Let’s face it, numerous students have been out sick due to a variety of illnesses, whether it’s RSV, Covid-19, influenza or just a common cold. Those who  have been out of school are missing too many assignments and assessments to even count. So, they go to room 2055, the assessment center. The room is crammed with sweaty nervous students and dozens of timers blaring off at different times. 

Many teachers find the assessment center helpful as a place to send students to make up tests. 

“As a classroom teacher I really value the assessment center because we have a lot of students who need to make up stuff or have extended time,” math teacher Jennifer Giudice said. “It’s a huge asset that we have here.”

Recently, the occupancy of the assessment center has reached a maximum because so many students are absent, usually because of sicknesses.

“The uptick in illnesses in November and December have certainly increased for December and early January in the number of students who access the assessment center,” Principal Stafford W. Thomas Jr. said. 

The assessment center has a maximum capacity of 15 students at a time; therefore, with the extra students it can be very crowded. Sophie Statkiewicz ’25 has dealt first hand with the issues of trying to take a test in the jam-packed space.

“There’s normally a line with one teacher,” Statkiewicz said. “Sometimes I didn’t get to take the test until halfway through the period.”

In the past, there had been a paraprofessional along with a teacher to supervise tests, but  that position was cut from the budget. Now the responsibility to supervise the test center falls solely on teachers, who have five minutes to leave the center and get to their next period class. This has been an issue in the past when students are not finished assessing and their proctor has to leave. 

“If a student’s test did run into a passing period, as a classroom teacher, I need to close it down and get to my next test,” Giudice said. 

This is not only a prevalent issue for Staples, but for other neighboring schools as well.

“All of the schools are experiencing similar traffic issues that we are seeing here in terms of max occupancy and beyond,” Thomas said. “Covid, Rsv and the Flu have hit all the schools hard, even the ones with a para there like we used to have.”

With all of the following dilemmas in the center, many have ideas for how to improve the conditions for students.

“We can increase the amount of days that we have a teacher that’s there after school,” Thomas said.

Certain students who have taken tests in the center have their own thoughts and suggestions on how to better the experience there. 

“It would be helpful having students with a shorter test closer to the door,” Kylie Kirkham ’25 said, “that way it’s less disruptive when they leave.”

Another idea for improvement for the future is to change the maximum capacity for the space. 

“We can explore looking at a larger room for next year,” Thomas said.

With fewer students becoming sick and some of the proposed changes, the traffic in the assessment center is likely to calm down. 

“With that and the two days after school,” Thomas said, “it should not be an issue.”