Securely passes are a new online device for staff and students here at Lebanon High School. They help track a student’s location, whether that is asking another teacher for help on homework, using the restroom, or even going to club meetings during SST. Even though it’s only been here for a short time, the passes can’t be perfect.
“The fact that there needs to be accountability for students when we’re in the hallways. Is the system perfect? No. It’s not perfect, and we have to refine what works best for our building, but I think it’s already providing that accountability of knowing who’s in the hallway, what they’re in the hallway for, and how often,” said Assistant Principal, Mrs. Scott.
The passes provide convenience for teachers since they avoid traffic and disruptions within the hallways while teaching. The passes seem to have been overall a positive experience for most of the staff, but some students have their own concerns with these Securely passes.
“I think they are inconvenient, especially limiting how many people like to go into the bathrooms and in the hallways, because sometimes teachers forget to start passes and end passes. So, it’s just inconvenient and makes everything difficult,” stated Allie Niehaus.
One problem, before using these passes, was students leaving to use the restroom in many numbers at a time, and being able to leave for however long they wanted. The passes can have beneficial value despite having some flaws. Few of the teachers have expressed their thoughts and the benefits of these passes.
“I feel like it keeps more kids in class, because before we had this system, you know I’d have five or six or eight kids needing to go to the bathroom in the second half of third period, after lunch, and now maybe two or three who legit have to go and the rest of the class is like I’m not messing with the passes,” said Mrs. Decker, current Spanish teacher.
These Securely passes aren’t new to the school world. Some schools within Indiana have already started using them, but have they helped with issues that physical passes can’t stop? One of the schools that has already been using these online passes is Clinton Prairie, a school located within Clinton County. Clinton Prairie is known to use what are called “Smart Passes” which have their differences in some ways to Securely Passes, yet ultimately work for a similar cause.
“We’ve had them for around two to three years. Some pros are easier to maintain. Cons it takes a while to make one and sometimes the internet is bad, or you don’t have access to a computer,” said Adrianna Perkins, current student at Clinton Prairie High School.
Overall, as we get more comfortable with these Securely passes, we may see some positive changes. Time can really only tell if the school continues to use them throughout the next few years, and maybe more developments will come to fix the issues with Securely.
