At Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS), open campus is a period in the school day when seniors are free to leave the school building and use the time as they choose.
It has become a senior rite of passage built on small routines and everyday traditions, with students reporting they are feeling a newfound sense of independence and motivation in their efforts to keep the privilege during their final year in high school.
Open campus started in the fall of 2018 as the result of collaboration between student government, who advocated for the senior privilege, and school administrators who ultimately approved it.
Senior Maeve Cook-Martin uses the time to get ahead on schoolwork. “Usually, during my open campus block, sometimes I like to go to the library to get some work done because I can use it as a study hall, or I can go home and have some free time, or even go somewhere and get food for myself and sit down and do some work,” she said.
Some seniors also see open campus as a good time for socializing and taking a break from schoolwork. Senior Grady Stalgren uses his time away from school to catch up with friends and relax. “I usually hang out with my girlfriend, Katie, and we just go take a walk on the beach, or we go on a nice little hike, or we eat somewhere, or sometimes we just sit in the car and listen to music,” he said.
For senior Isla Solon, going to Edgartown Meat and Fish with friends has become a habit. “It’s very close, and we started going there because we liked the food and the drinks, and then it just kind of became almost like a little tradition, like a routine. We basically go there at least three times a week,” she said.
Rodrigo Honorato is responsible for managing students’ open campuses, and explained how punctuality is key. “Students need to get here on time, by morning meeting, so they don’t lose their open campus.”
He added, “It’s preparing [seniors] to become adults. So if you’re late to work, you’re probably going to get yelled at or even fired, right? So it’s very important that we start teaching them to have accountability and to be responsible in coming to school on time so that they’re able to keep their open campus privileges.”
Students agree that open campus has made them more capable of managing their time with responsibility.
“I think it’s a good thing to give people longer breaks between classes because it helps with time management,” Isla said. “If you’re late coming back from open campus, you then get it taken away for the week. There are consequences, and I just feel like you get really good at making sure you get back to school on time.”
Through managing the freedom of open campus, students can learn independence and take ownership of how they choose to use their time. “Productiveness can be a wide range of me going to the gym, taking a walk, getting food for myself and nourishing my body, or getting work done — I feel like it ranges,” Maeve said.
For students without access to a car, the experience becomes more limited. Grady said he plans his open campus around friends who can drive. “I usually have a bunch of friends in my open campus. I tried to set it up that way, so I could find someone leaving the building and just ask them if they want to go do something. So I’ve never really been left here without a ride,” he said.
Grady feels the impact of this compromise has been positive all around. “I’ve gained a lot of responsibility. It’s nice that I feel that I can leave the building, and the school trusts me enough to leave. It’s so nice to reset and take a break from school for a minute, and then come back and be able to keep working hard,” he said.