The number of students from the 2017-2018 to the 2018-2019 school year has grown rapidly. So much so, many students struggle to get to class on time because of the traffic jams. Last year, a total of 2,264 students were enrolled in Blackman High School, but as of this year, the enrollment is 2,415.

The growth in population has affected both teachers’ and students’ daily lives by making it a more stressful experience.

Speaking on behalf of the frustrated student population, sophomore Jayen Patel expressed his opinion on how the overpopulation has affected him as a student. “People in lunch have to stand because they don’t have a seat,” he said.

There are 600 available seats in the cafeteria, but approximately 800 students are scheduled at each lunch period. It has become so overcrowded that many students eat their lunch in the aux gym. It is evident that a problem like overpopulation affects even the little things in a school day.

“It’s hard to get to class due to traffic jams and it stops you for several minutes,” Patel stated.

There are moments when trying to get to class that a whole mob of students absorbs you. Getting completely stopped in the hallway could cause more tardies, which ultimately affects classroom performance.
“It is hard to go from G to F hall,” Patel said.

Getting from one side of the school to the other in under five minutes is difficult and frustrating for many students because of crammed hallways.

“Smaller classes are better because there is more student teacher interaction and a better classroom experience,” Patel said.

Overall, students will have a closer relationship to their teachers if there are smaller classes.

Donna Boyd, English teacher, also expressed her opinion that smaller numbers in the classroom make for a better dynamic for both students and teachers.

“Last year I had large classes, and it’s important to keep the teacher-pupil ratio as low as possible to get the best results,” Boyd said.

Smaller classes create a better dynamic between teachers and students. She also explained how she dealt with crowded hallways.

“I avoid high congested areas during lunch and impact,” Boyd said.

Clearly, lunch time and impact are times when hallways are highly populated which is closely aligned what some students said as well.

Boyd explained how overpopulation has affected her.

“My classroom numbers are good but moving in the hallways between classes is congested and moving students into pep rally zones is problematic,” she said.

This introduces another problem: pep rallies. Fitting the whole school into one room, and being dismissed at the same time, causes lots of chaos. She also explained that she likes smaller classes rather than larger ones.

“I have the opportunity to get to know more students personally as well as allow more students to speak and participate each class period,” she said, emphasizing that smaller classes are superior due to better relationships between teachers and students.

Students have more time to share their ideas and ask questions.

Boyd explained that she’s looking forward to Rockvale High School being built because “It will be a relief on classrooms, parking lots, and the cafeteria. It will hopefully lower the teacher pupil ratio as well,” she said.

The hope is that the building of the new high school will pull some students out of Blackman and into Rockvale.

“There are 2 places that get really crowded. One is the cove, which is where 3 hallways come together, another is the area going into G. We’ve watched and talked about having some classes near that intersection leave 20 seconds early,” stated Dr. Leisa Justus, principal.

She also mentioned that teachers have the extra duty of holding students in those areas before school.

“As administrators we feel like we need to be in multiple places at once and keeping an eye and making sure the crowding doesn’t escalate into something that would be harmful,” Dr, Justus said.

There will be a meeting on October 25th to discuss zoning for Rockvale High School.

“Go to the meeting on October 25th if you are a student and you’re interested in what’s happening with your school because those board members need to see you too,” Dr. Justus said.

The zoning meeting for Rockvale High School will be on October 25th at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium.

“We are expected to go down to around 1900, and we’re at 2400 now,” said Dr. Justus.

The opening of Rockvale High School will make our hallways, parking lots, cafeterias, and classrooms less populated, overall, making Blackman High School a more enjoyable place to be.