With a school that is 47 years old, it might not be surprising to learn that some parts of the building are not very accessible to students with disabilities.
For example, there are currently only two accessible bathrooms–one in the Commons and one in the second floor of the social studies wing.
Mia Balella is a sophomore who uses a wheelchair. She said bathrooms are just one of the improvements the building could have for more accessibility.
“We need more accessible bathrooms. Having to go across the school to go to the bathroom is frustrating,” she said.
Junior Josie Portell, who also uses a wheelchair, agrees with Balella.
“The inaccessible bathrooms are one of the hardest obstacles with navigating the school. There’s only two in the whole school and I have to travel to them a lot. Sometimes people that don’t need to use them use them,” she said.
Another problem these students come across is the slow elevator. This can affect students with disabilities as well as students who are recovering from injuries.
“Sometimes it’s hard for me to get to my classes on time because the elevator is slow,” freshman Myles Shafer said. Shafer also uses a wheelchair to negotiate the halls of South High.
One often-used area of South High that is inaccessible to some students is the Counseling Loft. The Loft is place full of resources for students, except when you can’t get to it. Currently, the only way to get to it is through a stairwell.
“For anybody who can access the Counseling Loft we have to meet them somewhere else like the Commons, library, their Ac. Lab, or the hallway. It takes them to let me know they need to meet instead of just popping up,” counselor Rob Lappin said.
Assistant Principal Eric Wilhelm said more than just counselors realize this problem.
“Every student should have access to their counselor, social worker, college/career counselor whenever they want,” Wilhelm said.
Wilhelm said there was a plan in place to make the Counseling Loft accessible when the building was originally built, back in 1975.
“There was a plan to have an elevator from the Lower Commons to the third floor stopping at the Counseling Loft, but they ran out of money,” Wilhelm said
Portell said she usually depends on email when she wants to contact her counselor.
“I usually just email but if we have to meet in person it’s usually in the cafeteria,” she said
However, Balella said she would much rather meet with her counselor in person.
“We go to an empty classroom or wherever Mrs. Roach thinks it is good to meet,” she said.
With the elevators being slow, students using them have to find solutions, according to Portell.
“I try to leave my classes a few minutes early. My 2nd hour is AP Gov which is on the 1st floor social studies and my ac lab is 3rd floor science, and my teacher is great about letting me leave early,” Portell said
Besides the building itself, the way individual teachers set up their classrooms can impact students with disabilities, as well.
“Some classes don’t have a lot of space and if my desk is farther away it’s harder to get to,” Shafer said.
However, Balella said many teachers do their best to accommodate students who use wheelchairs.
“Teachers usually keep me by the door so I don’t have to navigate the whole room. Classes with pods are easier,” Balella said.
Hallways are always crowded which can sometimes provide another obstacle, according to Portell.
“Crowds are hard to navigate but other than that I’m just like everyone else; my chair just takes up more space,” Portell said.
Baella agrees that the crowded hallways can be hard to navigate.
“People don’t get out of the way for me, I have run into so many of them. You can’t see where you’re going and have to be aware of a backpack hitting you in the face. I’ve gotten bloody noses 7 times,” she said.
There are several locations in South High that are accessible by law but still inconvenient, such as any downstairs P.E. and math classrooms, locker rooms, weight rooms, and the pool. If a student with a disability needed to access it they would have to use the lift or ramp in the Lower Commons to go to the downstairs math hall. From there they would go outside and around the school to access the room they were going to.
Access to these areas of the school will be changing shortly, according to Wilhelm.
“There is a $2 million bond revenue issue of the P.E. area that will happen in the next two years. Part of that will be access to the pool, weight room, locker rooms,” Wilhelm said.
All teachers and administrators are united in wanting accessibility to all locations at South High, according to Wilhelm.
“There is no one in the building who does not want the changes to make it more accessible,” he said.
