According to The Department of Education, almost 20% of students get called out of school weekly by their parents. Absence rates are higher in 9th and 10th grade. This could be solved by open campus in all grades.

In 2011, many Mount Vernon students were leaving school during open campus and rushing back so they weren’t late to school. As a result, many citizens of Mount Vernon were worried about kids getting into car accidents and tried to get the schools to close their campuses. The school started having a closed campus. Since then, the city built a roundabout. Almost 15 years later, MVHS still hasn’t changed back to open campus, even though there is a Highway 30 bypass, and a roundabout added to ensure safety.

As a high school student, with everything going on you’re bound to forget things such as water or an extra pair of clothes for gym class. Most students have their parents leave work or have them called out so they can go get it. With open campus, during a free period, you could go and grab what you need. This would also decrease the amount of punishments for kids leaving without permission.

Open campus will also teach more students responsibility. Students forgetting things and having their parents bring them things is teaching them to rely on their parents, which is not going to help them in their future. Students would have the opportunity to go home and prepare better for what they need which teaches them to be more independent and responsible.

School lunch is not always the best but food is needed to refuel the body. Students can’t just leave during lunch to go get food, they have to have their parents call them out. Many students skip lunch because of this reason and go on about their day being hungry. Some even have their parents leave work to bring them food.

All high school students should have an open campus.