“It was more just a tightening of expectations,” ELHS principal Henry Kydd said about the new dismissal policy.
Admin implemented the new policy Jan. 23, preventing students from being dismissed within the window of the last half-hour of the school day. With the exception of pre-approved appointments, the typical “just because” dismissal will be prohibited after 1:40 p.m.
End-of-day dismissals became a safety concern, prompting the new policy. Though the idea is hardly new and has been consistent in the middle and elementary schools for years.
“I think it’s a fine idea. I feel like most kids who get dismissed past 1:40 p.m. are just trying to get out of a boring class anyway,” senior Gabe Hanney said.
Before the policy, the final half hour created “chaos” for the security staff and some school days ended with long lines of 40 students hoping to be dismissed early, according to ELHS head of security Donald Hull.
These last minutes of the day are the busiest on their own, with nearly 900 kids exiting the school at once. Allowing students to leave just 30 minutes or less before regular 2:10 dismissal creates crowding near the exits and in the parking lots.
At the school’s exit, security officers are caught up with long lines of students trying to get a head start on dismissal. During this time, security officers’ focus often shifts to processing dismissal requests instead of monitoring the exit and parking lots.
“We should be watching what’s going on, not buried in attendance,” Mr. Hull said.
Beyond the front doors, approximately 90 percent of car accidents at ELHS this year have occurred at dismissal, according to Mr. Hull, and were also related to backing out of parking spaces.
According to the security officers, they noticed a tremendous improvement in the efficiency of dismissal following the
passage of the new rule. Noticeably fewer students were packed at the sign outs and dismissal has run more smoothly.
While some students may find the rule to be inconvenient, administrators say the goal is not to hold students back from early dismissal, but rather to limit risks surrounding the busiest time of the day.
