The administration of Allderdice High School has adopted a number of new policies for the 2023-2024 school year. The response of the student body has varied widely, from enthusiastic support to outrage. Some students have begun to organize and take action against these controversial new policies, by starting petitions and gathering support in their fight.

Later Start & End Times

For the 2023-2024 school year, Allderdice has shifted its start time from 7:15 a.m. to 7:40 a.m., and its end time from 2:15 p.m. to 2:40 p.m. This policy has been far more divisive than the implementation of Yondr pouches, with large portions of the student body being on either side of the debate. Several students were surveyed to gauge the student body’s opinions on the later start and end times. They were asked if they personally liked the new times, and then if they thought that they were a good idea for the overall health of the school. Of all students surveyed, exactly half liked the new times, while 60% of students surveyed thought that the new times were an overall good idea. 

Both sides also provided some reasoning to justify their opinions. One student who was upset by the change said “I think the earlier end time made it easier to participate in clubs because you could go for an hour and still have most of your day rather than getting out at 4. It doesn’t make all too much of a difference in reality it just seems like a lot more when you’re spending a lot of your time in dice, and in terms of the musical and musical practice I don’t know how much later that will run with the new times.” On the contrary, one student who supports the change wrote, “I think giving kids half an hour more to sleep is good.” However, they added that “the kids who take the city bus will probably be affected negatively by this change.”

Overall, students have largely opposed the new policies, however this opposition may not end up amounting to much. The later start time has already begun to affect students, with students getting home later and not having as much time for clubs and jobs. The Yondr pouch policy is not yet in effect. If you want to make a difference, the two best ways to do so are to sign the change.org petition, and to contact your administrators and your school board member.

Yondr Pouches

By far the most controversial of these policies is the implementation of “Yondr Pouches”, currently planned to be in effect no later than the start of the second quarter. The announcement of this new policy was met with near-universal fury by the student body, with a consensus forming that the implementation of Yondr Pouches is both a safety hazard and a violation of student rights. Additionally, the point has been raised that the process of locking the pouches will further complicate the already arduous process of entering the building, and unlocking them will create lines to get out of the building.

Students have already begun to organize in the effort to prevent the use of Yondr Pouches. The Allderdice Student Action Committee is the premier student organization seeking to prevent the implementation of the new policy. So far the most decisive action that the ASAC has taken has been launching a change.org petition, which as of September 26th had 985 signatures.

When asked about the Yondr pouches, a student (who chose to remain anonymous) shared their opinion, saying “It’s not much different than taking phones from students because we will not have access to them during the day. Also, during emergencies we would not [be able to] call for help, and parents would be unable to contact their children. Overall, there are a number of better ways the school could spend their money”.