A student makes her way through a chaotic crowd of people. Clarke Central High School students and staff have had their day-to-day routines constantly slowed and interrupted by overpopulation in the school. “Capacity issues are impeding the work of students, and oftentimes cause undue stress for kids in the building,” Viewpoints Staffer Mykolas Kumpis wrote. Illustration by Antonio Starks
The facilities at CCHS are unable to accommodate the rapidly increasing population of students and staff at the school, impacting their abilities to do meaningful and timely work.
At the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, a staggering 1880 students were enrolled at Clarke Central High School. This number is part of an upward trend in enrollments throughout the decade which shows no signs of slowing.
Throughout the school, students are struggling to get to class on time thanks to the overcrowded hallways and stairwells. In classes, overstuffed rooms mean individualized attention is being sacrificed because teachers are juggling larger class sizes.
A graph shows the spike in student population beginning during the 2012-13 school year. This rapid increase has put a strain on school facilities. “Throughout the school, students are struggling to get to class on time thanks to the overcrowded hallways and stairwells,” Kumpis wrote. Graph by Mykolas Kumpis
Capacity issues are impeding the work of students and teachers alike, and oftentimes cause undue stress for kids in the building.
“I do think (crowding) can contribute to students feeling anxious,” Associate Principal Dr. Cindi Lowe said. “I know we have kids that try to avoid the cafeteria or the places where there are large spaces and a lot of children (since) the noise, the constant movement bothers them. None of that is preferred.”
For junior Caroline Orbock, the effects of overcrowding have already become apparent.
“The (crowded) hallways make getting to class difficult, especially when leaving the cafeteria,” Orbock said. “I’ve seen many typically punctual students late to class due to overflow.”
A juxtapose shows the stark difference in hallway traffic between after-school and dismissal hours. Congestion has meant nothing but trouble for anyone at the school, regardless of position. “Clarke Central High School students and staff have their day-to-day routines constantly slowed and interrupted by overpopulation in the school,” Kumpis wrote. Juxtapose and photos by Mykolas Kumpis
To solve these issues, the obvious solution seems to be building more school buildings. However, room for expansion is extremely limited and expensive because of CCHS’ proximity to Downtown Athens and the University of Georgia’s campus. According to REDFIN, property values surrounding the school on Milledge Avenue regularly exceed a million dollars, making any expansion efforts for CCHS untenable.
This leaves CCHS in a unique situation. Student population is rapidly increasing, but expansion into the surrounding neighborhoods isn’t an option. To combat this, the school has turned to modular learning areas. According to Dr. Lowe, six teachers and 180 kids will inhabit this mobile building, located behind the James Crawford Memorial Arena, starting in January of 2023.
While this is a step in the right direction, CCHS staff must try and regulate hallway traffic to keep congestion to a minimum. Extending the time between classes should also be explored, as with current levels of hallway flow, five minutes simply isn’t cutting it.
Finally, if necessary, CCSD officials must take bold action to finally shut the door on CCHS’ overcrowding problem.
