Over the winter break, Ritenour’s administrative team enforced new rules that initially made students bristle.

However, the rules were put into place in the name of student safety and achievement, rather than student pleasure.

“The rules are designed to make students feel safer while at school. There are designed to make students feel lessfrightened about coming to school. This is also is a response to what feedback we received from students” Dr. Anthony Robinson, principal of Ritenour High School said.

Students are no longer allowed to use cell phones in class, unless used for educational purpose. They also brought back the rule from the recent school year that students have to wear ID’s above the waist.

Also, students who try to leave school early will let the whole school know about it by making the alarms go off on the door. Those students will also receive a one hour detention.

Another rule being enforced is 90/90 attendance to get into dances. They also are enforcing purses being smaller than a sheet of paper.

While students might be responding with anger, the administrative group was only reacting to student surveys and is trying to improve the student’s safety.

Over half the students at Ritenour, when taking last year’s survey about the school, said they did not feel safe. The administrators and a small group of students agreed these rules will help students.

Last week, news reporters from KSDK did a private investigation testing school safety in five schools in St. Louis. All but one school, Kirkwood High School, passed the private investigation.

Kirkwood allowed an unidentified person to walk freely around the school. No one who crossed paths with him questioned who he was.

A while after the reporter left, Kirkwood went on lock down when they could not verify that the man was a reporter because he did not answer his cell phone.

In order for someone to enter Ritenour they would have to get buzzed in by a secretary. Then they would be welcomed at the closed off welcome desk, and in order to get to the office they would have to get a visitor pass.

If they wanted to go somewhere past the offices, they would be escorted to the back by an administrative principal.

And if by any chance they tried to reach past the office area, they would be found on by the cameras placed all around the school.

They would then be questioned by the many of new police officers that are walking around the school.

While the students may complain about losing some luxuries, many of the rules are to help the safety of the students.

With ID’s being worn, the majority will be easily identified. Instead of just relying of staff to know their students. In addition to the safety concerns, the new rules will also make classroom learning much less distracting.

“By enforcing these rules, more kids will be academically successful,” Assistant Principal Alicia Collins said.