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closeClosing campus for safety
Chris Albert
Next school year, Puyallup High School students won’t be able to wander away from campus from school for lunch.
“It’s all about safety,” said Puyallup Principal Jason Smith to the school board at the June 23 meeting.
The parking lot is just too dangerous with students rushing in and out of the lots and driving around town within a 30 minute period to get lunch and make it to their next class.
“By our accounts, Puyallup High School was the last (open campus) in Pierce County,” said Jay Reifel, assistant superintendent.
Previously, upperclassmen were allowed to leave campus for lunch with parental permission. It has been that way for 20 years, Reifel said. The district’s other two high schools, Rogers and Emerald Ridge, already have a closed campus during lunch
“With that knowledge we decided to move forward,” Smith said.
Last spring, Smith began meeting with faculty, students, the booster club, department directors and parent groups to discuss why it was important to close campus and how they could pull it off.
“We found out ‘Yes, we could make it work,’” Smith said.
To accommodate the approximately 1,700 students enrolled at Puyallup next fall, the school will go from two to three lunch periods.
New cafeteria furniture will be purchased to better maximize space, Smith said, and three additional serving lines will be open. A fourth line may be added at the outside courtyard if needed.
More security personnel will also be added initially to monitor student parking areas during the lunch periods. A golf cart painted in the school’s purple color will help security cover the school grounds more effectively.
“The kids were pretty excited about that,” Smith said.
Smith said he expected some negative feedback from local businesses that serve students during lunch, but in discussions he had with several of them they were very understanding and supportive of the move.
It’s like they will be able to find students customers before and after school to make up some of the difference, he said.
This spring, Smith was able to meet with almost 600 students in 25-person roundtable discussions.
“It’s not a punishment,” he told students, “It’s not like anybody is mad at anybody else.”
Of course many of the students didn’t like the idea, but they were willing to work toward making the best of the situation.
“They weren’t exactly doing cartwheels, but they understood,” Smith said.
Closing the campus during lunch also gives the students a chance to take ownership of what lunch at Puyallup High School will look like, Smith said.
Students will have the opportunity to work with outside vendors to provide food at lunch and more lunchtime student activities could be added, he said.
Students are eager to get an ice cream machine, Smith said.
“I applaud their energy,” he said. “It’s been a very long communication process.”
Overall the process has been very positive and goes along with the school’s theme for next year of continuing to honor the tradition of the school, but recognizing the need for positive changes, Smith said.
“I know it was problematic,” said Greg Heath, School Board vice president. “From a personal standpoint it’s an outstanding move.”
As a district parent, he had found the open campus lunch policy worrisome, he said.
School Board member Bruce Dammeier commended Smith for taking the time to communicate effectively with all the parties involved.
“I think it’s a great first act as a principal,” he said. “I think it’s going to pay big dividends.”