CClarke Central High School students transition between third and fourth period on Aug. 12. With nearly 1,920 students in the school, the CCHS administrative team amended the daily bell schedule to combat hallway traffic. “The volume of students was a lot,” Associate Principal Dr. Summer Smith said. “Fourth lunch is really big, and so when fourth lunch leaves the cafeteria it’s a whole train coming this way and then it bottlenecks at that music hallway. So we’re just watching and seeing and making changes.” Photo by Grady Dunston
CCHS administration has added an extra minute to the allotted transition time between periods for the 2024-25 school year to accommodate for an increase in students.
Following the first day of school on Aug. 1, the Clarke Central High School administrative team has changed the daily bell schedule to allow for six minutes between periods for students to transition classes.
The updated Clarke Central High School bell schedule is shown above. An extra minute has been added to transition between classes, changing the previous five minutes between periods to six. “I love (the new schedule), I think it’s very helpful,” CCHS sophomore Ginny Finch said. “I used to have to run or speed walk to class, so the extra minute is a great addition.” Infographic by Janie Ripps
Since returning to in-class instruction post COVID-19, students have been provided five minutes of pass time to transition between classes. The change was made to address an increase in student population.
“The hallways are just so packed,” CCHS Associate Principal Dr. Summer Smith said. “We started last year at 1,820 (students) and we started this year at 1,920, so 100 more kids. We want kids to be on time and so we just really felt like we needed to give them a little bit extra moving time.”
According to Smith, the administrative team and teachers noticed the problem on the first day of school and began working on a solution.
“I always thought five (minutes) was a stretch. If you were on the gym side of the building and you needed to get somewhere (near the main entrance), that can be a challenge,” Smith said. “(Students) have to fight (their) way through the main hallway, which can get congested. Hopefully, (the change) can help people get where they need to go on time.”
For sophomore Ginny Finch, overcrowded halls and limited pass time between classes required a change.
“I used to have to run or speed walk to class, so the extra minute is a great addition,” Finch said. “I think this issue will mostly resolve itself as the year goes on, but I do think there should (still) be someone making sure no one’s fully stopped in the way of (students) trying to get to class.”
