The electronic hall pass system serve as a greater alternative toward accountability and efficiency
Staff Writer
Francis Ford Coppola said in an interview on The Daily Show that “new ideas are often uncomfortable.”
The digital hall passes that are slowly being implemented in AHS are no exception to this sentiment. While not perfect in its current form, the digital system serves as a step in the right direction for the school, helping students, teachers, and AHS administration.
The digital hall pass system emerged from frequent challenges raised by the traditional physical pass system and consequent frustration and anger from teachers and administration. The passes would often be stolen, lost, or exploited, providing students with the opportunity to leave class and squander time. The essence of the shift from material hall passes is digitization: the start and end times are translated into a database, and the pass itself can now be accessed online.
While other schools in FUSD have used e-passes for the past year, AHS has employed a smarter approach, aggregating the best strategies from each school to seamlessly transition its students to digital hall passes.
Take the scanning, for example. Using the 5-Star app, students can simply log in, click on the hall pass button, and scan a QR code in their classrooms when leaving and entering the classroom, requiring little involvement from the teacher and giving autonomy to the student.
The time limit is derived from a “tried and tested” model from other schools, averaging the times for a sweet spot of 7 minutes, according to a slideshow presented to students. However, in an interview with the Eagle Era, Mr. Peterson, an assistant principal, mentioned that if the time proves unrealistic for students, the school is open to adjusting it. This ensures that if students, on average, need more time, the school will adapt the limit, reducing potential stress when using the restroom.
Beyond its convenience, the digital system focuses on transparency and fairness. The school makes this clear in their slideshow, presented to all students, assuring that “No tracking/GPS of students” will occur. They add that if a student consistently or significantly exceeds the time limit, administration will hold “a discussion at the end of the year” with the student, prioritizing open discussion and understanding rather than punitive action. This system ensures the digital hall passes are designed to work efficiently for the majority of students, even if rare circumstances highlight its limits.
From hall monitors to paper hall passes, digital hall passes provide the most effective alternative, allowing teachers to focus on teaching and students on learning.
(Statistics acquired by Aruna Harpalani, Daniel X. Davis, Ryan Liu, and Shiv Gurjar).
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a “dueling” piece, placed on the print issue beside another article arguing the opposition of the stance taken in this article. That opposing article can be found here: https://eagleera.org/2025/02/07/the-flaws-of-digital-hall-passes/
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