Is our new scan-in system promoting student responsibility or adding more to our plates?
By Lilla Riches
This year, a common topic of discussion in advisories has been the new Ruvna scan-in system. Just like last year, students are expected to scan in with their IDs at kiosks by the building entrances upon arrival, but while advisors had in the past been able to sign in students who had forgotten, this is no longer the case. Forgetting to scan in now means students must go to Alex Dark’s office in Hargroves to manually confirm their attendance. Furthermore, the cut off for being “late” has been moved up to 8:05, which is when advisory officially begins (9:00 on Wednesdays).
When interviewed, Dark said that this system has worked very well so far, with most students being accounted for within the first thirty minutes of the school day, as opposed to throughout all hours in previous years. Students have been more “proactive” about letting school administration know if they will be late, a skill that Dark points out as “really important and [carrying] over into college and professional life.”
10th grade advisor Casey Hedstrom says, “I love it because it makes students have responsibility.” She has observed that scanning in has become second nature, saying that “even people who now do it so easily just didn’t before.” Another upside she mentions is getting fewer emails about tracking students down. When asked about how the system could be improved, Casey said that she felt that the system was “unfair” to kids who totally forget to scan in, especially freshmen who are still learning the ropes. This is a sentiment that has been echoed throughout the upper school, with multiple students bringing up that they would like to push back the scan-in time.
For students that take unpredictable public transport, or are at the mercy of commuter traffic every morning, this new change can be frustrating. Senior Willam Kessler states simply, “When my bus is late… it sucks.” Even some who get to school by car, like sophomore Elie Beckelman, are affected by the lack of a time buffer. She would prefer a return to last year’s system, saying “teachers should be allowed to scan students in as long as they come to homeroom.”
There have been bumps in the introduction of a new scan-in system for some students, but behind the scenes, things are running more smoothly than before. It is now easier for administration to account for students, and the requirement for students to take the initiative, even in this small way, may instill a sense of responsibility. Still, many believe that the time to scan-in should extend through advisory in order to account for forgetfulness and commute-related issues.
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