Since freshman year, I’ve had a problem with the Seven Hills free bell program: it’s not really free. While free bells are free for seniors, students in grades 9 through 11 are stuck at school during these periods. And, we all have to sign in with our advisors five minutes before our first class. These two things make attendance and tardiness at Seven Hills far more confusing and unhelpful than they should be.

I may receive some flak from seniors for this controversial opinion (one that renders one of their most prized senior privileges meaningless), but being able to leave campus, arrive late, or leave early because of a free bell is a permission that I believe every student deserves. For one, it means students can get more sleep in the mornings when they have a first block free bell. And, being able to leave in the middle of the day or leave early is an important option as well because it can allow students more flexibility when booking appointments. At St. Xavier, a competing, all-boys school, students are allowed to leave during free bells. When asked if he uses his free bell permissions fully, St. Xavier student Alex Rowe said, “I’m able to get in all my appointments without missing practice.” While students can leave during free bells by putting a request into Veracross, being able to sign out anytime would make free bells feel far more free than they are now.

If Seven Hills switches to a system more like St. Xavier, it will require a total reworking of the attendance system. In particular, it will need to become a lot more open-ended. Today, attendance at Seven Hills is complicated. First, students have to sign in with their advisors to confirm their attendance at school, and then they head to their first block class, where they have to confirm their attendance again. Under the new system, students will only have to confirm attendance in class. If they have no class, they have no need to confirm attendance and no need to even be at school, as some argue it should be. Although, not signing in with one’s advisor does mean students miss out on important social time, according to Mr. Polifka. Polifka said, “[Signing in with an advisor] does give you and your advisor a daily touch point. And one of our hopes moving forward is going to be the strength and advisory, really trying to build those relationships out. And if [students and advisors meet] every morning, it’s at least a chance to talk.” This is how it works at St. Xavier as well, as St. Xavier student Alex Rowe said, “Each teacher is responsible for their class’s attendance. If there isn’t a class with a teacher, there’s no attendance needed.”

The new attendance system will also remove another attendance oddity I already covered: the need to sign in twice. Now, school can start at 8:15 when classes start, granting students a little bit of extra time to get to their first class. And, it will make tardies far more equitable, as students with advisories in the DAC, Field House, or Schiff will no longer have a longer walk from their advisory to their first class. This will increase efficiency for the school, as students only have to head to one classroom each morning.

But this whole system undermines two other systems that will also need reworking. For one, the phone collection system. I suppose removing the need to sign in with advisors could shift the responsibility of collecting phones to your first-block teacher. And, students leaving early would have to go to the office to retrieve their phones, making the whole process seem more similar to today’s system than a potential system of the future. Polifka said, “Having to turn your phone into your [first block] teacher would be a logistical nightmare, because someone would have to go through and sort the phones [before check out], or would you go get them back from your first block teacher? It’s just too complicated. Your advisor [is there] every day. It’s the same person.”

The other established system it undermines is the schedule. If students can leave early or arrive late, they’ll want all their classes to be in the middle two blocks so they can minimize time at school and time driving. If Seven Hills does introduce this, or another new free bell/attendance system, I believe they should do so at the same time they introduce the new schedule, which they’re doing in 2027. As I understand, the new schedule will be a constantly rotating one, with every day being unique. This will be the perfect time for the school to introduce this new free bell system because it means students’ constantly rotating schedules will ensure every student can leave early and arrive late at least one time per rotation.

I think this new free bell system will also increase morale and energy at school. Giving students a late start or early dismissal every once in a while might just be the perfect thing to increase energy at school, which is severely lacking. Plus, opening up new times for students to make appointments means students miss less school. And, they won’t have to stress as much about attendance, as they’ll have a bit more grace in the mornings. With enough students leaving early and arriving late, there will be a small (but noticeable) change to arriving and departing traffic at school.

While I do think freeing up free bells could be good from many perspectives, it also has problems. It will reduce human connections, reduce time at school, and bring on logistical problems. While there are many benefits to a system like this, and it works at other schools, it might not be the right fit for Seven Hills. Mr. Polifka says, “I do think sometimes there are some students who believe that what they’re here to do is to learn physics, collect certain grades that can be redeemed for college admission, and get out. And all I will say is I think that, I would encourage people to check that assumption. I think that a lot of the best learning that I did in high school … came between the classes and around the classes, and it had to do with other people, and extracurricular activities, and sports teams, and building stuff.” I think that freeing up free bells and decomplicating the attendance system could be beneficial for Seven Hills. But, this isn’t a one-sided issue, and the choice Seven Hills has made to keep students at school during free bells is a purposeful and well-meaning one.