open campuses (high school)

[caitycaity]

i know there have been threads about this before, but i have to say, i work near a high school with an open campus policy and in the late morning/early afternoon you sure don't want to be in starbucks, or one of the nearby eating establishments! there are bunches of rude teenagers everywhere!

running around (yes literally), 10 or so of them cutting in line with their one friend ahead of me, talking really loudly about inappropriate topics...

(gosh i sound old and crotchety! )

teens should know how to (to steal from dawn's thread) use their inside voices and display common courtesy to other patrons. it makes me wish the school would adopt a closed campus policy! every day between 11-1 it's like the vandals sacking rome.

 

[golfgal]

A couple years ago the seniors at our high school wanted an open campus. Fortunately the school board didn't approve their request for the exact above reasons. It isn't something I would support, that is for sure!

 

[LindaR]

My daughter's school has the open policy. We found out a few years ago that they simply are not equipped and cannot handle feeding all the kids that attend there because of overcrowding! (We only have one high school). Last year, they made another change. EVERYONE has the same lunch hour! Talk about crazy! Most of the teachers are pretty cool about letting kids eat/finish their lunches during 3rd period.

 

[LadyyRedd]

My HS had an open campus during lunch due to the number of students attending there. Our principal had one major rule. If ANYONE got in trouble off campus while they were gone for lunch, open lunch would be immediately suspended indefinitely for everyone. In my 2 years there (I only went to that school for junior/senior years), they never had to suspend open lunch.

Kimya

 

[MoniqueU]

In this day and age especially where we live I just can't imagine.

 

[Sandy V.]

We also have an open campus and a large high school (1900 students). I try and run errands mid-morning or early afternoon because doing so at lunchtime is near impossible. So I feel your pain. If I could make the decision, campus would be closed.

 

[KelNottAt]

My cousin has 4 kids in high school (2 seniors, 2 sophs). According to these kids, the cafeteria is completely unavailable to the "good kids" during lunch because it is "gang territory."

The good kids are forced to either eat in the hallways or go off campus for lunch. It's a shame and a disgrace. Why the principal allows it, I'll never understand. (When I heard about this, I wasn't in a setting to probe.)

Anyway, this high school is in Montgomery County. Perhaps if you're near there, it could explain why so many kids show up. But it certainly doesn't excuse their behavior.

Kelley

 

[Tiggeroo]

I feel campuses should be open for sr's. They are nearly adults and can't go across the street and get a sandwich for lunch.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Which school do you work near?

Our high school (GHS) has open campus (not for freshman, even though there really isn't such great enforcement of that) and there isn't even close to enough room in the cafeteria to feed everyone. As a mom I wish that it was a closed campus. The tendency of the teens is to drive fast, especially if they are running late after lunch.

I agree--the restaurants near the schools get very crowded. I try to avoid going during that time, but when I have I haven't noticed that they kids have been too rowdy, but maybe Panera and Chipotle doesn't attract the wild ones.

 

[caitycaity]

Which school do you work near?

i work near b-cc. i usually have problems at the starbucks near there and the deli near my office. other places don't seem to attract the rowdy kids for some reason. starbucks is the worst! sometimes if there is a horde of 20+ teenagers in the starbucks i'll just leave and come back another time.

 

[LadyyRedd]

My cousin has 4 kids in high school (2 seniors, 2 sophs). According to these kids, the cafeteria is completely unavailable to the "good kids" during lunch because it is "gang territory."

The good kids are forced to either eat in the hallways or go off campus for lunch. It's a shame and a disgrace. Why the principal allows it, I'll never understand. (When I heard about this, I wasn't in a setting to probe.)

Anyway, this high school is in Montgomery County. Perhaps if you're near there, it could explain why so many kids show up. But it certainly doesn't excuse their behavior.

Kelley

Kelley - which HS is it? I went to HS in Montgomery County, but of couse, that was 12+ years ago!

Kimya

 

[KelNottAt]

Kelley - which HS is it? I went to HS in Montgomery County, but of couse, that was 12+ years ago!

Kimya

I got you beat! I'm a 1982 alum of Magruder. Anyway, my cousin's kids go to Northwest. (That wasn't even open yet "back in my day.") Oh, and cousin graduated from Sherwood in '83.

 

[Barb D]

Just for the record, not all MD high schools are like this! DS's school is closed (and there's nothing nearby to go to anyway) and the lunch room is very controlled. I was stunned when I went there at lunchtime one day and saw how unchaotic it was.

 

[DisneyGirl421]

I love going to an open campus school. The cafeteria food stinks, and it's just wayyy too crowded in there anyway. As soon as my friend got her license last year (my junior year), I went out to lunch every single day.
This year, I don't have a lunch (because I get out three periods early to take a course at the community college in my town. seniors can do that), but I meet up with friends to go out to lunch sometimes because they have their lunches the next period after I leave.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I thought of this thread this afternoon because my college DD is home and brought her HS brother and some friends out to lunch today. They went to Chipotle and she said that it was filled with kids from the high school and I'm betting it was noisy.She warned me to stay away from those restaurants between 11:00 and 11:30.

 

[LadyyRedd]

I got you beat! I'm a 1982 alum of Magruder. Anyway, my cousin's kids go to Northwest. (That wasn't even open yet "back in my day.") Oh, and cousin graduated from Sherwood in '83.

I went to Seneca Valley and it was NOTHIGN back in my day like it is now.

Kimya

 

[Kimberly]

Only seniors were allowed to leave campus at our school, which was a privaledge for having good behavior. Most of the times I went home and made my own lunch. I agree though with some teenagers, I believe that only ones mature enough should be allowed to leave.

 

[m&m's mom]

At my HS you only stayed in the cafeteria if you were a major nerd. We all went out every day. I am sure it was chaos.
The other downside to open campus is most of the time in the spring semester of our senior year we talked ourselves out of going to our afternoon classes way too many times. I still wonder how I graduated from HS, more less college.

 

[Kahana-ri]

We had open campus at my high school. The school also paid to have school security at the shopping center across the street before school started and during lunch. Maybe a suggestion. It was usually the freshman and sophomores across the street. Juniors and seniors always left for lunch, at least those with cars.

 

[nwdisgal]

I went to an open campus school. I was thankful because I had to go home and catch up on my soap opera at lunch In junior high, we didn't have open campus, but my friend and I used to sneak off campus - again to watch the Soaps. I never was busted, but my friend was on the last day of school.