New Horry County middle schools nixing most lockers

Lockers may soon be a thing of the past for Horry County Schools.

The district’s plans for four new middle schools probably won’t include the stereotypical symbol of rows and rows of metal lockers lining the hallways. Instead, about 100 lockers will be strategically placed around the schools for special needs or disabled students, according to Mark Wolfe, director of facilities.

“That’s the direction we’re currently heading in,” Wolfe said. “But we’re talking about only 100 lockers or so, with hooks or something in the classrooms to hang backpacks.”

The implementation of the Personalized Digital Learning (PDL) initiative reduces the need for lockers because it gives every middle school student an iPad, Wolfe said. Some textbooks are also digitally formatted – though not all of them – so students just have to carry their device.

“The general discussion in the middle schools is that we don’t really need them,” Wolfe said.

The district’s facilities committee discussed the pros and cons of removing most lockers with middle school administrators during breakout sessions. The general consensus, Wolfe said, was the lockers were getting in the way of a normal school schedule. Students are spending too much time talking at the lockers between classes and some would even forget their combinations, Wolfe said.

“I have a locker, but I never really use it,” said Brooke Harris, eighth grader at Whittemore Park Middle School in Conway.

H.T. Lee, executive director of middle schools for the district, said all Horry middle schools have lockers and most issue lockers to students whether they request them or not. Some schools only give out lockers if students request them, and use “really depends on the student population.”

“In some schools in the county, we have the majority of students using lockers, while in other areas, only some of them use lockers on a regular basis,” Lee said.

Lockers provide students with a secure location for student valuables, a place to store books, notebook and lunch, and freeing needed space in classrooms, Lee said. The disadvantages include maintenance, congested hallways, theft – when lockers are left unsecured – and loss of classroom time when students leave their items in the lockers, Lee said.

Nixing traditional lockers won’t leave students without any storage spaces; school officials are looking into backpack hooks or cubbies in classes for textbooks, bags and lunch.

“Removing lockers from new schools will not detrimentally impact students, as administration will ensure options are available for storage and security purposes,” Lee said.

Several other Whittemore Park students said they only use their lockers occasionally. Emily Johnson, eighth grader, said she uses her locker for her cheerleading uniform and some textbooks. She’s worried removing lockers would mean she’d have to carry around her athletic gear all day, but the new schools will have spaces for athletes.

“For kids who play sports, it’s a lot to carry around,” Johnson said.

New schools will still have lockers in gyms and other athletic areas, as well as special needs classes and spaces for students “who can’t carry everything,” Wolfe said.

Janice Christy, principal of Myrtle Beach Middle and member of the district’s committee that selected an architect for the new schools, said some of her students share lockers because of overcrowding. Some Myrtle Beach Middle students use their lockers daily, some use them sporadically and others never use them, Christy said.

For some students, lockers are a status symbol and a rite of passage into middle school. But for others, Christy said, they can be a source of worry.

“Lockers are an exciting aspect of middle school for some students while other students experience great anxiety related to lockers,” Christy said.

The district is building five new schools: Carolina Forest, Myrtle Beach, Socastee and St. James middle schools; and Socastee Elementary School. All five schools are expected to open by August 2017.

The cost to build the five new schools by First Floor Energy Positive, a firm based in Raleigh, N.C., is $220.6 million, but emergency and work funds brings the total up to $240.3 million, according to documents from the district.

Terrell Hemingway, eighth grader at Whittemore Park, said he uses his locker occasionally but doesn’t always need the extra space, especially now that most of his schoolwork is done on an iPad. He said removing lockers wouldn’t be a big deal for most students.

“Not that many people use them nowadays, because we have bookbags,” Hemingway said.

Eliminating lockers won’t save the district any money because the original designs didn’t include them, according to John Gardner, chief financial officer. The district didn’t budget for lockers, so it won’t change the cost of the schools, he said.

Even if the new middle schools won’t have lockers, Christy said administration will stay focused on what’s most important: student learning.

“Horry County Schools will remain focused on its core values with lockers or without,” Christy said. “Our first core value is to put service to students above all else.”

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 3:51 PM with the headline "New Horry County middle schools nixing most lockers."