Hall Passes Go Digital

Acalanes introduces Minga, a new digital hall pass system

Molly Connelly, Maddie Obertello, Lily Foster, and Avila Payne | Print Editor-in-Chief, Print Sports Editor, and Staff Writers

As the second semester of the school year kicks off, fresh grades are not the only change for Acalanes students. Acalanes introduces a new digital hall pass system, aiming to improve student experiences and safety.

   Acalanes introduced Minga, a new campus management platform that requires students to create a digital hall pass before leaving class, into classrooms this semester. After an introductory school-wide presentation and an instructional video during academy on Jan. 21, students began using the new system. 

   Starting Jan. 21, Acalanes distributed Chromebooks equipped with Minga to all of its classrooms. The system requires students to enter their student ID to obtain a digital hall pass to go to the bathroom, water fountain, office, or counselor. 

   “It is a digital system that enables students to get hall passes in order to go to the places that they might need to go during class,” Principal Eric Shawn said. “It allows us to keep track of who is out, how long they are out, and have more of an understanding of the comings and goings of our students.”

   A bathroom pass, an office pass, and a counseling pass each give students ten minutes, while a pass to the water fountain gives students five minutes. When a student returns, they must re-enter their student ID to end the timer. If a student does not sign back in within the allotted time, Minga will continue to track that student’s break for an additional twenty to thirty minutes to monitor the student's activity.   

   Before the Minga system, most teachers used a paper sign-out sheet where students manually recorded their absences from class. Many administrators agree that digitizing the hall passes may be a more effective system.

   “There was some inconsistency across our teachers, but we told them all to have a sheet of paper where students could write sign-in and sign-out times in order to get a hall pass,” Shawn said. “We presented to our equity club leaders on campus…they even said that not everyone takes those sign-in sheets seriously, and they can write someone else’s name or lie about the time, and we don’t have a really good way to keep our school really, truly safe.” 

   Along with an effort to increase consistency, instances of graffiti were another catalyst leading to the implementation of Minga. In recent years, administrators have faced challenges with student graffiti in bathrooms, which often included hateful or inappropriate messages. 

   “Some of this stemmed from struggles we’ve had with vandalism in bathrooms or behavior in bathrooms and students writing homophobic, racist, antisemitic graffiti that gets put on walls, and we don’t know who has been out,” Shawn said. 

    To combat these concerns, faculty members conducted bathroom checks throughout the day. 

   “We try to do a bathroom check about every period, so about every hour and a half,” Associate Principal Colin Malcolm said. “If something pops up that wasn't there at 8:30 a.m. when we did the first walk, but it was there before 10:00 [a.m.], we know it was someone in a first-period class.”

        Student safety considerations included both reducing instances of hate speech and improving the ability to locate students during emergencies. With the previous system, it was more difficult for faculty to locate students who had left class during these times.

   “If something happens and we can't track someone down, the more information we have, the better,” Malcolm said. “A lot of students were out wandering around, and not everyone was signing out…At least with Minga, we have a little bit more information to help us make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be and safe.” 

   In addition to aiding with safety concerns, Minga provides essential information for administrators by placing every student into a single system. There, administrators can search for specific students, determine what class a student is in, or how long a student has been gone. 

   “We will be walking around with our phones,” Malcolm said. “We have Minga downloaded on them, checking in to see if students who are out have a pass or not. Students who are out without a pass are going to be facing consequences because they should not be out of class without a pass.”

   Although the instructional video introducing students to Minga explained how to use the system, it did not specify how the system would be enforced or any potential consequences for misuse. As a result, some students were confused about how the new system would actually affect them. 

   “When [an administrator] was talking in the video about whether there would be consequences, it was unclear,” sophomore June Natal said. “I think people are going to take that one of two ways: either they need to do this, or it won’t matter whether they do this.” 

   Administrators have since clarified that they will enforce consequences for students who leave class without a pass. 

   “Being out of class without a pass is going to be a detention for students. That is pretty clear-cut,” Malcolm said. “If someone goes over their allotted time, they could be given detention as well.”

   Previously, teachers permitted students to leave class based on their own individual process or preferences: some teachers required a student to ask for verbal permission, while others preferred a silent exit. Additionally, some teachers had lanyards as hall passes while others used props like empty milk cartons or broken stools. Administrators stated that one of their objectives with Minga was to standardize this process.

   “The first level of success would be this system being used in every classroom so that no student is just saying that their teacher just let them leave,” Shawn said. “Then we know that everyone is held to the same standards. I have regularly communicated that in the first and last ten minutes of class, students are not allowed to leave. Now I will be able to know. I will be able to know if we are following safety protocols that ensure a focused environment.”

   Some teachers are hopeful that the new system will discourage students from leaving their classrooms during instructional time.

   “Every time a student leaves, it requires me to stop what I'm doing, give them permission, and I lose the train of focus,” AP Environmental Science and Health and Social Development teacher Jada Paniagua said. “Time is lost in teaching. Students leave, they miss something, and they come back, and either they don't know what is happening and they need support and guidance, or they will turn in the assignment, and they will not get full credit, and they will not know why.”

