With the 2023-2024 school year in full swing, students and staff at Hayes are getting back into the routines of the school year. Every year brings something new to the school day, and this year will bring the E-Hallpass system.
In the past, students may have gotten a signed piece of paper or just asked their teacher to get up and leave the class. Now, they must digitally request a pass to be approved by their teacher, a method that will hopefully increase safety and decrease overcrowding.
Initially, this method had mixed reactions, with some confusion on how to use an E-Hallpass and reservations on the actual implementation of it. Now, a month into the routine, there has been more support. Senior Colin Milligan said he is happy with his initial experience with the digital pass and finds it easy to use.
“I’ve only really used it a couple times but it’s been nice when I have,” Milligan said. “I just type a request and my teacher approves it real quick and I go.”
This sentiment of easy access has been echoed by others as well. Cynthia Vaught, a ceramics teacher at Hayes, said she has had a much better experience with the system than she anticipated.
“I thought it was going to be really inconvenient but it turns out it’s not,” Vaught said. “So few kids are asking that I only do 3-5 passes a day.”
Vaught said she actually prefers the E-Hallpass because of the smaller number of requests and thus, less interruption. Being in a ceramics classroom, writing a pass would require stopping the lesson, washing hands and then signing off on the pass, a task Vaught has been faced with less with the new system.
“The paper passes were a nightmare for me,” she said. “Kids were asking constantly to go, but this is a stark contrast to that. It doesn’t bother me to just come over and click [the mouse] and I like that we know where everybody is.”
Hayes dean of students Donald Burroughs said he is also happy with the tracked pass system and its impact on reducing overcrowding during class periods.
“It has helped to reduce overall traffic in the hallways during class and it has helped reduce our numbers in the restrooms,” Burroughs said. “We’ve heard positive comments from [students] and students have said they’re now feeling safer and not overcrowded.”
Burroughs said he is also pleased with the positive feedback from staff, many of whom share Vaught’s opinion.
“For the teachers, it has sped up the process of writing a pass for a student,” Burroughs said. “There is more time actually teaching and less time getting and writing a paper pass for a student.”
While initial impressions are positive, the transition to E-Hallpass hasn’t come without some hiccups, and some concern still lingers from students. Milligan said he questions if the timer function on the pass is necessary, and feels it may be a bit intrusive.
“The only thing that’s kind of weird to me is that you’re being timed while using the restroom,” Milligan said. “If you take longer than 10 minutes to go to the bathroom, I don’t think that’s really something that you should be asked about once you’re back in your class. It’s not really anyone’s business.”
From the administrative side, the only improvement being sought right now is seeing the system become more routine. Burroughs would like to see the E-Hallpass used correctly with more regularity.
“Any time we bring any type of new product, or system, or strategy into a school, there’s a learning curve, which was fairly small,” Burroughs said. “Now it’s that habit curve that takes a while, [such as] stopping a pass, getting the right location, and then as we get busy in offices making sure we’re stopping a pass once we receive it.”
Like anything new, it’s taking some adjusting. But Burroughs said he is confident it will impact Hayes for the better.
“The whole point was safety and security,” Burroughs said. “It does cost the district money but if it doesn’t make our kids safer and more secure and it isn’t easier for the staff, then it probably isn’t meeting our needs. But as of now and with what we’re hearing, I think it is meeting our needs.”
