Hall passes at GBMS are now digital, Principal Ellegood said.

The school piloted electronic hall passes last year and purchased the system this year.

“The EHallPass is basically a digital pass system where the kids can sign into their Chromebook and it will take account of every time they’re out of the classroom,” he said. The number of passes or the locations students are allowed to go to can be limited. If only four students are allowed in a particular bathroom at one time and a fifth student puts in a request to go there, a message on the Chromebook will say that bathroom is full and the student will have to use a different one or wait until someone comes out.

“We’ve seen a dramatic decline in the bathroom issues with the e-hall pass system and having one student out of the classroom instead of multiples,” Ellegood said. 

“We have students who meet up in the restroom for one reason or another,” he continued. If teachers see a pattern, the system may limit specific individuals from being out of the classroom at the same time. The system will also show how often students ask for hall passes. “If a student has been out of the classroom several times, he’s avoiding work. We can have a conversation with him and potentially we can limit his particular passes.” 

Ellegood described the system as “a bit pricey,” but said the cost was offset by doing away with another program, an electronic agenda system that wasn’t being fully used.