The PAHS students and staff were introduced to a program, E-HallPass, that allows us to virtually sign out to other classrooms and other locations throughout the school.

As of now, using E-HallPass is a trial run to see how it works for the students and staff. If people like it after a few weeks of using it, then the program will be bought and used instead of students getting green slips to sign out, teachers having to call to have a student sent to their room, and using paper sign out sheets.

The program is only being used right now in STAR periods, however many students and staff have already voiced their opinions about it. There are still some bugs within the program that make getting used to using it difficult. Students have voiced their concerns about the lack of convenience that comes with using it.

Nick Motter, a junior, commented on the program, “It’s an inconvenience. Nobody wants to go out of their way and fill out a pass if I could just go up to a paper and write my name.”

Alex Shumaker, a sophomore, also voiced his opinion, “It is a waste of time in my opinion. Everything is perfectly fine with the way things are going now, if you need to go somewhere, sign out on the sheet. We don’t need to be getting this technical.”

If we have to go to a teacher’s classroom to ask about a question on one of our assignments, we have to make sure we take our iPads with us in order for that teacher to confirm we go to their classroom. If we wouldn’t have to take our iPad already, it does come as an inconvenience to have to bring our device somewhere when we don’t necessarily need it. 

Some students even say that it makes them feel like they are being watched and don’t have the ability to go to the places they need to get to without making it a hassle for everyone involved. Students are timed while being signed out so their teachers can see exactly how long they have been gone for.

Shumaker also said, “It does not need to be broadcasted that we need to go somewhere, it makes it feel like we’re in a prison, that we have to sit there and take an extra 3 minutes to get a signature on an iPad when it’s sometimes only a few minutes of a trip.”

From what has been said so far, a main reason for the transition to E-HallPass is because of issues with students going to other places, instead of going to the place they signed out for. There has also been graffiti on the bathroom walls, and it’s noted that using an electronic sign out program will allow staff to figure out who did it easier.

Evie Lott, a junior, commented on this, “The disciplinary issues aren’t going to change using E-HallPass. They take too much time away from class, they already took time away from us for using them in STAR periods.”

For a lot of the students who have been using the E-HallPass so far, when going to sign out from being somewhere, there is supposed to be a red ‘STOP’ button that you press to stop the time/hall pass. There are cases where the program glitches, causing the students to not have the button or they do have the button, but don’t have the ability to stop the hall pass themselves. This issue in particular comes as a huge inconvenience to not only students, but staff as well. If the students can’t end the hall pass themselves, then the teachers have to get on the program and end the pass for the student.

Another technical issue that students and staff have found with E-HallPass is when signing out/signing back in from a destination, the site doesn’t automatically refresh. When you tap on the start or stop bottom, you have to manually refresh the website in order for the timer to start/stop.

It has also been noted by many people that since this is not a program that can be enforced all day, there will most likely still have to be paper sign outs. There are times where student’s iPads aren’t charged throughout the day. If a student needs to go somewhere and their iPad is not charged, there will still need to be a way for that student to sign out. Teachers are able to create passes for students through their devices; however that takes time away from the teacher, time that many staff members most likely won’t want to waste making an E-HallPass.

It has also been noted, some students just genuinely need a break in STAR periods or when they have downtime in classes. Many students struggle with anxiety and being overwhelmed due to school. A lot of students have teachers that make them comfortable enough to express their emotions. Students need to be able to go to those teacher’s classrooms to be able to have someone to talk to. If the teacher that makes you feel comfortable enough to talk to makes an E-HallPass for you to be able to come in when you have free time, many teachers won’t let their students leave just to go to a different classroom for non-academic purposes. If you explain your reasoning to leave, they might not understand why the student needs to get their anxiety and emotions under control.

The E-HallPass program has its pros and cons. On one hand some say it could be useful to keep track of students, however on the other hand some say it seems like it is just a hassle to deal with. Many in the student body at PAHS do not like the idea of it, believe it’s an inconvenience, and find that things shouldn’t change since the pencil and paper way of signing out is much easier.