Adolfo Martinez

A new virtual hall pass system is rolling out district wide, replacing the traditional hall passes.

All high schools will eventually roll out the district’s virtual hall pass system. While Harmon and Killough have used it this semester, the Main campus will begin to use it at the start of the new semester. The new passes are submitted via the Learning Hub, and the system provides an online queue and timer.

Those who have used the virtual hall pass system so far have seen some flaws among the benefits with its digital line and limitations on time and number of passes. The system declines automatically if the online queue is full, or if the student has gone to the bathroom too much.

“For students, I think it kind of sucks because only a few people are allowed to go at a certain time,” sophomore Allison Vega said. “I get that they tried to solve the whole skipping class for 30 minutes; that’s reasonable. I just think it’s a little obnoxious.”

It’s not only students who find the pass inconvenient at times. Between Harmon and Killough, staff have found some adjustments with the system. 

“I think it takes more time,” Killough geometry teacher Mary Kidder said. “Sometimes it does interrupt class, or if I’m busy working with another kid and I have to stop what I’m doing to come to my iPad and approve, it takes a little more time.”

Though staff believe the electronic hall pass is a good way to monitor where students are, they believe there should be a few changes to the system for it to be completely functional.

“I guess we’re just now learning the ins and outs of it,” Killough principal Stephanie Gore said. “I wish there was an easier way for it to be inputted to teachers [so] they wouldn’t have to stop what they’re doing to put in a pass. I wish there was a more automated way to issue the passes.”

Despite the drawbacks of how time consuming it is and the time constraints for students who are out, there are still quite a few benefits to the new passes, like the ability to better keep track of where students are.

“I definitely like that it says what bathroom the kids are supposed to go to, and it tracks the time so I know how long they’re gone,” Kidder said.

The system also helps save from the schools’ budgets as well, saving them money on slips of paper, lanyards and laminating for physical bathroom passes.

“From our campus budget, we would buy little pink passes,” Harmon principal Rachel Flanders said. “So now, we’re able to save money on that because we’re using a software the district is all using.”

So far, the biggest obstacle for the staff has been getting accustomed to this new process.

“I think just learning the system is new, just kind of one more step for teachers to do,” Gore said. “That’s kind of the biggest con, just learning the ins and outs. What’s manageable for kids and what’s not.”