Principal David Bell, entering his first year as the principal of NC, remains focused on cracking down on policies such as the dress code. Due to Bell’s and the NC administrative team’s desire to punish students not following policy, they walk the halls during class changes, in class and during lunch to find students violating the phone and dress code policies.
“The phone policy doesn’t allow me to contact my family during the school day and makes me unaware of possible plans or situations that could be dire outside of school. It also doesn’t positively affect my focus during school. Laptops don’t have much access to information that might be needed to take notes or finish work,” sophomore Petey Sansone III said.
Students noticed an influx in the number of administrators in their classes, looking for phones and dress code violations. Students without passes in the hallway recently found escaping punishment harder due to the sheer concentration of administration in the hallways. The phone policy states that students should not use phones in class unless explicitly permitted by the teacher. The new principal wanted it known that he will target what he believes needs fixing, such as dress code, phone policies, vaping in school and tardies.
As administrators remain strict with not allowing phone usage, teachers linger on the topic in class despite needing students to use them in certain situations. Students, outraged that they cannot use their phones in class even for the minor act of listening to music, want the phone policy gone.
These reinforcements of existing policies, such as the dress code and phone policies, will continue to work throughout the school year. He aims to minimize distractions in the classroom to create a focused workspace. Bell does not view the dress code as a top priority, but will enforce it when necessary.
The consequences of disobeying the policies depend on the offense and the number of offenses committed. These consequences range from a warning to out-of-school suspension (OSS). As students continue to refuse to adhere to the policies, the severity of the consequences increases. Bell remains focused on trying to create an engaging atmosphere that minimizes distractions. He encourages teachers to structure their classes in an interesting and memorable way to keep students engaged and away from distractions.
“[Policy consequences] are a range, they can be anywhere from a conference to a phone call [with parents] to after-school detention to Saturday school, should we choose to implement that. We do the middle of the road to start [first offense]. First, it’s detention, then it’s generally ISS [in school suspension], all the while parents are being called and looped in. The phones aren’t the problem; it’s the distraction they cause. Dress code is the same thing; it’s a set standard by the county, and if the way someone dresses is causing a distraction, then consequences similar to the phone consequences will follow,” Bell said.
Tardies remain a prevalent issue at NC. The late attendance system(LAS) Machines, found at nearly every corner of the school, serve the purpose of documenting every student who arrives late. The high number of students who do not arrive on time to class stands as a reason for the LAS machines. The new principal understands that the amount of tardies remains simply uncontrollable and overwhelms teachers and administrators who try to figure out solutions. Bell hopes to solve this problem through the enforcement of the tardy and the punishment of tardy policy violators with detention and ISS.
The policies in place today affect the school as a whole and will continue in this fashion. Deciding if these rules change or not remains entirely up to the school board. Bell will continue to enforce these policies without creating any of his own and focus on keeping the school distraction-free, while keeping classrooms engaging and students happy.
