Whispers of a digital hallpass have been floating through the hallways of Cy Woods since multiple schools across the district got their own digital hallway passes earlier this year. The rumors were confirmed when Cy Wood’s own digital hallpass was implemented in November.
A digital hallpass, called Securly, was introduced at Cy Woods on Nov 5. Students use the hallpass by requesting a pass from their teacher through a school-appointed device like a Chromebook. This hall pass system is being brought here to Cy Woods improve the rate of students skipping class or taking frequent bathroom breaks during class.
“Students request a hall pass from a teacher from their school device, or their own device,” the Securly website explains. “Pass automatically checks to see if the student has a pass limit, the requested destination is closed or full, or if there’s another student in the halls that student isn’t supposed to be in contact with.”
Securly is being brought to campus to ensure that students spend as much time in the classroom as possible, and aren’t taking lengthy bathroom breaks. The hall passes are also expected to make the campus a safer place for students and teachers alike.
“The school decided to use the Securly hall pass system to help us increase the amount of time students are in the classroom and increase safety on our campus,” assistant principal Les Sarles said.
Securly hall passes are intended to assist teachers in keeping track of who is where and when. Teachers often have classes of 30 or more students, so Securly is expected to make keeping track of students much easier than a simple plastic hall pass.
“The new system will help teachers understand who is leaving class every day, the amount of time students are in the hallways and help them know who is allowed in the hallways during class or not,” Sarles said.
Cy Woods is far from the first campus to utilize these digital hall passes. Various other schools in the district have employed this new system, and have reportedly seen positive results across all campuses.
“From the campuses we have spoken to, they have really liked it and have seen improvement on their campuses,” Sarles said.
At certain campuses across CFISD these passes are currently only being used for trips to the bathroom; things like trips to the nurse or counselor’s office are still using the regular plastic passes. For now Cy Woods will be employing a similar concept, only using the digital passes for bathroom breaks and to pick up forgotten items from other classrooms. Though the passes may not be used like this permanently, they may be used for other various purposes after a while.
“Initially we will be using Securly for restroom passes and passes to go pick up an item left in a previous class.” Sarles said. “Students will still have to bring the red or yellow hall pass with them, but an administrator can check on their device to see if the student is supposed to be in the hallway at that time and how long they have been out of the classroom. As we begin to feel more comfortable with the new system, we may begin using it for other purposes as well.”
Junior Sydney Moncada said she considers this new policy to be unfair to rule followers.
“Innocent people shouldn’t be punished for the actions of the people who skip. The people who abuse the rules should be punished, not the people who abide by the rules,” Moncada said.
English teacher Amanda Conti said these digital hallpasses will make it much easier to keep tabs on students while they are in the hallways.
“I feel that this move is a good step to monitor movement in the hallway. However, I understand the frustration with it being one more step to complete before using the bathroom,” Conti said.
Securly is expected to improve issues of skipping class and long bathroom breaks, as well as bring safety to the campus. The biggest effect that is expected to come from these passes is more time spent in the classroom for students and less issues keeping track of all the students flying in and out of the classroom door for teachers.
“We are always looking for ways to improve what is happening on our campus.” Sarles said. “We believe Securly will help improve student learning by increasing time spent in the classroom and that it will be another step to help keep our campus safe.”
