Here at Mayfield Middle School there are several different bathroom pass policies. Depending on the team, there may be different expectations for bathroom usage. Some teams allow unlimited passes and some offer very strict numbers. Are the bathroom policies fair? How do students feel about the bathroom policies? Are there negative impacts on students? Should the schools adopt  one consistent bathroom policy?

Dream Team’s policy, according to Miss Crotty, is that all the teachers have a sign-up spot in their room. Students place their names on a list.  Teachers have an open and closed sign.  When the teacher is giving directions or providing instruction, the bathroom is closed.  Once the students are working, the sign gets turned to open, signaling that  the students can use the bathroom.  Mrs. Crotty added, “Students may only use the bathroom once a class.  Students are not allowed to make separate trips to fill water bottles.” 

Trailblazer team’s policy is similarly flexible. Mrs. Leonard explained, “Students have to have a pass when leaving the classroom. We only allow one student out at a time.  That’s about it for now, if bathroom breaks are abused, we usually make some additions.”

The All Star Team’s  has the strictest policy in the sixth grade.  Mrs. Mayer said, “We have 10 passes a quarter to be used in any academic classes, anytime.”

Adventure team’s policy, according to Mrs. Satink, is “5 passes per quarter, per core class. ”  That equates to 20 passes compared to All-Star’s 10.  Satink added that if students go over their 5 passes in a class they can still use the bathroom but they also receive a lunch detention. But students can use the bathroom during passing time, whole class breaks, advisory, or flex without having to use one of their 5 passes from a class.

The Innovator team’s policy is to allow 2 bathroom/emergency breaks in each core class every month or so (10 class periods).  This would work out, roughly, to 4-5 bathroom trips per class or 20 per quarter–so fairly similar to Adventure’s policy.   Also aligned with Adventure Team, if students need a third bathroom break in a specific class, it results in a detention, but Mr. Wojciechowicz said “based on the past few years, we have rarely (maybe once or twice) had to give out a detention for overuse of bathroom breaks.”  Wojciechowicz expressed that they prefer for students to use non-instructional times to use the restroom. He said, “Students have 3 minutes of passing time between classes…  They can also always go at lunch/advisory time, which many do.”

The Warrior Team’s policy is the most relaxed.  According to Mrs. Djukic, “Our bathroom policy is one out at a time in each class.”

In the eighth grade, three teams have similar bathroom policies.  Ohana’s team policy, according to Mittinger, is “3 passes per quarter per class.” This equates to 12 per quarter.

Legacy’s Team also allows 12 passes per quarter.  Hele allows only 8, but then assigns strikes for subsequent passes, so a student can technically go 11 times before consequences are assigned. Both Legacy and Hele offer rewards for unused passes.  Williams noted, “If they have 7 left at the end of the quarter, they are invited to a party to celebrate…usually a pizza party.”  Mr. Dick said that Hele’s unused passes turn into raffle tickets for a free lunch from a place of the student’s choosing.  And students who have all 8 get a morning donut party. 

The Maverick policy, according to Mr. Duraj, is for students to leave their phones on the teacher’s desk and then they may use the restroom.  There is no limit to how many passes they get. 

So to summarize, here are the team pass allotments from most to least strict in terms of bathroom trips per quarter.

Hele=8

All-Star=10

Ohana & Legacy= 12

Adventure & Innovator= 20

Dream, Trailblazer, Warrior, & Maverick= Unlimited

Mrs. Saunders responded to why Hele has the most strict policy.  She explained, “It makes sense that expectations might get more strict from sixth to eighth.  We really want students being intentional about their time by eighth grade.  Our classrooms are very close to two sets of restrooms, and we no longer have lockers, so we want students using their 3 minutes between classes to use the restroom. ”  She added, “We think staying in the classroom is important.  If a student uses the restroom every class for me, even if they’re quick and only gone for 3 minutes, 3 minutes times 20 classes per quarter means they’ve missed an entire hour of academic time.”

When asked if she thinks limiting bathroom use is unfair, Saunders said, “No. Every quarter, we have about 30 students who don’t use a single bathroom pass. So it’s doable when you manage your time well.”

In conclusion, there are many different bathroom policies at Mayfield Middle School.  More consistent policies would help keep it fair from team to team and would help kids know what to expect from year to year.