![Using the new sign out system, junior Venice Jingco types in her student ID number to indicate that she has left for the restroom. Upon signing out, students have six minutes to use the bathroom and return to class to sign back in. “For now, we're just kind of testing it with about 20 or 30 teachers throughout the school to kind of see how the flow works,” Assistant Principal Cameron Roehm said. “When we eventually implement the system school-wide, we will know how it works, and it will help it [the program] run smoother at our school.”](https://southwestshadow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IMG_1613-1200x900.jpg)
To track the whereabouts and safety of students, the 5-Star Student program has been downloaded onto iPads and placed in classrooms. It is currently in the testing phase, but it can later have many other features besides bathroom sign-outs added.
“The 5-Star Students program has a lot of potential with what it can do, it’s a pretty cool and extensive program,” Roehm said. “In a couple months, we can use it to issue rewards and things like that. We could even add things like buying yearbooks or dance passes, but for now we’re just testing it out.”
The system allows for administrators to keep track of how many times a student leaves class during instruction.
“We wanted to make sure that students aren’t taking too many bathroom breaks or going out of class too much, it’s just not fair to the teachers,” Roehm said. “We also want to know if a student is having a medical issue, so if they stay in the bathroom too long, we get concerned.”
Teachers have expressed excitement about the system as the sign-outs are now logged digitally as opposed to being logged on paper.
“I like it, I like being more hands-off with asking to go to the bathroom,” math teacher Sara Miles said. “For some kids, it might be a little embarrassing to always have to ask to go to the bathroom, and now it’s none of my business.”
Some students were surprised by the system, and have expressed some concerns regarding the policies.
“I know a lot of students complain about the time because, for example, there’s a long walk to the bathroom and it may take more than six minutes,” sophomore K.J. Palacios said. “Or for some people six minutes may not be long enough for them to use the restroom, so it would be a little inconvenient.”
The program notifies administrators when the time-limit has been reached, and from there a campus security monitor is sent to check on the student.
“So far I’ve never had to go out and look for a student,” Campus Security Monitor Robert Lee said. “Some students go to the bathroom to wander or distract other classes, or they might be trying to plan something, so now we get alerted and we are able to stop it before something happens.”
