The additions to Shaker High School during the past couple years have been a necessity to the growing student body within the district. However, for many current students of the high school it has affected during their morning commute, during the day, and after school.  Over the past year additions to the Junior High, along with a renovated football field have been just a few of the new looks to the Shaker High School campus. The construction’s outcome has been extremely helpful towards the plan to expand the Junior High as the student body grows, and the new sports fields have looked great for the athletic teams. However, the construction has not gone unnoticed by students for its inconvenience in their daily lives. One student athlete told me that the construction affected his practice schedule which disrupted his overall daily life; “Practice had to be changed to around 9:30 at night which impacted my homework schedule and daily life as a whole.” In return, however, he does say that the construction was necessary stating that “facilities were outdated and not as nice as many other schools that we compete with. [The construction] and renovations now will give us an edge athletically and academically.”

This edge, along with a growing student body are two of the main reasons why this renovation is taking place. The construction from these renovations has taken a toll on more than just one student. The estimate for the amount of students impacted is “more than half… maybe 1500” one source told me. Another student I interviewed stated he thought the new parking lot entrance for students was helpful, along with most. He stated “It helps get unnecessary cars out of the way sooner which helps when I drive in in the morning.” One of the students I interviewed had a quite different reaction to the new parking lot entrance than most, stating that is is not helpful because “the traffic is still there, and most of the students are terrible drivers to begin with.” These specific students may have conflicting thoughts but the consensus seems to be that the construction, or more specifically the new parking lot entrance has had a positive impact on the school go-ers morning commutes thus far. Though the construction cannot stop any potential traffic, it also surprisingly has not contributed to any more traffic than what is already seen in the morning and afternoon commutes by students. Personally, the construction has never really given me any trouble in any situation, and I don’t expect to in the future. Almost every student I interviewed said that although the construction had impacted their daily lives in some way, it has almost never been negatively. This is obviously an added plus, knowing that the construction has not been harmful, however the consensus has been that the construction is prevalent.