Wasted Space: The new commons area is underutilized and should have been used to build new classrooms

When I saw the new commons room for the first time, I was practically jumping for joy down the north ramp. The massive windows and high ceilings were a welcome sight after dealing with nine months of yellow tape and loud construction noises. Yet, after the initial buzz wore off, I was left wondering the purpose of this new space. 

The intention of this new space was that it’d be a collaborative space where students could work together on assignments and projects, according to principal Jason Peres. 

And that isn’t a bad idea, but up to this point, the new space has been underutilized by both teachers and students. 

It has to be asked — should this new space have been used for something else entirely?

Similar to the library, the commons is dedicated to giving students a space to complete homework and study for classes. The commons was left without any source of supervision to facilitate discussion and group work.

But this means there’s no one to keep students on task or shush them if they’re being too loud. 

Unfortunately, students have taken advantage of this new freedom. Rather than studying flashcards for their next Psychology test, students in the commons can be seen playing paper basketball or filming TikToks. 

The frequent misuse of the commons has caused students who really do wish to study to move elsewhere. It’s difficult to accomplish any work with the bombardment of distractions from around the room.

While rehearsing an oral argument for English class with a few other students, I simply couldn’t concentrate on the task at hand. Even though we positioned ourselves the farthest possible from the students skipping class, we were hopeless to the onslaught of paper airplanes crashing beside us and echoes of laughter as a result of the large open space. This eventually forced us to gather our books and move to the library. 

Even for teachers who can provide their class supervision, the room has been relatively useless. Unless your course requires a lot of group discussion, why would you move a room full of 30 students down to the commons? The commons doesn’t make teaching any easier or any more engaging , it’s just a larger space. In fact, the administration has had to encourage teachers through emails to bring their classes down to the commons due to under-usage according to Brett Kramer. 

Rather than using the three million dollars received from the district to build a tremendously large study hall, the district facilities committee should’ve addressed the needs of our teachers and built new classrooms. 

East has over ten teachers still without a homeroom — teaching out of a backpack. 

This used to be the case for business teacher Mallory Dittemore until she was given one of the new classrooms. Being a traveling teacher was extremely hectic for Dittemore. She explained that she was forced to spend unnecessary time planning how to displace the materials from class to class rather than focusing on the actual content. 

This is unacceptable and a problem that should have been prioritized over building a new space for “collaboration” when we already have a library serving that purpose. Our teachers are already underpaid and overworked — they shouldn’t have to deal with the added stress of not having their own classroom. 

With additional space available, the district facilities committee should’ve prioritized our teachers and ensured that each of them has their own space from which to teach. Every teacher deserves a classroom.

Regardless of whether or not the commons room should have been used for new classrooms, one thing is clear — so far it has been underutilized. The administration needs to find a way to make it more serviceable, whether it be by bringing in a supervisor, using it for the business and marketing department, or forming makeshift classrooms.