Principal cuts passing time, ends lock-out policy

With hopes of improved student-teacher relations and more instruction time, new Montgomery Blair Principal Darryl Williams cut passing time from eight minutes to six minutes for the upcoming school year.

As an additional measure, Williams has announced that the lock-out procedure has ended. However, he does plan to continue enforcing hall sweeps and will allow teachers to lock students out if they wish. "I expect students to get to class even with only six minutes, and with some luck we won't have to reinforce the lock-out policy," Williams said.

A smaller Blair population led to the elimination of the former portables, which prompted the decision for shortened passing time. Williams hopes that the shorter passing time will lead to more time in class. "What we are really aiming for is more time for student-teacher interaction," he said.

However, the shortened times have left some staff and students worried about getting from class to class on time. "Trying to get from the gym to a room in the 340s hallway with less time will certainly be more difficult," noted social studies teacher Lansing Freeman. "I guess students will need to limit their socializing to lunch."

Some students also recall last year's congestion after 5A and 5B lunch, which will likely occur this year as well. "Even with eight minutes, making it to class on time could be hard, especially when the hallways were really crowded," said rising junior Greg Vogel. "I think that teachers are going to be annoyed when no students are able to get to class on time after lunch."

But, Williams insists that there are more important things to worry about than having to cut socializing and believes that parents and staff will feel the same way. "There might be questions at first, but hopefully they will be quickly resolved. I don't think anyone can complain about extra instructional time and increased student-teacher relations," Williams said.