You leave your classroom in Tenafly High School. Just as the bell chimes a calming note, you exit the building. The fresh air rushes up your body, and the sun shines down on you as the door closes behind you. You’ve left the building not because you were excused or had some sort of emergency. It’s because you have an IDT, which allows you to leave the building. Whether built into your schedule or given because of a teacher’s absence, IDTs at Tenafly are a dream. Well… to the students, at least.
IDTs (Independent Decision Time) and the concept of an open campus have been around at Tenafly for years, but they started as a privilege for only sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Everything changed after COVID-19 when the THS administration changed the policy to give all students an open campus. Mr. James Morrison, the school principal, initially changed the policy because COVID was still rampant, but now, years later, the policy remains unchanged.
Whether students have had a late night studying and need an extra hour to sleep in, or they have mountains of homework to battle and then see they have the last period off and they can go home early, having an open campus makes all the difference. If our school, like most, had a closed campus, those students would not get the extra hour to sleep in or may have been too distracted in the loud library to get their work done.
“I think [having an open campus] is very helpful to students because it gives them opportunities to go to places that might help them study better than in school,” Evelyn Nicholls (’28) said. “It can also improve students’ grades overall if they get more study time.”
Though many students spend their IDTs on school grounds, having the option to leave is highly important to the students.
“Because I can’t drive yet, I usually stay at school when I have an IDT,” Ella Plotkin (’27) said. “I like to get my work done, so I don’t have to do it when I get home. And because people are allowed to leave, it is not too loud in the library. If we were all forced to stay at school during an IDT, the library would be a literal jungle gym and the number roaming the halls would be super disruptive.”
Another benefit of our open campus regulation is the freedom to hang out with friends outside of school. Many students see school as a stressful environment, but being able to leave when free allows them to alleviate stress away from the root of it. One of the students, Gia Anamisis (’28), has taken advantage of the open campus rule to the fullest. Given how often she goes with her friends, she might as well be considered a Dunkin’ regular.
“It’s really great to be able to hang out with friends during IDTs,” Anamisis said. “Especially if you don’t get to see them during the day. Dunkin’ is close by and so are the food or drink locations in town, so I can always go out to grab some food or drink when it’s possible.”
While THS students are thankful for our open campus policy, many take it for granted. Most schools around the U.S. do not have open campuses, especially not for freshmen. Moreover, there are mixed feelings among teachers, as they see both the good and bad in having an open campus.
“I think that fresh air and sunshine are important for a student’s well being,” Mr. Kolb, a science teacher, said. “But if too many students abused the privilege by leaving campus when they had class, I think the rule would change.”
“I think that one of the benefits of [having an open campus] for IDTs is that students get to blow off steam by leaving school, and if they didn’t have an open campus, we would have a lot more discipline problems,” Mr. Whitehead said. “However, I think that students wandering the halls and making noises during class has been a problem for quite some time.”
The dream of an open campus at Tenafly is truly a blessing many students take for granted. Imagine one day you finish class, and as the bell chimes, you try to exit, but as you approach the door, a voice shouts at you. “Do NOT leave the building; we do NOT have an open campus anymore.” While this isn’t the reality, imagine it was. What would our school look like with a closed campus?
