By Jaden Thomas
Photo by Chris Granger
A new school year begins, but something feels different. The halls and classrooms seem to be reaching their limit. Have you noticed more students in the building now more than ever?
If so, you’re not alone. The majority of students new to Willow this year seem to be freshmen and sophomores coming in, but how big of a difference is it?
Well, if it looks like far more new students than in the past, that’s because it is. The current classes are some of the biggest ever in Lusher/Willow history, with the freshman class containing 215 students, alongside the sophomores with 198 total.
How much of this change has affected the upperclassmen, especially with 11th and 12th grade being smaller in class size than the underclassmen? How much of their routine has changed?
“I just wish there were more students that joined that were in our grade,” Willow senior Frank Brown says.
Brown isn’t alone in noticing this shift. Walking through the halls between periods now feels completely packed. What used to be a quick walk from one class to the next has turned into a slow-moving crowd of students all trying to get to class on time.
“They have hired more English teachers this year, which is a big help,” said 9th/12th Grade English teacher, Ms.Green “ Some teachers have to share a room, though.”
That staffing change shows how much the growth has affected more than just the students. Teachers are adjusting their routines too, and sharing classrooms means more chaos and less flexibility for teacher and lesson planning.
“I’m in two classrooms, and I go to the copy room for planning,” said English and Publications teacher, Ms. Crockett, “and I only teach on B day. That’s a lot of moving for one day. I’d forget where I left my head if it wasn’t screwed on sometimes, much less little things like my copy of the book we’re reading, or handouts.”
It’s a small sign of a bigger problem–the school building itself isn’t built to take in all these students comfortably.
“Getting from place to place is really annoying now, ” says 12th grade Spirit Leader Lucas Jeansonne. “It takes me almost twice the time to get to class.“
For seniors like Lucas who have spent years learning the fastest routes to get from class to class, this year’s higher traffic makes all that veteran knowledge useless. Out-of-the-way stairways that used to be a quick route to get around during passing periods have now become a parking lot.
“There’s too many people in the hallways,” said junior Londyn Boles. “I mostly avoid the crowds of students by taking the back stairway.”
The strategy of dodging the chaos altogether says a lot about the difficulty of adapting to this change. Students are having to find workarounds to get to class on time. Is this the new norm at Willow? Will we be seeing larger classes from now on? How much bigger will these classrooms be in the future? And if it is the new norm, do we need to consider adding more minutes for transitions just to factor in moving around?
For now, students are left adjusting to a school that feels fuller than ever, shared classrooms, and slower walks between classes. We hear there are more buildings in our future, but in the meantime, one thing is clear–the halls aren’t getting bigger anytime soon.