Parking to Text & Talk: Memorial H.S. offers unique zones
(WEAU) – You've probably heard of texting and driving, but have you ever tried to text while walking? It's an issue that one local high school took into their hands to send the right message.
When you’re walking the hallways at Memorial High school you feel like you’re driving. You can either speed up slow down or get hit by oncoming traffic.
"Here we have a parking area,” said Kurt Madsen, Assistant Principal at Memorial Highschool.
That's right, a parking zone.
"If you and I were just to stand here in the middle of the hallway we can kind of create a traffic jam,” said Madsen.
So basically how it works is a line on the ground designates a parking zone. If you have a cellphone or want to talk to my friends, you have to be inside the lines otherwise you're violating the rules.
The assistant principal says these areas are used during passing periods and have been in place since January .
"We have this tracking system and data system that we can put our referrals into so we know exactly how many students was dealing with on the issue,” said Madsen.
He says tardys and cellphone confiscations have gone down significantly since then.
"You spend so much time dealing with the behavior problem or the issue within the classroom so you’re taking away from teaching time. This way we’re trying to reward the student for acting positively," said Madsen.
"I feel like they're a great idea, keeps a lot of kids out of the hallways where were trying to walk. It allows for students to get around, and the parking zones they're just a nice area to kind of relax with friends,” said Simon Rose, junior at Memorial High school.
"There aren't people standing in your way, and I understand because everyone was trampling over each other in the beginning of the year,” said Jordan Clark, freshman at Memorial High school.
Students still aren't allowed to use their phones in the class, which Madsen says was a big problem, because of parent’s texting them. But now there's a new concept in town called SOAR.
"SOAR stands for safe, organized, accountable, and respectful,” said Madsen.
So whether you’re on the road or in the hallways at Memorial, you might want to signal next time you pull into a parking zone.
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