Stephanie Zhao and Madison Brazell also contributed to this article.
For a student at Malden High School, wandering around the halls means running into one of the many support staff members of the school. These school staff members are tasked with getting kids to class, making sure the school day is running smoothly during hectic mornings, and at the end of the school day as well.
Football Coach and support staff member Witche Exilhomme mentioned that “one of the biggest issues is that people are skipping classes to meet with their friends,” which can often escalate into more serious situations. These situations are what support staff are on the lookout for.
Exilhomme also emphasized how the current cell phone policy is preventing students at Malden High from planning meet-ups to skip class.
Jeyda Ward, a support staff member, shared that “limiting the bathroom use” has also prevented students from skipping class periods.
SmartPass, a digital hall pass system that allows the school’s staff to see where students have permission to go and how long those students have been outside of class, is often used by many schools to tackle the issue of unnecessarily long bathroom trips by students.
Though there are plans to implement it, SmartPass has not been brought back to Malden High since its use in 2022. Because of this, teachers have been writing paper passes, which is not always convenient for Malden High’s support staff and often causes complications. Due to this inconvenience, the reintroduction of SmartPass at Malden High has now become a prime topic of discussion among the Malden School Committee Board.
Many of these support staff members not only contribute to safer and emptier hallways, but they also encourage many students to stay determined. All of which allows the students and staff to thrive at Malden High.
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