Bolingbrook High School

They have so much to improve for students who are there to learn and not to just waste time

BHS is a great school in a great neighborhood. Everyone at BHS has one goal which is to help their students perform their best and become a better and knowledgeable individual that can help themselves and the community.

Low! There seems to always be something going here. They need to do a better job.

I used to love my school. However, now with all of the changes that are ensuing, my feelings are changing. Many changes have been implemented, but the most unreasonable one is the unwritten 'bathroom policy'. In order to leave the classroom, whether to go to the nurse, counselor, even to the bathroom, we have to be escorted by a security guard. Regardless of the emergency of the situation, the student will have to wait for the instructor to make a phone call requesting a security guard and wait for the security guard to reach the classroom and escort you to, inside of, and back from wherever you requested to go. There are over 3,700 students on campus. Bolingbrook High School has three floors, and is on a hill to where you cannot reach certain floors from certain parts of the building. We were told that if a security guard failed to make it to our location in time before the last ten minutes of class and after the first, we would just be forced to wait until after the first ten minutes of the next class period, and attempt to be the first of the other line of students who weren't responded to as well. That, or risk being late to our next class and receive punishment for tardiness if the attempt was unsuccessful.When asked why this unsolidified policy was implemented, staff members, including deans, responded saying that it was initially in place as a security measuring during the last week of school in the 2016-2017 school year due to the senior pranks, in order to ensure that they stopped. And since they liked how clear the hallways were, it was rolled over into the new school year.The reason for the majority of the new changes, that has been emphasized by our principal, Dr. Pascavage, is 'maximizing of classroom instruction', which is understandable. However, restricting our abilities to care for ourselves, portraying them as denied privileges, rather than personal rights, is unethical. If the student body of Bolingbrook is expected to behave and carry ourselves as the young adults that we are growing to be, that growth should be cultivated by the adults that we are expected to look up to. Instead, it is as if our autonomy is being belittled. I was allowed to go to the bathroom alone in elementary school. And now as a young adult in high school, I am treated as if I am no longer capable of caring for myself.During our class assemblies, our principal even made it a priority to demonstrate the quality of the high definition cameras that were installed, showing that they are 'everywhere' and that we are always being watched. Both of my parents worked in law enforcement at a point in time, and I used to joke, saying that they were sending me to serve a 180 day sentence at school.Now it actually feels like a prison