Teachers are being seen a lot more outside the classroom these first weeks of school as they are being asked to have a more visible presence by way of extra duty in the commons or the parking lots.

“I don’t mind parking lot duty,” math teacher Andrew Stallings said. “It’s kinda nice actually, to go outside. I wave and [the students] say hi to me as they go by. I get to see them out of their element and that’s interesting to me.”

Teachers are in their assigned area for about 20 minutes before or after school.
“I love the fact that we have morning and afternoon [parking lot] duty and that they’re getting the teachers involved,” English teacher Romi Farrell said.

While most teachers don’t seem to mind the extra duty, there is a drawback for some.

“It does postpone tutorials and things tend to run a little bit late,” Stallings said.

Principal Chris Mayfield is planning to enforce parking lot duty next year as well.

“We started assigning teachers to duty in the parking lot as well as other areas around campus to increase safety at LHS by teacher presence and awareness,” Mayfield said. “Teachers have expressed they think it is a good idea.”

Teachers are assigned by their preferences as well as schedules, then he distributes the shifts to faculty members.

“I think [parking lot duty] is really good,” Mayfield said. “It gives an opportunity to talk to the kids before and after school, [while providing] a good safety opportunity.”