As a new safety measure, Roswell High School has implemented new colored passes, color-coded according to where each specific teacher’s classroom is located.
This policy was not in effect until this year, making it new for sophomores, juniors, and seniors. However, this is a new norm for the freshmen. This policy is also new for all the teachers at RHS. The policy aims to prevent chronic hall roaming by students who are out of class and in the wrong area of the school. Teachers can choose to laminate or hand-sign all their passes.
Two out of two students interviewed agree that they’re not too sure if the new passes are really helping combat the problem of students roaming the halls during class time. Junior Liam Riddell said “No, no one checks the pass once you’re outside of the classroom.”
Riddell and sophomore Anna Buffaloe both agree that neither of them has been stopped in the halls and asked for a pass, nor do they know anyone else who has. No one being stopped could possibly make it easier for students to roam the halls during their class time.
However, Principal Miley said, “Students are often in the correct areas and accessing restrooms and resources within close proximity.” Miley also said “…the qualitive data is trending in the right direction for hallway passes/zones.”
Unlike Riddell, Buffaloe thinks that the passes help the problem of roaming and said, “because staff knows if someone is in the wrong area of the building based off the pass color.”
Miley also said, “The goal of the pass system is not to implement consequences… When a student does not have a pass, the student is redirected to class to gather a pass.”
Even though a couple of students have agreed that on a personal level they have not been affected by this new policy, the overall data shows how students have been following the rules, making it ultimately affective.
Junior Brian House holds a neutral viewpoint on whether the passes help to decrease the number of students skipping class or not. He said, “the passes could help, but I don’t think the policy has been enforced enough to actually work.”