The feeling of the tight hallways isn’t just a nightmare this year, it’s a reality.
Hastings High has seen a significant number of new students this year. When summer rolled around last year, we ended with 960 students. At the start of the 2012-2013 school year, 1,026 students were enrolled. The senior class carries the heaviest load with a staggering 283 students, Principal Jay Opperman said.
“The administration’s even added Western Civilization and Biology courses to the summer program, to deal with the increase in numbers,” Opperman said. “It is a pleasure to see new faces in the halls.
“Opperman believes that ”Hastings High is a good school,” and the increase in student population is a great thing, because the district and the school want to help the students grow into mature young men and women.
The ratio of students to teachers is overwhelming. Some teachers are having to add to their regular schedule by teaching multiple classes.
“We could use more teachers, but our district is so tight on budget that it is nearly impossible to hire more,” Opperman said.
Class sizes have indeed increased, Mrs. Gwen Davidson, the business teacher, said.
“One of my classes was so big that they had to split the class into three different classes,” Davidson said. “An ideal class size is 16-20 students,” says Davidson.
There are also more responsibilities when having more than enough students in one class.
This is because teachers are better able to work with individual students if needed, in 46 minutes of class time. More than that makes it difficult to get to everyone.
“The hardest thing right now is the paperwork and checking assignments,” says Davidson.
It looks as if we need to start getting used to the crowded hallways. The key is to be patient, and to be a good sport about it.
