From Interruptions to Efficiency: Rethinking Hall Passes in Today’s Classroom

It never fails. Teachers will be in the middle of a lesson, really hitting the important points students need to comprehend for state testing, when all of a sudden, a hand shoots up. 

“Ms. Smith…can I get a hall pass?”

Naturally, there will be times when learners need to use the restroom, leave to see the nurse, or take any number of valid trips out of the classroom. One request is normal. But teachers don’t only have one student. In any given day, educators may need to provide hall passes for anywhere from 10 to 20, or even more, students. Suddenly, the precious minutes you planned for instruction start slipping away. Interruptions happen. But it doesn’t need to be this inefficient. The process can be improved. 

Hiccups in instruction time caused by manual hall passes can add up in ways you might not always realize.

Hidden time costs of manual hall passes

1. Writing the pass more than once

A handwritten hall pass likely takes only a few seconds to dole out. This wouldn’t be an issue if it were only for one student. But for each request, educators must pause instruction, find the slip of paper or the laminated pass, write the student’s name, date, time, destination, and then sign it. Seconds add up to minutes and even hours over the course of a month. Every moment of a school day is precious.

2. Managing requests while teaching

There’s never a “good” time for a student to request a hall pass. It’s not easy for a teacher to jump right back into a lesson after pausing mid-explanation, mid-question, or mid-demonstration to assist a learner in need. Again, the time it takes to get back on track is time that would be better spent staying focused on the task at hand.

3. Noting student movement

When students leave the classroom, how do teachers ensure they are headed to the right place? Logging when, where, and why is vital for safety and accountability. With a purely manual system, the responsibility lies with teachers to not only be hall monitors, but also data keepers. It’s yet another task piled on top of everything else they must juggle to keep the school day running smoothly.

4. Following up on overdue passes

When a student takes longer than expected, teachers often have to mentally track who’s out, glance repeatedly at the clock, and sometimes even send another student to go look for them.

5. Managing lost or damaged passes

Crinkled paper, disappearing lanyards, or the classic “I think someone else took it” mean teachers often spend even more time replacing or redesigning hall passes.

6. Fielding repeat requests

Without a solid standard system, students might ask multiple teachers for passes or request one right after returning to class. Teachers end up playing detective, having to check times, verify stories, and watch out for unusual patterns.

Time better spent teaching and learning

Even if only one student requests a hall pass per period, each of these trips adds up quickly. Across weeks and months, the numbers will continue to climb at an alarming rate. Time is everything to a teacher who only has a set number of hours to devote to ensuring their students learn and understand everything they’ll need to succeed in the future. This is time better spent actually assisting students rather than trying to police them.

Let tech handle the time traps‍

GoGuardian Hall Pass, a digital solution to this problem, eliminates the small but constant interruptions that weigh on teachers. And with its upcoming integration with GoGuardian Teacher, managing hall passes will become even more seamless. Teachers will be able to create, approve, and deny passes directly within the GoGuardian Teacher interface, saving even more time and eliminating the need to toggle between apps.

With our solution, you’ll be able to:

• Quickly create hall passes: No writing. No searching for a clipboard. Just tap and go from GoGuardian Hall Pass directly or from within GoGuardian Teacher once the integration launches.
  
  
• Obtain a clear picture of student movement: Know instantly who is out, where they went, and how long they’ve been gone without playing hallway detective.
  
  
• Automatically log and report: Say goodbye to binders full of paper. Everything is tracked digitally and made ready for easy reference.
  
  
• Make use of built-in limits and safeguards: Prevent overlapping passes, reduce hallway congestion, and cut down on excessive requests.
  
  
• Ensure uninterrupted instructional time: The goal isn’t to control students…it’s to give teachers their focus back.

Reclaim teaching time

Why use manual hall passes when the modern classroom has already made the transition to digital learning? Say goodbye to slow, inefficient, and disruptive methods. With GoGuardian Hall Pass, teachers can take those lost minutes back and reinvest them where they matter most: Helping students learn.

Read more

A Digital Way to Say Goodbye to Instruction Disruption

What Paper Hall Passes Are Missing When it Comes to Student Safety

How A Digital Hall Pass System Can Benefit Your School

The Data Behind Disruptions: What Hall Passes Reveal About Student Needs

Better Digital Hall Pass Policies Start with Better Data

From Interruptions to Efficiency: Rethinking Hall Passes in Today’s Classroom

Introducing GoGuardian Hall Pass: Safer Hallways, More Classroom Learning