Posted: March 9, 2010 |(2) Comments

Menomonee Falls — Like many of its students, Menomonee Falls High School is experiencing some growing pains.

In an effort to more efficiently operate the district's schools, voters in 2006 approved a referendum to renovate and expand the high school to accommodate another 400 students - ninth-graders - starting this school year.

Ninth-graders had been housed at North Junior High Campus, but that changed when the district closed Jefferson Middle School. The sixth- and seventh-graders who had been at Jefferson moved to North, which became a middle school. And the high school now is home to ninth-graders, the first time it has been a four-year school in 16 years.

The transition has not been a smooth one.

The school is on pace to have the highest number of expulsions and suspensions in at least a decade, and students and officials say they have seen an increase in the number of thefts and fights.

In one case, an incident that occurred outside the school resulted in a large lunchroom brawl

And that hasn't been the only incident in the cafeteria.

A February editorial in the school newspaper stated "numerous fights that have broken out in both the lunchroom and hallways, both of which are overcrowded and thus chaotic."

Senior Zak Peters said there have always been fights at the school, but he has noticed an increase this year. And more students seem to be getting detentions, he said.

Grinding gets scrutinized

Then there's the whole controversy over student dances.

Problems at the homecoming dance in fall - extreme sexual grinding, violent mosh dancing, which resulted in a teacher knocked to the floor, and outside guests - led school officials to implement a code of conduct at school dances that included a ban on grinding.

Students were so unhappy over the crackdown that only 10 of them signed up for the school-sponsored turnabout dance in February, which the district ultimately canceled. Instead, some 200 kids showed up at a student-organized "Alternadance" at the Richfield Chalet.

Perception worse than reality

Administrators acknowledge there have been some issues at the school, but they also say much of it is a matter of perception.

Superintendent Keith Marty said some people are saying the high school is unsafe because of violence, harassment and bullying, and increases in thefts, and are likening it to an urban school.

"Some of these perceptions grew out of some obvious things that happened there," he said.

"The biggest misconception is that MFHS is not a safe place," said Principal William Hintz. "All high schools have issues and challenges. We address them every day. We are safe.

"To be successful, we need the cooperation of parents, students, staff and administration," he added. "The safety of all and our commitment to academic success for each student is what we are about at MFHS."

Huge jump in enrollment

Part of the reason for the increase in trouble at the school is a result of the sheer increase in the number of students. Adding 400 ninth-graders this school year bumped the student population by 36 percent - from 1,100 to 1,500.

But other changes at the school created a perfect storm that may have contributed to the problems. About 30 percent of the staff is new this year, as are about half the students. In addition, several administrative changes were made before the start of the year that didn't sit too well with students, including banning large backpacks and revising the open-campus policy during lunch.

Those changes and others - such as changing the school start and end times - were undertaken to ease the transition to the restructured high school, Hintz said.

"The vast majority of our rules and expectations have not changed," he said.

But that's not the way senior Taryn Grisham sees it. She says one of the only things that has remained constant throughout her high school career is the amount of time students get to change classes - four minutes.

The lunchroom blues

Prior to the start of this school year, administrators changed the open-campus lunch policy. Up until this year, all students could leave the building for lunch.

"Over the years, that policy had created concerns by neighbors, the police, the staff, the local businesses, parents and some community members," Hintz explained.

Only the current juniors are affected by the change. Those students, who last year as sophomores were allowed to leave the school, now had to earn that right during first semester. Juniors who have done so are allowed to leave the campus in the second semester. This year's seniors continued to enjoy the privilege, if they are in good standing.

Marty said the reasoning behind the change was to prevent tardiness and absences, or kids skipping afternoon classes, and to help control the larger population of students.

But the combination of an overall increase in enrollment this year and fewer students being allowed to leave campus at lunch resulted in two lunch periods with 756 students in one and 779 in the other at the beginning of the school year. Fights began breaking out in the crowded lunchrooms.

As a corrective measure, officials created a third lunch period at the start of second semester in January which officials should have planned for, Marty said. Now, the first period has 708 students, the second has152, and the third has 673.

"It has reduced the pressure," Marty said.

Grisham said the extra period has helped, but students in the first lunch period are rushed out of the lunchroom as students in the second period enter.

Backpack size limited

The backpack policy was another change for students. Because of the influx of additional students, officials tried to be proactive about crowding issues.

"We established that large backpacks were not acceptable," Hintz said. "That for safety, health and overcrowding, all students must carry a certain-size backpack."

More than 800 students purchased an approved backpack for $5 each at registration in August, but some students didn't like the design or features, Hintz said. Officials allowed additional options, but still maintaining the size of the bag.

"Everyone has found a way around it," said Peters, adding that students either carry regular-sized backpacks while female students have resorted to using large purses.

School officials have gotten tough on students this year in an effort to address the fights and other problems.

So far this school year, administrators have issued more than 900 detentions and 80 suspensions, and recommended eight students for expulsion or hearings that can lead to a relocation of a student outside of the high school, Hintz said.

Six students no longer attend the school as a result of the expulsions and hearings, he said.

Numbers up this year

By comparison, officials expelled two students and suspended 61 in the entire school year in 2008-09 - albeit there were about 400 fewer students.

Hintz said enforcement among the staff continues to be a work in progress.

"The second semester is off to a good start," he said. "We have been making a greater effort to be more vigilant as a staff to enforce all rules and expectations."

"The atmosphere has changed second semester," Marty agreed. "The message gets out."

Hintz and Marty stressed that while there have been problems, there are some great things going on at the high school as well.

Most are 'good kids'

"We are filled with good stories," Hintz said. "The vast majority of our students are good kids. The vast majority are making good choices, getting good grades and following the rules.

"When we have issues or problems, we don't ignore them. We look for good solutions, make a plan, involve students and/or parents as well as staff as often as possible, and implement the plan."

Still, Grisham, who will have fond memories of homecoming, the football team and the Alternadance she helped organize, said the year has been a big disappointment.

"I was really looking forward to this year," she said. "I'm sick of people being upset about things."