Some parents have asked why we are now having students gather in the assembly room before school starts rather than allowing them to hang out in the hallway, as in the past. Let me expand a bit on the email all families received prior to the opening of school.
At the end of the last school year, faculty had expressed concern about the tone the morning hallway scene created, and so at our opening meetings in August, the issue was thoroughly discussed. There was consensus around the feeling that changes needed to be made, and so I asked a smaller faculty group to sketch out a potential solution. After hearing their ideas and further faculty input, I decided to implement the recommended changes.
The front hallway in the morning was just too crowded. For people who had to walk down the hall, it wasn't easy to walk through the crowd. Manners were often neglected, even after a number of reminders. Many of our younger children were intimidated by the atmosphere. It was very difficult to control such a large group when the bell rang. In short, it wasn't an orderly, calming way to start the day - just the opposite - and it was difficult to keep in place our usual high standards for behavior, decorum, and courtesy.
The hallway changes we put in place between 7:50 and 8:05 actually complement two other changes I wrote to you about this summer - consistently enforcing the rule that students not be in the school unsupervised prior to 7:50 a.m. and the safety reminder that our new speed bumps provide. Like with most things at school - and especially with changes - I have heard both positive and negative feedback about these points. Change can sometimes be difficult to accept, but I feel confident that promoting courtesy, better supervision, and safety reminders are steps in the right direction.