Is E-Hall Pass a pass?

Olivia+Tarvin%2C+10%2C+uses+E-Hall+Pass+in+class+%28photo+by+B.+Pierson%29.

Olivia Tarvin, 10, uses E-Hall Pass in class (photo by B. Pierson).

At the beginning of the school year, all students attending the high school were told the administration is requiring E-Hall Pass as the only form of school hall passes. This website keeps track of students leaving classrooms in an attempt to stop students from roaming hallways and to prevent vandalism. The decision to use E-Hall Pass was made by SHHS principal Marc Williams.

“I think we needed to have a school wide uniform hall pass system,” Williams commented.

The choice was made to replace the previous system where most teachers wrote paper passes themselves. 

“I had pre-made passes on lanyards that students would take with them. I actually like E-Hall Pass, I think it is more efficient,” Kerri Rodden, English teacher, said.

Students and teachers have opposing views over E-Hall Pass. Some students find that it’s unnecessary or that there could be a different solution. 

“I think something has to be in place, but E-Hall Pass isn’t it,” Nathan Montgomery, 10, said.

Teachers love the website and think it was a great investment. 

“I like E-Hall Pass. I know a lot of the students complain about it, but it gives us a lot of very valuable information,” Jackson Alex, science teacher, said.

Both students and teachers agree that something had to be done to fix the previous hall pass setup. Some believe that there were better options than E-Hall Pass. Students find aspects of the website confusing. 

“One time I was going to the library to print something, but apparently student printing in the library is different, even though the printer is in the library,” Danny Heinen, 9, said.

There are kinks on the website that need to be worked out. During bronco assistance, it’s difficult to manage which students are going where. The website can also be slow to react. 

“I don’t know if it’s E-Hall Pass or our internet, but there have been several glitches and some lag time,” Alex confirmed.

While E-Hall Pass is a change that affects everyone in the building, it has been working the way the administrators planned. 

“So far, it has been a good investment for us,” Williams said.