New restrictions have been put in place this year at DGS in the form of the bathroom policy. This new rule keeps students from leaving the room on a green pass for the first and last ten minutes of class.

This is one of many efforts put in place by administration to target attendance within the district.

Principal Arwen Lyp was one of the key players in deciding on these policies.

“At DGS this summer, our four deans, a team of teachers, department chairs and administrators, which included myself, sat down and really talked about things we could do differently at South to help improve attendance,” Lyp said.

The policy was put in place to prevent confusion for security as to who is tardy and who is simply taking an early bathroom break. However, the policy has raised unexpected challenges for students and staff.

Sophomore Zoe Swierczynski has had issues with the new policies.

“You don’t really want to go in the middle of a lesson. That’s the only time you really get to go as a student now. And they say, go during passing periods, but realistically, you never really have enough time,” Swierczynski said.

Teacher Sarah Moreno has had problems as well. Students in her classes have had to adapt to the new policies, which can often be problematic to the flow of the class period.

“They know that they have to wait for the middle 30 minutes of class, and that can be sometimes detrimental to what we’re doing. That’s usually when we’ve warmed up already, and then we’re really into the thick of things,” Moreno said.

Beyond inconvenience, however, students and staff have also raised concerns about the effectiveness of the policy.

“I haven’t seen a drastic change at all,” Swierczynski said.

From many, there have been calls for an adjustment to the policy. With goals centered around improving class flow and giving students the opportunity to do what they need to do.

“I really think that we should change it to five minutes at the end of the class instead of 10 at the beginning and end,” Moreno said.