   However, some students believe that the new system is unnecessary, as they feel learning is an individual and independent process.

   “It is people’s own issues if they do not want to be in class,” sophomore Claire Leanos said. “It only affects them and their learning, so I did not see a problem with how it worked in the past.”  

   Regardless, Acalanes is the Acalanes Union High School District’s pilot school for Minga. Malcolm, who used the platform at a previous school, pushed for the system because he felt it was more student and teacher-friendly than other similar systems. 

   At Acalanes, Minga operates on “kiosk mode,” where students sign in and out on Chromebooks, or “kiosks” themselves. Minga also has a “my class” mode, where teachers can view their class roster and assign hall passes to students from their device.  

   “At my previous school, teachers really felt like they wanted to have ownership of passes, so they did the 'my class' [version of] passes [instead of] the 'kiosk mode,' which is what we are doing here at Acalanes,” Malcolm said. “Teachers still have that option here, but it is not going to be what most people are using at first, I think. ‘kiosk mode’ just allows a little bit more autonomy for teachers and does not require as much of them.” 

   In the future, administrators are considering options to improve the system to accommodate students who frequently must leave class for school-approved activities. 

   “For example, if you are in Leadership, Blueprint, or Yearbook, we can make a sticker and put it on your digital ID card,” Malcolm said. “There are a lot more capabilities that we could start implementing over the long run if this is something that works and people like. This is kind of our trial period to see if the hall pass system works.”

   Beyond safety and oversight, some students worried that they would no longer be able to take mental health breaks during their classes. The system still allows students to go to the Wellness Center on a hall pass, and they have ten minutes to get there. When the timer expires, they must receive a hall pass, either physical or digital, from the Wellness Center to return to class. 

   “If you ask your teacher to go to the Wellness Center, they should direct you to the kiosk, and then from there you can indicate that you are going to the counseling office, main office, or the Wellness Center,” Shawn said. “That is one pass to sign out on. Then it will give a ten-minute pass to get to that place, and then it will expire. When you leave to go back to class, you just have to check back into the kiosk when you come back.”

   Teachers recognize that long periods are difficult for students to be productive and focused.    Because the new system restricts the amount of time students spend outside of class, discussions about the amount of time students are spending in class have sparked.

   “In a 90-minute block, we definitely see more students needing breaks. We do have those teachers who give those five-minute stretch breaks or go outside and walk around the quad and come back to class because it is a long period of time, and I do believe we need to spend some time reflecting on the length of the block,” Shawn said.

   As Acalanes adapts to digital hall passes, students and faculty members alike have different feedback and perspectives on the new system. Some believe that the improvements are already visible.  

   “The system is brand new, but it appears to be helpful. I am noticing fewer students in hallways during class time,” site substitute Nicole Rardin said. “My hope is that it will keep students safe, accountable, and in class.”

   Others have also raised concerns about the enforcement of Minga and potential loopholes with its design, which could undermine its effectiveness.  

   “The new system stresses me out because there are so many limitations. The idea that I might come back to class and forget to sign back in and just get detention for that feels a little absurd,” senior Victoria Hiatt said. “I have also seen people using other people’s student IDs and being able to log in as them, without that person being in their class. That person’s timer counts down without them even being in that class.”  

   The system has also created some confusion regarding whether or not a student is absent from class, or if they just forgot to sign back in, which can be challenging for faculty to accurately monitor. 

   “The one thing that I've been noticing in the early stages of this is that kids are doing what they are supposed to be doing in terms of signing out, but they are forgetting to sign back in,” Campus Supervisor Andy McDonald “Mac D” said. “How Minga works is that if you are out past your allotted time, it comes up on the app. This kid has got to be back in class two minutes ago, three minutes ago, five minutes, ten. I don’t know if I am right or not, but I am thinking they just forgot to sign back in.”

   Despite the onslaught of initial feedback, many agree that the addition of Minga on Acalanes’ campus comes with a learning curve where students must operate the system correctly for administrators to see a change. 

   “Since it is new and we just implemented it….It is going to take a few weeks, but in the beginning stages it appears to be working,” McDonald said.

   Additionally, although the digitization of a hall pass may be new territory for most, some argue it is an opportunity to introduce a lifelong skill to students that will benefit them in the future.

   “The world is becoming more and more digital. Most of your jobs will have digital badges; colleges are relying more on digital stuff for meals, dorms, and such; most medical facilities are turning to ‘digital passes/sign-ins’ to name a few,” District Technician Michael “Mick” McEwen said. “This is only going to become more prevalent, not less, so might as well get used to it.”   

   As students, teachers, and administrators continue to adjust to Minga, the system will likely continue to evolve as Acalanes looks toward a more digitized future. 

   “I think anytime you add a new technological aspect and ask people to do something different from the norm, there is always a transition time,” Malcolm said. “It takes some time for people to get used to it, understand the purpose, and figure out how to do it effectively.”