BHS Attendance Improves From New Policy Implementations

Blake High School has experienced an influx of new students as the 2024 school year begins. From incoming freshmen to transfers from other schools in higher grade levels, the school capacity is being stretched to its limit. School principal, Mrs. Snead recalls that there are “close to 2,000 students” this school year.

As the semester goes on, newly implemented policies, like cell phones and hallway music, have influenced more students to attend class. Staff and students have both observed this change as student attendance has increased greatly.

What does this have to do with cell phones? Montgomery County Public Schools has implemented a new and improved cell phone policy that applies to all schools in the county. It states that no phones are to be used inside the classroom. If a student is caught using their cell phone, it will be confiscated and their parents will receive a message. Since students are no longer permitted to use their phones, they can be better engaged in class, influencing them to show up and pay attention every day. Even if they don’t enjoy class material, students have no choice but to complete their work, as their cell phones can no longer act as a distraction.

What does this have to do with hallway music? Blake High School’s principal, Mrs. Snead, has effectuated a new addition to the school day: music. It is safe-for-work music chosen by office staff to play from hallway speakers between class periods. The music stops exactly 1 minute before the bell rings. Principal Snead believes that the music puts students in a positive mood and mindset, causing them to be enthusiastic about coming to school every day. She also claims that the music stopping 1 minute before the bell rings “allows students to know exactly how much time they have to get to class,” so they will manage their time better and are more likely to attend class on time.

As well as implementing these policies, Mrs. Snead has taken an active role in increasing student attendance this year through special privileges and strategic use of school security. One of the biggest problems she hopes to counter is traffic. An influx of traffic on the roads and in school parking lots has followed the drastic increase in student enrollment this year. Students are unable to park in their dedicated parking spots and parents are unable to efficiently navigate the car circle to drop students off on time. She recognizes this problem alone as a major factor in why attendance may be lacking.

To tackle this issue, Mrs. Snead said she has and will continue to “assign more security to the parking lots” to direct traffic safely and swiftly. Administrators can be found monitoring exits during lunch to “ensure that students are not leaving school for the purpose of skipping class.” Additionally, Mrs. Snead has assigned security to both low and high-traffic areas inside the school to motion students to get to class and to confirm that students found in the hallways during class have hall passes.

Furthermore, Mrs. Snead has brought up the idea of “revoking certain privileges from students that demonstrate consistently low attendance”. This includes school events such as dances and parties, and sporting events like football and basketball games.

Overall, Mrs. Snead and her staff are pleased with the results of these improvements so far. More students are attending classes and staying engaged in class material. Prior to this school year, numerous complaints were made by staff and students about the inability to properly teach or focus on schoolwork without distractions from cell phones, so these new policy implementations have been highly favored by everyone.