GLC DJ Singer patrols outside of the high school building during 3rd lunch Sept. 27. As of the 2020-2021 school year, it is likely seniors will no longer have an open campus during lunch.
Photo by Kaia Myers.
Photo by Kaia Myers.
If you skip class, you may be sidelinedAdministration hopes new policy improves attendences
Starting this fall, missing class may affect more than academics for student athletes.
According to athletic director Andrew Ewald, the Athletic Office will be tracking athletes’ attendence and hosting meetings with the administration and students. |
“If we have kids that we’re sitting down with for that first time, we’re able to figure out what are the roadblocks with them, that are keeping them from getting to class on time or at all,” Ewald
said. “And then we can work through those and that it doesn’t get to a second or third time.” Student athlete freshman Katie Nelson said she thinks the new athletic attendance policy will motivate student athletes to prioritize school over athletics. “It is especially good for all student athletes who are trying to balance so much like sports and school. If you aren’t in class you’re going to be falling behind, so it’s definitely a good thing they are going to be keeping track,” Nelson said. “It will encourage people to go to class, especially if they want to play their sport.” According to Ewald, the Athletic Office will be working with the Student Office to track the attendance of athletes on a weekly basis because they see academics as more of a concern than athletics. “Ultimately, (students are) here to go to school and going to class on time should be an easy thing to do,” Ewald said. Ewald said he anticipates the attendance conversations will prevent any further unfortunate repercussions, such as missing competitions. “My hope is that if we have to sit down and have those initial conversations with student athletes that it doesn’t go anywhere and we don’t get to the next step,” Ewald said. According to Nelson, monitoring attendance of athletes can help students balance many commitments, such as athletics and class. “I hope it will have a positive impact, I think it will be a motivator,” Nelson said. “If you want to play and if you want to do well, then you have to still be involved in school and go to class and work hard.” Ewald said the attendance policy is not a hard and fast rule, rather the administrative team will evaluate on a case-by-case basis. “There’s lots of times where there’s reasons for absences, and I really didn’t want to have it be so black and white, that there was a set number with it,” Ewald said. “It really is going to be myself and the assistant principals just looking at attendance.” |
Administration faces
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Busse said the main goal of the new pass policy is to keep students in class while understanding extenuating circumstances.
“The place to learn is in the classroom. So we are asking that teachers do not use passes for bathrooms or going to your locker,” Busse said. “If there’s a need to use the restroom we will, of course, honor that. But that it’s not a regular thing.”
Assistant principal Todd Goggleye said the administration does not want to prevent students from using the bathroom, rather they want to encourage the use of it solely for its intended purpose.
“It’s not like we want GLCs holding students’ hands to the restroom. It’s more like we have the GLCs positioned in different parts of the building, so they can just walk down to a classroom,” Goggleye said. “We want to make sure that students have the opportunity to use the restroom and not be intervened with.”
Junior Raina Kronfeld said she sees errors in the new bathroom policy, particularly from a privacy standpoint.
“I think that the fact that a GLC has to walk you to the bathroom is a really big invasion of privacy. There’s a lot wrong with the policies,” Kronfeld said.
Busse said there have been some errors in the consistency of the policies’ details between the staff and administration, but the bottom line is “essential passes” only.
“There are some questions of consistency. The message has been different from teachers to administration. We are stressing essential passes only which does not mean no bathroom passes,” Busse said.
According to Busse, staff members are not required to call a GLC to escort a student to the bathroom.
“(Teachers) don’t necessarily have to (call a GLC). If they have a concern about the student doing it on a regular basis or they think there is something else going on then they can call a GLC,” Busse said.
However, students have noted a few errors in judgment in the new policy. Kronfeld said the new policy of having GLCs escort students to the bathroom in place of passes makes her feel uneasy.
“All the GLCs are men and if they have to walk a girl to the bathroom and just wait outside that’s so uncomfortable and just feels wrong,” Kronfeld said. “I will never ask to go to the bathroom during class because I don’t want to be put in that situation.”
According to Kronfeld, the lack of unlocked boys’ bathrooms is an additional obstacle for her male classmates when attempting to use the restroom.
“Usually a lot of the boys’ bathrooms are locked and that has them running around the school so that (policy) is unfair for them too,” Kronfeld said.
According to Busse the changes in policy will be reevaluated at the end of the quarter, adapting the rules based upon responses from staff and families.
“The place to learn is in the classroom. So we are asking that teachers do not use passes for bathrooms or going to your locker,” Busse said. “If there’s a need to use the restroom we will, of course, honor that. But that it’s not a regular thing.”
Assistant principal Todd Goggleye said the administration does not want to prevent students from using the bathroom, rather they want to encourage the use of it solely for its intended purpose.
“It’s not like we want GLCs holding students’ hands to the restroom. It’s more like we have the GLCs positioned in different parts of the building, so they can just walk down to a classroom,” Goggleye said. “We want to make sure that students have the opportunity to use the restroom and not be intervened with.”
