12 Chapter 2
elevators. Students use them during change of period, when they only stop
at designated floors (1, 5, and 9) to speed movement; at other times, they
stop on all floors.
The west elevators are staff elevators. They stop on all floors at all
times to permit staff to have quick access to their rooms. They are also
used administratively for deliveries and by the custodial staff to transport
maintenance equipment. These staff elevators are available to students
with disabilities so they have access to all floors at all times. Such students
are issued special passes by the health coordinator, based on physician’s
notes. Some students with chronic disabilities (severe asthma is the most
common) are provided with permanent elevator passes; those with tempo-
rary disabilities (such as sprained ankles or broken legs) are given dated
temporary passes.
A favorite student ploy is to try to illegally use the teacher elevators.
For some, this is pure sloth: They want to use the most direct route. For
others, it is part of the “Let’s see what I can get away with” game. Either
way, it was a continual source of student-teacher confrontation until the
principal took action.
Here’s the way it played out: A student would get on the elevator. A
teacher would ask to see her elevator pass. The student would fumble in
her book bag or purse, looking flustered. The teacher would become irate
and tell her to get off the elevator. The student would respond in kind to
this negative manner. Soon a shouting match would ensue, the dean would
be called, and the student would face a short suspension for showing dis-
respect to the teacher. In other words, the student would miss instruction
because she tried to get on the wrong elevator.
This made no sense. The principal, Ms. Valletta, accepted the fact that
many teenagers are lazy by nature and will look for the easiest way to
get from point A to point B. She accepted the fact that trying to get away
with breaking a rule is an adolescent game. Given that, she met with staff
and asked them to follow certain defusing procedures when confronting
students on the staff elevators:
- When a student gets on a staff elevator, ask to see the student’s eleva-
tor pass. (Students were now being advised by the health coordinator
to keep this pass with their IDs and transportation passes so they could
be located easily.)