Every year, new protocol is integrated into the school system. This year, NPHS welcomes Pass.

In the past, paper passes with a teacher’s name, student’s name, date and time were issued to students using the bathroom.

Now, students must use their computers or phones to request a pass from their teacher.

They select the nearest bathroom, or the class they’re headed to.

The teacher then accepts the request (or creates a pass for the student themselves) and a stopwatch begins along with a five-minute timer if they choose a bathroom.

In other cases, teachers make the passes for the students.

If the student does not return to class by the timer’s end, an alert is sent to the administrator’s office prompting faculty to be on the lookout for the student.

When the student returns to class, the teacher can end that student’s pass, marking them back in class.

In order to prevent students meeting up in the bathrooms, a four-person limit has been put in place by administration.

If a student requests to go to the bathrooms and the limit has already been met, the student must wait until one leaves and the system allows them to go.

Higher security in the bathrooms has long been a priority for administrators, especially in the last few years.

“Vape detectors’’ have been added to the bathrooms, in recent years as well. When activated by loud noises or smoke, a light changes from green to red, and the office is alerted.

Many students are not fully aware of the functions and limitations of Pass. Sheen Wilson, senior, said he’d heard the app tracks student’s phones, though there’s not record of proof about that.

Some students also call the program “glitchy” and believe they will get in trouble if the teacher fails to confirm the student has returned to class.

“They’re also still telling us not to have our phones in class, but if you don’t have them, then you won’t get a notification if the office sends you a pass,” Wilson said.

However, students can, and are encouraged to, use their computers.

Since there is no tracking technology in the app, phones are not needed.

If the office does issue a pass to a student, it is their teacher’s responsibility to notify the student.

Principal Cory Spotanski says there’s really no way of communicating between classrooms when using paper passes.

“It allows for all staff and teachers to see how many times a student has left the room, where they’ve gone, and how long so that we can maximize safety and instruction,” he added.

Sarah Snively, a freshman English teacher, thinks it’s an improvement, as well.

“It helps me to be more cognizant of where students are, and how often they have had passes during the class time,” she said. “It would help me in the case of an emergency. If we had a fire drill for instance, it would let all of the staff members in the school know where students are and where they might be so that we can keep track of them better.”

To freshman students, Pass is nothing new.

Last year, the system was piloted at Adams Middle School, and this year it’s also been added to Madison and all other grades in the high school.

Although some students are distrustful of the technology, Spotanksi expects the system to create a safer and more efficient learning environment.

“The number one goal that we have, obviously, is to create a safe environment for our kids and our staff,” Spotanski said. “We’re constantly striving to make things better, for students and staff.”