Junior Raina Kronfeld said she sees errors in the new bathroom policy, particularly from a privacy standpoint.
“I think that the fact that a GLC has to walk you to the bathroom is a really big invasion of privacy. There’s a lot wrong with the policies,” Kronfeld said.
Busse said there have been some errors in the consistency of the policies’ details between the staff and administration, but the bottom line is “essential passes” only.
“There are some questions of consistency. The message has been different from teachers to administration. We are stressing essential passes only which does not mean no bathroom passes,” Busse said.
According to Busse, staff members are not required to call a GLC to escort a student to the bathroom.
“(Teachers) don’t necessarily have to (call a GLC). If they have a concern about the student doing it on a regular basis or they think there is something else going on then they can call a GLC,” Busse said.
However, students have noted a few errors in judgment in the new policy. Kronfeld said the new policy of having GLCs escort students to the bathroom in place of passes makes her feel uneasy.
“All the GLCs are men and if they have to walk a girl to the bathroom and just wait outside that’s so uncomfortable and just feels wrong,” Kronfeld said. “I will never ask to go to the bathroom during class because I don’t want to be put in that situation.”
According to Kronfeld, the lack of unlocked boys’ bathrooms is an additional obstacle for her male classmates when attempting to use the restroom.
“Usually a lot of the boys’ bathrooms are locked and that has them running around the school so that (policy) is unfair for them too,” Kronfeld said.
According to Busse the changes in policy will be reevaluated at the end of the quarter, adapting the rules based upon responses from staff and families.
“All of the policies and practices have come from teachers, so we adopted them based on teacher student and parent feedback,” Busse said. “We are working with the staff, and a commitment we made to the staff was that we would review all of them at the end of the quarter.”
Principal Scott Meyers said he hopes to approach these changes in the beginning of the year while remembering some of the issues the administration has faced in the past. “We want to intentionally make a shift of, how do we positively talk about what park pride is, and incorporate that into our first conversation about behavior issues that we’ve had in the past,” Meyers said. |
Administration introduces new approach to discipline
Park pride tasks implemented to give back to community
With the new policies rolling into action, assistant Principal Jessica Busse said Park pride tasks are meant to restore the damage done by students when they perform simple infractions, such as leaving the lunchroom.
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“Students will be assigned to Park pride tasks to give back to the community when they leave campus or when there’s something going on that they shouldn’t be doing,” Busse said. “Students will repair the harm that might have been done.”
According to junior Evan Nelson, Park pride tasks do not appear to be a productive system. “I think they are kind of pointless. I don’t really see a reason why they should give us a task if we mess up on something or do something bad,” Nelson said. “We should get rid of them.” According to Nelson, despite this, he appreciates that Park pride tasks can benefit students’ relationships with staff members and each other. “For some (tasks) you have to help out your teacher which is nice because they could use some extra help, or you have to pick up garbage or something. It’s little things like that that can help the school and our relationships,” Nelson said. Principal Scott Meyers said a list of possible Park pride tasks has been made by teachers. Tasks typically correspond to the problem caused and are meant to repair any damage done to a room or relationship. “You had an issue in this class, this teacher needs this help. So we’re going to have you help this teacher so they can repair the relationship while the task has been completed,” Meyers said. According to Meyers, the goal is not to highlight flaws, but rather to make an attempt at restoring and repairing any damage done to the community. “We’re trying to positively frame and say, not you’re irresponsible, but here’s what it looks like to be dependable. Here’s what it looks like to show excellence. Then when things happen that we don’t want, how can we repair that,” Meyers said. Nelson said while he doesn’t enjoy the idea of Park pride tasks, he acknowledges they can help the community. “I think they will help the school a little. For example, I got a Park pride task that was I had to make new friends and learn something about them, and I gained a new friend out of that,” Nelson said. Meyers said Park pride tasks are a first step toward teaching students that there are always consequences for negative behaviors, regardless of where the problem occurred. “There’s always consequences for behavior. Whether it be a consequence here in school or laws in the community, letting down your parents, there’s always consequences and disappointing people,” Meyers said. Nelson said overall, he is conflicted about the new system, as he sees both the benefits to the school, and some of the downsides for students. “I don’t really think (Park pride tasks) are a fitting punishment because I don’t see how it can help us, but also I do,” Nelson said. “I like it, but I also don’t like it.” Meyers said the administration is also hoping to use the idea of “ubuntu,” meaning “I am because we are” as a guideline for the district’s mindset and approach to new policies. “Most importantly, we want to focus on the idea of ubuntu, which our district is using as a theme coming into the year,” Meyers said. “We want to make sure that it’s clear what it means to be at St. Louis Park High School so we can learn and succeed together.” |
Most importantly, we want to focus on the idea of ubuntu, which our district is using as a theme coming into the year. We want to make sure that it’s clear what it means to be at St. Louis Park High School so we can learn and succeed together.” |