Students, staff address school's issues

By Kaydein McCall

Editorial Assistant

The end of the year is approaching, and it’s time to reflect on the state of the school. Here at Crete, there are more than a few problems that need to be addressed going into next year. Fighting, attendance, and budgeting are among the most pressing issues facing the high school. Students and staff have shared their opinions on the issues within the school’s grounds.

Tavauge Starling (left) and Braylen Alexander stage a fake fight to showcase the harmful effects that fights can have on the school climate. Photo by Bella Velasquez.

“Fights negatively impact the school because they serve as a huge distraction from our main purpose – to provide an education in a safe environment. It also results in students being out of school for a period of time, which also prevents them from receiving the education that they're here to receive,” counselor Timothy Wilson said.

According to the CDG (Center for Global Development), “Violence in and around schools has a profound impact. Violence negatively impacts multiple dimensions of children’s life and well-being, undermining not only the child’s developmental potential, but also schools, families, communities, and society's development as a whole.”

“I think people just take things way too personally, and they don't know how to let things go. But I also feel that people also want to create some issues like fights, cause I've seen some where they shake hands afterward. They’re just starting stuff just to have a problem, just to get us locked down, it’s stupid,” senior Taggert Rose said.

When students are frequently short-tempered, it can be hard for the teachers and staff members to address and prevent issues like fights. Conflicts that occur outside the school and the students who fight in the school are difficult to avoid.

“ I feel like a lot of the problems in the school occur outside of school, and then they deal with these problems in school, and that's how the fighting happens,” senior Cademan Vangerhoogt said.

Disciplinary action plays a big part in all the fights as well. If the consequences for fighting are inadequate, nothing will stop them from happening.

“The consequences of misbehavior are ineffective in some cases and absent in others. The administration measures how discipline works by the number of referrals teachers write.  Our solution, the "Take Five" program, effectively reduces the number of referrals, which is the goal for administration.  For teachers, the goal is to stop the behavior that is disruptive to the learning process.  As long as students are passing in high percentages, there appears to be no disruption to the learning process.  From the perspective of the people who put the systems in place,” Wilson said.

Fighting is one of the most recurring issues in the school. Though it may well be the largest problem, it isn’t the only one. ​

“In general, around the country in terms of problems in schools, I see chronic absenteeism, reliance on technology to teach/learn, and issues of smartphones in the classroom interfering with student learning,” social studies teacher Mr. Swanson said.

Along with issues like the reliance on screens, some students brought up the budgeting issue,  where they believe the school chooses to allocate most of its funds, which does not always align with students' opinions.

“I kind of wish we spent more money on stuff like broadcasting, or having a wider variety of fields they cover for education. We need more substance in our classes, especially music or broadcasting, and especially backstage. Maybe they should ask us first about what we should be spending our money on. I feel like with a lot of the stadiums and stuff, I don't think enough of the student population actually likes going to the games to warrant building a whole other stadium,” Rose said. 

If students aren't bringing up their issues with the board, nothing changes, either. Some don't agree with the limited lunch options, but they don't speak up.

“With the lunches, I don't think it has been addressed because students complain,  but they don't actually go up and complain to the people. They are complaining to each other, but they’re not taking action and complaining to the board,” Vanderhoogt said.

The students and staff hold a portion of the blame for issues within the building, but how the school is run and parental influence have a significant impact on how students behave.

“There are so many layers to each of these issues that it isn't just a school issue – it's societal,” Mr. Swanson said. “Some issues need the state legislature to take action, some of it may be more involved parents, maybe we need to reconsider how we do school in the country.” 

A number of factors may lead to problems in the school. It makes sense that the staff doesn't know how to address students' concerns. When students don't vocalize their problems, nothing can be done to solve them.

​“It can be very difficult to address because new issues can pop up at any time. It is important for students to inform a trusted adult in the building," Mr. Wilson said. “We have great staff members here who can work with students to help resolve any issues they may have.”