THE SOLUTION STUDENT IDS, “STING OPERATIONS” AND STICKERS THE PROBLEM

For years, the school administration has required students to carry their ID cards at all times while on campus for a variety of uses, including scanning into the library, purchasing tickets for school dances, accessing athletic events and most importantly, scanning into ex time to record attendance.

is fall, however, the administration observed that many students failed to comply with this expectation. Some le their ID cards at home, some forgot to scan their

BY ELLIE NEUMAN Sta Reporter

cards and others just ignored the rules altogether. For the school administration, this made guring out who was actually cutting class an impossible task — all while the numbers of “absent” students at ex time rose.

“We did have high numbers of students not checking into ex or not attending ex and we believe that ex is really important,” said assistant principal Aimee Malcolm.

“It’s an opportunity to deepen learning and get extra support and work

The History

BY SOPHIA PUZON Sta Reporter

As the second semester began, the school administration announced a multi-faceted plan to enforce a long-standing policy: the closed campus. Enforcing a closed campus — requiring that students stay on school grounds throughout the entire day — is not a novel idea.

e decision to move to a closed campus dates back to a plan that was implemented in the spring of 1984. Burlingame was originally an open campus, meaning the district permitted students to leave school premises outside of any class period. A new principal, Larry Teshara, came to the school and overhauled the school’s academics, including a modi cation to the schedule.

During this overhaul, the school’s previous schedule, known as the “Creative Use of Time” (CUT, for short) was changed to a traditional six-period day. e CUT schedule allowed students to have periods o and permitted them to leave campus during the day, as long as they with classmates.”

In addition to skipping ex time, there have been recent increases in the number of students skipping their a ernoon classes. Since Burlingame is a closed campus, administrators were desperate for a way to verify that only students who have 5th, 6th or 7th o are leaving when permitted.

But the ID problem extends beyond exiting and entering the school. Students are also expected to scan into the library when they want to visit or check out a book.

In the past, the librarians would type in ID numbers if students forgot their cards at home. However, this time-consuming workaround became unsustainable for both the librarians and other students.

“Sometimes during lunch, the line gets super long,” library media technician Maurine Seto said. “And so everybody typing in a number just takes longer ... and by the time we are done typing their numbers, the bell rings ... versus if I can just get everybody in here and spend more time in the library.”

E ciency problems were just the start: Seto also noticed students accidentally typing in the wrong ID number, and, because they knew they could ask Seto to type in their ID numbers, they grew accustomed to leaving their ID cards at home, the librarian noticed.

“When we keep on making exceptions, people take advantage,” Seto said, “And then they don’t bring their ID cards.”

BY ELLIE NEUMAN Sta Reporter

On Wednesday, Jan. 4, the administration sent a school-wide email announcing a new sticker policy for leaving campus. Students without a 5th, 6th or 7th period are now expected to obtain a sticker for their ID card that indicates they have one of those periods o the email said. To properly enforce this policy, the email told parents, students must remember to carry their ID at all times. By requiring students to show these cards to campus security on their way out, administrators hope to reduce the number of students cutting class.

“We just want to ensure that we are adhering to our school policies. at students who are supposed to be in class learning are in class learning,” Malcolm said.

Overall, Malcolm has noticed minimal backlash from students regarding these policies.

“Students have been pretty great about just going and getting their stickers,” Malcolm said. “I think that it’s becoming just sort of a common practice now where you just pull out the ID on your way out and you’re set to go.”

However, it is di cult to tell if this policy will actually solve the school’s truancy problem, or if it simply complicates the exit process for students who were never trying to cut class.

“I feel like [the policies are] a little hard to enforce because it creates more of a hassle and I feel like it might just create more issues,” junior Jack Geraghty said. e library has also further enforced their ID card policies by only allowing students to use their cards to scan-in, which helps librarians monitor how many students are in the library at a time. By prohibiting students from typing in their numbers, the librarians hope to increase e ciency and ensure there are no errors in typing the correct number.

Administrators, determined to ensure students follow new policies, held their rst “reward day” on Friday, Jan. 12, in which they handed out free pizza to anyone with zero unexcused absences.

“It’s really to protect the students so that we’re not checking out the wrong book to you,” Seto said, “or we’re not saying that you’re here when you’re not there.” If students forget their ID card, they are supposed to go to room A134 to print out a new one. Many students nd this policy frustrating when they can easily type in their number.

“I usually have [the ID card] on me so it hasn’t affected me as much,” senior Clara Porto said. “But sometimes when I forget it at home, and I want to go to the library, I have to go all the way to print it, and it’s a little annoying.” returned for their later periods. However, with the new schedule introduced by Teshara, the school transitioned to a closed campus, similar to our current policies. is year, the administration has boosted security and emphasized ID cards to keep students at school. e change was implemented to ensure the safety of students and sta . However, sophomore Reese Bardsley, for example, said that the closed campus is impractical at a school like Burlingame.

Whether enforcing stricter rules will help solve the school’s problems or simply create inconvenience and frustration is up for debate amongst students, teachers and administrators.

“Our school is already built like an open campus,” Bardsley said. “ ere’s lost potential by making it closed.” ere are, however, disadvantages to an open campus. Some students fear that the open nature of the campus may serve as a security threat.

Although Bardsley prefers the open campus, she believes that more measures should be taken to protect the school from strangers.

“I see people all the time walking by and they’ll bring their dogs and even their strollers,” Bardsley said.

“It’s weird how easily people can just walk into our campus.”

On the other hand, others feel that the closed campus serves a purpose. Although sophomore Leilani Sanchez, like Bardsley, wants an open campus, she acknowledged the potential downside of unrestricted access to the outside world.

“If we’re able to go to [Burlingame] Ave, we might be tempted to not go back to school,” Sanchez said, “So a closed campus helps us focus more on school while we’re there.”

But for students that get restless staying in school, and want a break from the academic environment, a closed campus is su ocating. Although an open campus demands a higher level of responsibility from students, it also grants them independence.

“I can see why people would prefer a closed campus,” Sanchez said, “but an open campus teaches students important skills like time management, and also rewards them for being in school all day.”