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High school student leaders urge changes to restroom passes, praise phone policy and call attention to school safety
Summary
Student representatives told the Marlborough School Committee that the e-hall pass limits bathroom access and distracts students, praised a new classroom phone pouch policy for improving focus, recommended tweaks to freshman orientation, and urged action on school safety after a student survey showed many feel anxious about gun violence.
Patrick Havlin, a senior member of the student advisory committee, told the Marlborough School Committee the high school's electronic e-hall-pass system creates a bottleneck: only a small number of students can obtain an active pass at once, he said, and classmates spend instructional time repeatedly trying to submit passes.
"Students are sitting on their computers clicking the submit button on their pass, praying that a spot opens up," Havlin said, and proposed either an electronic queue or raising the number of students allowed to use restrooms simultaneously.
Committee members asked whether safety-driven bathroom closures remain in effect; Havlin and student leaders said one set of facilities is open during the first half of the day and the other during the second, and that administrators are discussing capital improvements with facilities staff and the superintendent.
Hadley Haw, the junior representative on the student advisory committee, summarized the high school's new phone policy: phones must be placed in wall pouches during class unless a teacher explicitly permits use. Haw said the change has reduced phone use during learning time and appears to have lowered skipping, while raising concerns about students who rely on music to focus and on access for emergency family contact.
"Students have seen a decrease in phone usage on school days and especially during learning hours," Haw said, but she suggested teachers be empowered to make limited exceptions for students who need music or need to contact families.
Jayon Nongo, the Class of 2028 SAC representative, reported survey feedback on freshman orientation. Nongo said the link-crew leaders and the pep rally were strengths but recommended more whole-class activities, expanded tours of the building, and additional information about scheduling and clubs.
Taylor Cronis, the sophomore representative, delivered a longer presentation on school safety and gun violence. Cronis said she collected survey responses from students and cited national incidents in early September that motivated the presentation. She told committee members that an early version of her survey showed 63% of respondents had felt unsafe or anxious about gun violence and that 81% of those interested in careers in education had reconsidered because of safety concerns. Cronis highlighted local preparedness steps, including ALICE drills and recent active-shooter training involving fire and police.
Committee members thanked the students for raising difficult topics and said the district and city public-safety partners are pursuing training and preparedness measures. The committee also encouraged the students to continue participating in discussions about facilities, policy, and safety planning.
The student presentations constituted the meeting's opening substantive items and were followed by the superintendent's reports and committee business.
