The electronic passes, which were supposed to be used in FHS by the last week of January, have been delayed until the end of February. This postponement comes as a shock to some, as the system would be a drastic change in the way classrooms and the entire school are run and the delay would shorten the amount of time the school has to adapt to the new system.
Vice Principal, Robert Glascock, noted that the reason for the delay was “[Teacher] training, along with other things.” English teacher, Traci Mellor, adds some insight into this reason, admitting, “I always forget about the online training… [the teachers] have a lot of training at the beginning of the year and during midterms, and I just haven’t gotten to it yet.” The training is done on the teachers’ own time, so teachers without a lot of free time or with little schedule flexibility may not have been able to do it yet, and this suspension gives them more time to complete their training.
The postponement had little warning to teachers and students alike. Because of this short notice, Mellor commented, “I’m surprised that we weren’t able to start [the electronic pass system] in January… but it’s always hard to implement a new system and get all the technology lined up so it’ll work properly.”
The new system’s quirks and details are other reasons for the delays. This is due to the many unanswered questions the electric passes allow. Glascock commented, “ [The school board] wanted to get everything straightened out as far as what areas we want to make available, how kids are gonna use the passes, how teachers are gonna be able to access looking where the kids are and how admins are going to make adjustments.” These details could make or break the effectiveness of the pass system, so the extra time allows the best decisions to be made without it being rushed.
The delay of the electronic passes until the end of February adds time to improve the system and allow teachers to complete the training for them. The little communication between administrators and teachers and students may frustrate some, but the suspense is only a result of a wish for further understanding and fine-tuning.
