After passing the 2,000 mark, school faces full classes, crowded lunches and moving teachers

Enrollment this year has skyrocketed; with 2,055 students in the school and 600-plus in the freshman class alone, everything feels crowded.

Hallways have become obstacles courses while the cafeteria has transformed into a mad dash to feed our growing population.  With almost 200 more students than last year, the cafeteria workers must feed 10.5 percent more students in the same amount of time — an already tight 30 minutes. It’s worth considering adding a fourth lunch or increasing the lunch times next year, especially when it’s likely our population will grow even more.

Lunches aren’t the only scheduling problem caused by the crowds; classes are full to the brim. Teachers like English teachers Pamela Bowmer have 29 to 30 students in each class. Geometry and AQR teacher Kimberly Portillo averages about 27 students in her Geometry classes. Counselors have been trying to honor students’ requests to switch courses, but unable to fulfill all requests because of space issues. Classes like AP Environmental Science have been blocked off because of heavy student enrollment and they now require special permission to get in. Many electives like Art II-Photo and theatre are full, leaving students with less options for elective changes.

Perhaps the biggest concern with the burgeoning numbers is in the science building. With 12 science labs and 16 science teachers, four science teachers don’t have a permanent home and are borrowing classroom and lab space. Biology teacher Brad Bresnehen for example, rolls his metal cart to four different rooms in order to teach his classes. Physics and Environmental Science AP teacher Jessica Ross teaches her Environment class in the Anatomy and Physiology room. All but one of the science teachers has to leave their room during their conference period which doesn’t allow them time to set up labs and activities.

The school opened in 2008 in order to accommodate the district’s growing numbers. The campus was built to hold up to 2,400 students, a number calculated with the understanding that every classroom would be utilized every period. Unfortunately, this doesn’t take into account teachers have a daily conference period. Hence, as we’ve continued to grow, science teachers and their students are now enduring the classroom and lab changes. Administration looked at several configurations to address the problem. While the current rotation plan forces some science teachers to move from period to period, it was the best option to keep the labs the same, assistant principal Brandon Evans said.

While this dilemma puts stress on the teachers, it also affects students. Tutorials can’t be held on a metal cart, and finding your teacher after you’re absent becomes difficult when you don’t know which of six classrooms they may be in. We expect teachers to be there to help students, but we’re limiting their availability when they don’t have a place to call home.

Unfortunately, there is no permanent solution for our cramped current status. We can’t build new labs in the next week, add more time to the lunches or make full classes suddenly have space. As a campus, we will have to endure the growing pains, keeping a thoughtful mind on how to overcome these problems for future years.