5 NEWS

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The New

Pass System E-Hall NEWS

Written by Jack Vito

Eagle Valley High School has just begun to see the effects of the new E-Hall pass system. Teachers taught students how to set up the new E-Hall pass on their phones and the system was set up schoolwide two weeks ago. On the students side, they will put in where are and where they are heading. Then, teachers will be able to accept or decline the pass. Mr. Gleiss explains that “I confirm that you left at this time ...and I confirmed that you got here.” For bathroom passes, teachers will simply approve or decline a pass request. In terms of a teachers school day, Mr. Gleiss puts it plainly, “I don’t notice much of a change.” Ms. Aden agrees by saying, “ You press go, it sits on my desk, you go, you come back, you press end, and you sit down and I do absolutely nothing.”

There is one main reason for the new hall pass system being introduced. Ms. Rivera states that “the primary reason is a safety concern.” Ms. Rivera was one of the driving forces in instituting the new hall pass at EVHS. This system can show teachers who is in the halls at that exact moment. Rivera believes this is so important because, “if there is a lockdown, you know who you are looking for.” This promotes school safety at EVHS. Since the hall pass is

electronic, staff can access the app using their computer or phone and locate anyone in the halls in case of an emergency.

Many students believe that the new E-Hall pass is a hassle and unnecessary process. Samuel Howard ‘23 states “I have to sign in every single time when I want to go somewhere, which wastes a lot of time I could use other ways.”Additionally, many teachers were worried about the E-Hall pass’ effectiveness at EVHS. Despite their initial misgivings about the pass system, teachers now find that students are less distracted, and more efficient and accountable. Now that it has been implemented, however, teachers find the E- Hall pass to be very helpful. Ms. Aden believes that the new E-Hall pass “increases the accountability of her students.”

The E-Hall pass system is being used throughout Colorado, especially in the Denver area. Ms. Rivera explains that the new system is “a thousand times better” than the old system because of the incredible safety benefits. Now that the new E-Hall pass has been introduced, it is likely here to stay.

WHAT IS THE TEAM UP TO? Written by Saroja Manickam YES

This year the district has decided to partner with the national program Corwin Deep Equity. The Youth Equity Stewardship team is the part of the program that brings youth into the equity building process.

According to Deep Equity’s website, the program has contributed to significant improvement in academic achievement for disadvantaged students. The program attempts to include everyone in the academic process, from school board members to students.

And it’s the students who are some of the most important parts of Deep Equity. The program youth participate in is called Youth Equity Stewardship or YES team. YES reaches out specifically to students in high schools across the district in order to achieve a bottom up approach to equity.

YES serves an important purpose because it creates opportunities for student voice to lead the way for positive change. “

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Shane McCann ‘20 is part of Eagle Valley High School’s YES, and defines the goals of the program as “creating both awareness and on-the-field solutions for many issues that plague our community, and close the gap of opportunity that underprivileged students often face.”

YES has taught participant and equity leader Kiara Forsberg ‘22 about some of the key equity issues in Eagle County Schools including how “people taking AP and DE classes are predominantly white instead of Hispanic or other races. People with a lower family income also have a less likely chance of graduating and getting good scholarships due to the fact that they don’t get the help they need.”

Though the program is early in implementation, YES serves an important purpose because it creates opportunities for student voice to lead the way for positive change.

Forsberg agrees with this sentiment. She also believes that the program can have a positive effect on individual members as well as general school culture, “I have been personally affected by YES, it has opened my eyes to the fact that every opinion is a valid one.”