Recently, hall sweeps were brought back to TJ. They will be in place for the rest of the year. During a hall sweep, if a student is caught walking through the hallways during a class period without a pass, they will be sent to the auditorium, assigned a consequence, and sent back to their class.

The number of students that are hall swept is never the same every week. According to Dr. Freudenburg, “It really varies. I would estimate maybe 15-20 students.”

Mr. Albright, one of TJ’s assistant principals, talked about why hall sweeps are happening again.

“Now that we have everyone back in the building we wanna build that awareness that attendance and being to class on time is important,” said Albright.  “We thought that it’s something that we did last year and we thought it was pretty effective and this year we just want to continue that expectation that kids will be into classes on time,” he added. “Research does show that the first ten minutes and the last ten minutes of classes are really crucial. So getting students to class in those first ten minutes are extremely important just to set the tone for the day.”

According to an article written by the Wisconsin English Journal, “Even before the bell has rung, [teachers could] stand at your door in the morning and greet the students as they walk in. That greeting could be a handshake, a fist pump, a pat on the back, or an individualized hello meant for that student.”

This research shows that greeting students like this can make them feel welcomed and respected. Although with the pandemic that is happening right now, social distancing is important. So teachers could sit at their desks and welcome each student in as they walk in.

Either way, if the students are greeted nicely as they walk into the classroom it could result in them being to class on time. If students feel welcomed and respected when entering classes, they are less likely to be late the first ten minutes.

With more students getting to class on time, attendance will increase and the number of students hall swept every week will decrease.

Albright explained that hall sweeps won’t happen every day as it would take the purpose out of them. However, when there is a hall sweep, teachers are notified.

Although hall sweeps are never planned throughout the week, this is to show students that there could be a hall sweep during any period of the day, which will further help students realize that there are consequences for not going to class.