WOODBURY — Leave and return, a policy where juniors and seniors could leave school campus during mid-day study halls and return, is no more.
Chase Knapp, a junior at Nonnewaug, isn’t thrilled that this privilege has been taken away.
“[It’s] an annoyance,” said Knapp.
Leave and return had never been originally a plan, but when COVID came around, some rules were loosened and students were allowed to be called out for study halls and flex periods.
It was something that principal Mykal Kuslis said he had not seen in schools before coming to Nonnewaug.
“Leave and return was causing some issues with kids missing classes, traffic issues and driving issues,” said Kuslis, explaining it was something that he knew administration needed to start phasing out. “We had a couple of pretty severe accidents last year when kids were out during leave and return.”
With the opportunity to leave campus, kids would take it, but sometimes making it to and from the school in a tight time frame could be a bit of a stretch.
“We recognized that there aren’t a lot of places to go out and pick up lunch nearby and that to be able to get out of the school and get back without speeding is difficult to do,” Kuslis said.
Senior James Assard is frustrated by the stricter rules.
“I don’t see how it’s dangerous for students, especially if it’s restricted to only one class out of all four classes,” said Assard, who noted the privilege should be allowed for seniors. “I [saw] a lot more of freedom [last year] than what we have this year, and even us students going out to our cars and getting stuff from our cars, we’re not allowed to do that anymore.”
With kids going out during the school day, it leaves nothing but liability for the school.
“We realized that there was a lot of opportunity for kids to get hurt [and] distractions out there that could get [students] in trouble,” Kuslis stated.
He explained that there is a district safety committee, and it was the recommendation from the safety committee, Woodbury police, and state police to end leave and return in order to keep students safe. The school also chose to end late arrival and early dismissal for juniors.
“Generally, as a whole, we think of school as a learning institution,” Kuslis explained. “We want junior year to really be a year when kids are focusing on post-secondary options.”
Without leaving campus, students won’t miss important opportunities and information that may be distributed throughout the day.
“We’re seeing a lot less of that this year,” said Kuslis.
