Walking into a new year of Grayslake Central High School, returning students may have noticed a notable absence in the hallways. Many of the hallways used to be filled with flexible seating for students. These seats had various uses, like a place to study, hang out with friends, or a quiet place to unwind from school work. However, with this years new security policies, there is no longer seating for students in the hallways and other common spaces, and the majority of flexible seating has been moved to the annex, adding diverse seating options to those with Rams Pass. But, seating isn’t the only thing that changed around the school. New security measures have changed how students move about and access the physical building of the school, like scanning their ID’s at the entrances of the school. All these changes beg the question: why such a significant change?
Christine Soriano is one of the hall monitors at Grayslake Central. In her third year of working here, she has noted some changes in her job, and what she has to do on a daily basis. Although her job is mostly the same, some things have changed for her. Soriano said, “the new changes this year is the scanning in and the scanning out and then doing the wristbands at the doors. That’s probably the biggest change in the morning.” The school has implemented a new procedure for students to scan in in the morning. In previous years, students simply scanned their passes and went directly to their Rams Block advisory period, a mandatory 20-minute attendance session in their assigned Rams Block classroom. Along with this, students would scan when leaving and returning to the school during their lunch period. With the new changes, students must scan in the morning when coming through the schools Fieldhouse and bus doors specifically.
Along with this new procedure, students may have noticed an increased amount of security personnel in the hallways, and near the lunch rooms. What is the reasoning behind this change? Soriano said, “I think it keeps a better eye as we know who’s supposed to be where they are, and that’s safe for everybody. We need to know where everyone is.”
Grayslake Central is trying to take a new approach to how the safety of students is. Assistant Principal Mike Przybylski of Grayslake Central gave more information about the thought process behind the new procedures. When asked about the new procedure of scanning in the students, Przybylski explained some of the reasoning behind the security. Przybylski said, “Coming from an adult perspective, we know this place is safer by having the kids scan in. Let’s say another kid from Grant High School wanted to come here, right? They wouldn’t have an ID, they wouldn’t be able to scan in.”
These new procedures come with new changes to a student’s everyday schedule. The most visual thing that students may have noticed, alongside the scanning in ID’s, is the lack of seating around the school besides the cafeteria and Annex. In previous years, there were various places students could sit, have lunch with their friends, study, or just have a quiet place to unwind from their classes. Some students have spoken up about their dislike of the new seating and security measures. Some students miss the freedom of having a choice besides the lunch room and Annex to sit at. In response to these students concerns, Soriano said, “I think it’s actually the ones who complain about it are the ones who were maybe utilizing it when they weren’t supposed to be, you know? Because if you’re actually utilizing it, what do you care if you’re sitting in the history hallway soft seating, or if you’re in the 2100 hallway soft seating?”
Przybylski explained the reasoning behind the new seating. Przybylski said, “the reasoning behind it was to increase classroom engagement, because there were times where it was being disrupted, but then just trying to find a central hub where kids could be.”
The new security measures implemented in the 25-26 school year are student safety focused. These changes will affect students both new to the school and veteran seniors alike. Whether these changes will usher in additional procedures or have other effects, only time and procedure will tell. Przybylski noted that at the end of the day, it’s always about school safety and fostering a thoughtful learning environment. He said “We just didn’t want to disrupt the educational environment.”
