It’s two minutes before class, you quickly pull into the school parking lot, but don’t see a single empty spot in sight. As you glance back and forth, cars surround yours, and as the clock races. You’re late to class. This is a reality for many students on a daily basis since Bay Shore High School has limited parking spots. 

Impact on academics

A lack of parking can substantially impact academics. Since parking for students in our high school can be difficult, it’s hard to get back to class on time after lunch. Even when students do find a spot, one of the student lots is a decent distance away from the school. When students are late to class, this impacts their grades. One student of many who experienced this is junior Isabella Kroger. 

“I was coming back from McDonalds and the order took longer than expected, and when we got back to school, our parking spot was taken. The trek to school was way farther and I was late to class,” said Kroger.

Many students in Bay Shore High School have a license and more will have their license as the year progresses. Parking in our school is just going to get more and more limited as time goes on. The only available parking spaces for students are the Church right outside the school and student parking, which teachers sometimes also use.

Parking can cause even more problems than just being late. If a student accumulates too many latenesses, they risk facing disciplinary action. Junior Jamison Baker gives his perspective on the consequences he faced for not being able to find parking.

“I was on my way back to school from going to get lunch, and once I got back in the parking lot it was almost impossible to find a spot,” said Baker. “Even though there were many spots in other lots, we were only allowed in the church. This made me rack up so many latenesses and I ended up having to face detention.” 

Disparities in parking access between students and staff

According to the Bay Shore Schools website, there are currently 1,874 students enrolled in our school. Compared to the staff which only includes around 180. There shouldn’t be a disparity in the student/teacher parking. Even if all students cannot drive yet, there are still over 400 seniors at Bay Shore High School, which is more than double the school staff, yet we have a fraction of the parking. 

“The parking situation hasn’t really affected me nor any other teachers that I know of,” said Mr. Jones.

Since many teachers very rarely having a problem finding parking, this suggest that there are more than enough extra spaces that students can use. Either fragments or sections of teacher parking lots should be shared with students. 

Ultimately, dealing with the student parking in Bay Shore High School isn’t a want, it’s a necessity. Every day, students lose crucial learning time simply because they cannot find a place to park, forcing them to rush into class late, stressed, and distracted. This ends up putting them at a clear disadvantage all because a parking spot was something to fight over. 

The surplus of teacher parking demonstrates that there are readily available spaces that students can use to not only benefit themselves but others also. This is one of the main contributions to students’ success with getting to class on time and getting what they need to do.