GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Green Bay schools will no longer allow students to wear winter coats inside of school buildings. The Green Bay Area Public School District sent notices home this weekend announcing that the rule will take effect Wednesday.
While it might be the start of January in Wisconsin, students are still expected to remove their coats once they get inside the buildings – or to their lockers. Superintendent Stephen Murley says leaving coats in lockers during the day isn’t a new concept.
“Pre-COVID, our policies were that kids kept their backpacks and coats in their lockers,” Murley told WTAQ News. “As we went through COVID and some of the challenges that came along with shared spaces and things like that, we relaxed many of those requirements that we had before.”
It also comes after a series of social media threats, and a gun being found in a locker at Green Bay East High School just before winter break.
“The eventual goal that will have backpacks and coats back in the lockers and kids in classrooms with their class materials,” Murley said. “So you’re seeing some of our middle schools, for instance, move back to no backpacks in the hallways or in classes. You’re seeing some of the high schools start to encourage kids not to carry backpacks around, or if they are, to carry only the minimal things that they need from class to class.”
While some form of pushback is expected, Murley says the goal for every building is to keep temperatures at an appropriate level to hit the comfort zone of most people.
“We want to make sure that everybody who’s in the classroom has a comfortable environment in there…To make sure that each environment is not only physically safe, but is also environmentally comfortable. So we’ve got it regulated to the right temperature – warm enough in the winter, cooling enough in the spring and fall,” Murley said. “We see that as an opportunity for our staff to engage in that dialogue with kids to make sure we get the temperature set at a level that allows them to focus on teaching and learning.”
Murley says the district is working to bring back some expectations that were in place prior to the pandemic, and it simply starts with the coat and backpack policies.
Meanwhile, high school students are still seeing slightly different operations due to the aforementioned threats.
Students entering schools will have their IDs checked by monitors and administration. Students must have IDs in their hands and visible as they enter the building at any time during the day. Students who cannot find their IDs will be checked in by administration and security at the main entrance. Students without IDs will be able to get a new ID at the security desk.
Students will continue to enter either at the main entrance or fieldhouse entrance. All other doors are locked throughout the day, including classrooms during instruction. If a door is breached, i.e., a student lets in any other individual through a door that is not either of the two entrance locations, then all individuals (those who open the door and those who enter) that are involved will be subject to search and other disciplinary actions.
It’s unclear exactly how long those measures will remain in place.
