Keeping comfortable in locker rooms
Last winter, private changing stalls were constructed in the boys’ and the girls’ locker rooms. The school board and the district office started the process around the fall of last year, and the last installation was made in February. There are five stalls in each locker room located in the back.
Assistant Principal Kelly Welch said, “[The stalls are for] just any student that might want to change privately, that they’d be able to do it. So PE classes can use it, the sports teams can use it, and the visiting sports teams that use our locker room can also use them.”
Prior to their installation, the only other location to change besides the locker room was in the bathroom, which Welch said “isn’t very much and isn’t very comfortable to use.” She wanted students to be able to have the privacy they want and not feel uncomfortable or embarrassed.
“I think it’s wonderful for students to be able to have a place they feel comfortable. . . We want students to be physically, mentally, emotionally safe, so if this helps that, then that’s great,” Welch said.
With the transition to a new school, she pointed out that freshman and home-schooled students may feel the most awkward changing in front of new people, and said she wanted to make this shift a little easier in this regard.
“Coming in freshman PE can be awkward for students, sometimes it’s uncomfortable. We have a lot of students that come from private schools or home schools that didn’t take general PE classes with the general student population. And so, to have a private place to change, is a wonderful thing for any student to have,” Welch said.
