At the start of the 2025 to 2026 school year, Woodbridge High placed a new rule regarding the newly added staff-only parking lot, which prohibits students from walking through before and after school to prevent any accidents and promote safety.
“The goal is to enhance student safety by separating pedestrians from vehicle traffic during high-volume times before and after school,” said head principal Linzi Gorzycki, explaining the purpose of the rule.
Gorzycki also stated that the decision was not made individually but rather by the administration team in response to community concerns. “The decision was made by our admin team in response to community concerns related to safety in the parking lot,” Gorzycki said.
While the focus is broad in its intent, the school leadership emphasized that it is intended to protect all members of the school community: “The focus is on safety for everyone, students, staff, and families,” Gorzycki said.
Both benefits and downsides have emerged from this place-based rule, such as an orderly flow of traffic and a better peace of mind for parents knowing there is a clear area where both the safety of their children and drivers is accomplished. The primary downside, acknowledged by the school, is an inconvenience to students where as their routes to and from school have been delayed or entirely changed, which leads to possible problems for said students.
Some students report that they and/or friends have experienced trouble arriving and leaving school due to route changes. “Some of my friends have been talking about it and saying, like, it was affecting them when they were coming to school,” sophomore Yashas Santosh said. “Just like that, they’ve had a hard time just getting to school because it was interfering with their path to come to school.”
When asked whether to change or remove this rule, freshman Becker Schjei, as a student who took his route through the lot, said, “It’s actually positively benefiting me because on that
parking lot, the staff parking lot, it’s kinda cramped and a bunch of e-bikes running through.” Both Santosh and Schjei gave their comments on a possible change or removal of this rule and both had different perspectives on how this rule could be adjusted or not.
parking lot, the staff parking lot, it’s kinda cramped and a bunch of e-bikes running through.” Both Santosh and Schjei gave their comments on a possible change or removal of this rule and both had different perspectives on how this rule could be adjusted or not.
“I think students should be able to just cross it, like, when they’re leaving campus or entering campus, they can cross, but just…I say just be careful where you’re going, I guess,” Santosh said. While Santosh believes that students should have the ability to cross, Schjei believes things to remain how they are.
“I feel like people should just listen to the rule if they’re implemented, because it’s just better for the safety of all of us…” Schjei said.
As of now, the school does not plan further changes to the rule, though it remains open to feedback. “While we are always open to feedback, there are no current plans to modify this rule,” Gorzycki said.
Finally, when on foot to receive a first-hand experience at this parking lot and the said problems among students, what was prominent was that no staff, security, or admin was enforcing this rule, and that students still walked or biked through the lot, causing difficulty with staff leaving campus.
Whether a student is affected or not by this rule, it is directed that all students should still follow rules on campus placed by either the school, district, or other. In order to achieve safety on all ends and to no cause problems or accidents in the future, students, repeated again, should still follow all rules to provide a well-space for all accounts.
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