If you missed Homecoming last month, you weren’t alone. Several students have already lost the ability to attend every remaining dance and athletic event.
How?
It’s simple: the new Matrix system, which started in August.
The Matrix operates as a point system with the more points earned the more serious the punishment.
“There’s five different levels,” Bennett said. “Level 1’s kind of your smaller stuff – disrespect, insubordination, cell phone violations, excessive tardies, stuff like that. And you can get points anywhere from zero to five.”
“It’s a good way of scaling different kinds of offenses that happen in the building. It’s a good way of keeping track of that and not kind of guessing what all a kid has done,” assistant principal Shawn Bennett said.
Students with over 25 points who still try to enter events will be barred.
“Usually we’re going to have a list at the front desk because you got to have an ID to get in,” Bennett said, “You prepay for events, football games, dances, stuff like that, our finance lady will have a list so when they go to sell the tickets they would have that,”
This new system is not unique to Derby. Several school districts having implemented this earlier, Including Bennett’s previous school, Mulvane.
“I know Haysville has it, as well,” Bennett said.
All students were told about the system throughout the first week of school.
“I believe we sent out emails to families letting them know about it, as well. It’s also in the student handbook,” Bennett said.
From the first day it was talked about with students, it garnered a reaction from the students.
“Mostly it was about the dress code; they really didn’t like the dress code,” sophomore Nadia Wisner said.
Sophomore Ashlyn Snead really doesn’t like the dress code.
Derby High School’s dress code states all undergarments must be covered, no sunglasses allowed indoors, no excessive skin shown or revealing clothing, no sagging pants, chains, or spikes.
“I think that there’s not clear enough rules,” Snead said, “I could wear one thing and someone else could wear the same thing and one of us gets dress coded and the other one doesn’t
Of the 137 students surveyed, 64% have a negative view toward the school’s new system.
“I personally feel that each situation should have its own kind of base, and everything should be independent,” junior Noah Parra said.
Parra elaborated.
“It makes it more corporate, not kind of kids to teachers, it’s more like kids to graphs,” he said.
One of the most controversial things in the new system is tardies.
“At 10 tardies it’s two points, (at) 15, three, (at) 20, four,” Bennett said. “And then every increment of five after that it’s five more points,” Bennett said.
Meaning that a student would lose all privileges to go to school events at 45 tardies.
However, some students are looking on the bright side of having a Matrix system.
“Hopefully it’ll stop skipping class or vaping in the bathrooms, make a better environment to learn in,” sophomore Nadia Wisner said
Vaping in the bathrooms is one of the main problems the Matrix wants to address.
“I don’t like walking into the bathroom and walking back out because there’s a group of people messing around,” Wisner said.
This year, vaping results in 25 points, meaning an automatic ban on entering school events and a possible expulsion hearing.
Students will be notified when they receive points.
“They can ask any time and typically when we have them in the office and we’re assigning points, we usually discuss that with them at that moment,” Bennett said.
Points aren’t completely set in stone if you have them, however.
“We also have what’s called positive points, but it’d be like negative, because we’d be subtracting points,” Bennett said.
Student’s are noticing the effects, whether miniscule or large.
“This year people are getting put away every day, last year it was more like every other day,” Parra said.