New year, new construction – and new problems for North Atlanta students. The school’s entryway was reconstructed to include two rooms and only one security metal detector. One metal detector and hundreds of students? Not the best match. The line has grown significantly, leaving the students frustrated and with more tardies than they expected. Morning routines have been upended as students wake up earlier and feel stressed before the first bell.
Stressed before the day starts is bad enough, but what if that stress comes after a sleepless night? Peyton Baxter, a junior, has already collected two tardies within the first two weeks of school. However, her teachers remind her that she should walk up earlier to skip the line, but it’s hard to beat the unbeatable. She finds that no matter how early she gets to the line, there is always a line. “I had to start waking up at 6, which is the middle of the night,” said Baxter.

Not only is the construction causing challenges with the students, but it is also not visually pleasing and isn’t improving efficiency. Owen Kirkland, a freshman, says it takes him at least 15 minutes to get through the line. The big box squishes everyone in and does not leave much room for movement. He just barely makes it into his first-period class on time. Thankfully, he has survived without any tardies, but he believes that something needs to be changed to get all the students in the building. “They need to put more metal detectors so more people can get through,” said Kirkland.

Other students have chosen to avoid the mess altogether by taking the bus. The hassle of being cramped into tight quarters and forced to shuffle single-file through one singular metal detector is too much when there is another option. The bus riders enter through another entrance, where there is more space and two metal detectors. Amari Gibbs, a senior, takes the bus in the morning and usually arrives around 8:15. The bus security check, he said, is much faster and more efficient. There might be a line out the door, but compared to the carpool line, it is a cake walk. “I am glad that I rode the bus because I have not had any tardies yet,” said Gibbs.

Between early mornings, stressful waits, and changing routines, students are hoping the line will soon start to resolve to make the mornings easier. But for right now, making it to class on time might be the hardest test of the day.