Attending IHS this year comes with a new expectation: making sure students’ school-issued ID cards are visible at all times. Student IDs have always existed, but this year, administration is attempting to give them a more defined purpose in students’ daily lives.
According to Ms. Arnold, the current ID system grew out of a larger concern about attendance—not students who are absent from school altogether, but students physically in the building and not attending their scheduled classes. When she first arrived at IHS, she regularly encountered students in the hallways during class. The IDs are intended, in part, to help address that issue by making it easier for staff to identify who is supposed to be where.
The IDs also provide administrators with a way to verify who is in the building. Arnold described situations in which students in the H building claimed to be seniors, but staff had no immediate way to confirm their identity. The school also has encountered students from programs such as BOCES and New Roots, who do not attend IHS, wandering around the halls and peering in ongoing classes. Provoking concern for both a distraction and security. Having a visible ID can help staff determine who belongs in the building and what their connection to the school is. A visible ID gives staff a quick way to determine who belongs in the building and what their connection to the school is.
The ID policy is one part of a broader effort to keep students in class. In another approach to increasing attendance and keeping students in class, this year, teachers have been stationed at hallway junctions, which Arnold described as another way to keep students closer to their classrooms. She said that these interactions can also give teachers more opportunities to talk with students outside of class. Last year, bathrooms could only be open if a teacher was stationed outside one. This meant frequently, bathrooms would be closed and students would have to trek to other wings. The school has now opened all bathrooms so that students do not have to spend large portions of class time walking across the building to use one.
The ID cards themselves are also expected to have more functions over time. New IDs are on the way with students’ most recent school picture and a crisper barcode. This barcode will allow students to quickly scan into the library for study halls, check out books, and use the printer. Administration is also working toward using the cards in the lunch line and potentially on school buses. Arnold said that bus scanning could immediately generate a route for the bus driver that eliminates wasted time.
The cards have also had a role in emergency situations. Arnold described two emergencies at IHS in which one student had an ID and another did not. In the situation where the student had an ID, staff were able to establish the student’s identity and contact their parents without spending additional time determining who the student was. While one incident cannot demonstrate the overall effectiveness of the system, it illustrates one of the practical purposes administration sees in having students visibly identified.
At present, there is no punishment for students who do not wear their IDs. While this means the policy does not impose a disciplinary consequence for forgetting or choosing not to wear a card, it also makes enforcement more difficult. The policy therefore relies in part on students consistently following an expectation that does not currently carry a formal penalty.
The school is also exploring ways for students to use their IDs outside of IHS. The Tattler has communicated with admin about making potential connections with TCAT. Students can already use their IDs for some local benefits. Plato’s Closet offers a twenty percent discount to students on Tuesdays when they present their school ID.
As more services become connected to the cards, the school is developing the ID into something that students may use throughout their school day and potentially beyond school grounds. But as those plans develop, the intention of this editorial is to provide an explanation of what their IDs are designed to do and what they will eventually be used for.
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