Driver education classes may not be offered until tenth grade, but students at Wilmington Area Middle School are learning the rules of the road under new hallway regulations.

            Halls have been converted into two-lane roads using tape lines.  Students are required to stay on the right, a rule indicated by arrows on the floor.

            The change attempts to eradicate pushing, running, and confusion among middle school students.

            “It was just a jumbled mess of people,” Mr. Fennick says.  “We need to crack down in the hallway and get organized.”

            Faculty members suggested the road system at a recent meeting.  Mr. Rhodes put down the tape, encouraging students to emulate the high school practice of walking on the right.

“I think the high school does a better job [keeping halls orderly] because they are used to driving,” Mr. Fennick says.  “The teachers wanted to put up a highway to organize our hallways, and I told them to go for it.”

            Mr. Fennick will have the final say in case of disobedience, but he told faculty to take note of problem students.

            “I’m not asking the teachers to chase students down the hall if they misbehave,” he says.  “They can just write down names, and I will give the students a ‘traffic ticket’, otherwise known as a lunchroom detention.”

            Middle school students are divided over the regulations.

            “I think it’s a good idea,” says Anna Hartwell.  “I haven’t run into anybody yet.”

            Andrew Scuito disagrees.  “I don’t like it.  It’s just another way to get a lunchroom,” he says.

            Mrs. Wallace, math teacher, thinks the change has improved faculty behavior in the hallways as well.

            “I find it very helpful,” she says.  “I am not taking corners as sharply so it’s helping me.”

            Despite some disagreement, Mr. Fennick has seen a positive response overall.