gates up and make Pioneer become a prison,” said Assistant Principal of Student Services Tim Gavello.