The school made the switch to having just one lunch for the entire school this year, and it’s already become one of the most talked about changes on campus.
Students and administrators have both shared their thoughts on how the new schedule is affecting everything from lunch lines to parking lot traffic, showing both the benefits such as more time for activities like the upcoming homecoming week festivities, as well as the challenges of the one lunch system.
Some students have agreed with what the school has done, however some seriously disagree.
“There’s just too many people,” senior Kale Watson said. “Getting out of the parking lot is terrible.”
Some students said they wished that lunch was longer to deal with some of these issues.
“We would like to make it longer if we could,” Principal Ryan Kachold said.
However some students do agree with the decision to change the school to a one lunch schedule.
“I think it’s good to stick with one lunch,” sophomore Mckenna Cook said.
The staff at the school agree with what the district has decided to do. Previously, there were problems with attendance and students skipping classes when there were two lunches.
“Kids would randomly do whatever they wanted, and we couldn’t hold them accountable to being in class,” assistant principal Taylor Allen said.
The administration has made accommodations to the school in order to make one lunch possible.
“We added ten more tables right away,” Allen said.
The administrators kept track of data about lunch, like how many kids are still eating with the bell rings, how many cars leave the parking lot, and how many students get into the parking lot past the tardy bell. Based on this data, they decided to add more tables to the lunch rooms and have administrators and teachers stand in the commons and ask students to head to class once lunch has ended. The administrators also believe that there are less consequences.
“My favorite part of having one lunch is it reduces some of the less seen consequences,” Allen said.
The counselors also have less stress. Administrators said counselors spent hours helping students change their schedules just so they could have lunch with their friends.
“I think it’s chill because [now] I can be with all of my friends in one spot,” Watson said.
