The West Bend Current

Hallway supervision at the West Bend High Schools has turned a corner.

In fact, many corners of the building’s hallways have newly placed desks. They arrived with no fanfare and students have noticed that usually no one is sitting at them. The apparent lack of personnel using the desks creates an eerie atmosphere, prompting students to wonder how and why they arrived.

“I’ve always wondered why the desks are there,” East sophomore Laine Colclough said. “They’ve always seemed sort of spooky and weird.”

The mysterious desks were set up in December. According to the main office, they are meant as a rest stop for the supervisory aides, along with a chance for improved hallway supervision.

“We wanted to create stations for our supervisory aides,” assistant principal Bob Feldkamp said.

Between escorting students and hall monitoring, the aides rarely get a break, so the desks were placed as a chance for them to get off their feet while still keeping a watchful eye on the hallways. They are sporadically manned during and between class periods. The desks often appear to be empty because the monitor assigned to that area is out escorting students.

Additionally, the desks also add a layer of security. Keeping students in class and preventing them from wandering the school helps decrease the chance of a potentially dangerous situation, such as a fight or intruder.

“It’s another level of safety in our schools,” associate principal Dave Uelmen said.

The desks may be a temporary practice, with reevaluation of their effectiveness soon to take place. Perhaps one day they’ll simply vanish, as swiftly and silently as they appeared.

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Image: A hallway desk was placed outside the auditorium on the second floor. Photo taken Tuesday by Ariel Hermann, Current Staff.