After a year-long experiment with SmartPass, Malden High is reverting to traditional, physical passes. However, the decision to remove SmartPass prompts the question, What led to this change? And whether traditional passes are the ultimate solution to problems like students skipping classes.
Brunelli House Principal Jean Ewald Charles commented on the matter, stating that “SmartPass was not as effective as anticipated.”, He explained that, “It was difficult to pinpoint a student's location and that students were out of class for lengthy periods of time.” However, he noted that, “The system showed some benefits towards the end of the year, as it collected the exact time frames that students were out of class.” Despite this hopeful data at the end of the 2022-2023 school year, Charles maintains that removing SmartPass was the best decision to fix Malden High’s hallway issues. But what do the students think?
There appears to be a consensus among students that bringing back physical passes was the right decision, aligning with Charles's stance. Junior Helen Xie, however, argues that, “Whether it's physical or digital passes, students will still skip classes.” She acknowledges this ongoing issue but believes physical passes will be an improvement, given that "SmartPass was chaotic for students and teachers." Sophomore Moon To adds that the removal of SmartPass was "Convenient for the students because your amount of time out of class is not being timed," and considers the change a positive financial decision for the school. So, if not SmartPass, what do students believe is the best way to address the issue?
"Keeping physical passes," stated To. Sophomore Linh Do chimed in, proposing that there should be passes for specific purposes, such as a pass for students who need to go to the nurse. Do believes this approach could help narrow down a student's whereabouts. To and Do also discuss attaching objects to the passes as a way to prevent them from being lost, an approach some teachers have already adopted.
In conclusion, it appears that removing SmartPass was the right decision to be made. However, it is clear that more steps need to be taken in order to comprehensively address the issue of skipping classes at Malden High.
