Two thousand two hundred ninety students, 1161 lockers and not enough classrooms is what CHS has been going through for years, leading to an increasing need for more classrooms. Locker removals have taken place and will continue to do so to give students more space.
“I think the locker removals could help because a lot of my classes are currently really overcrowded and I definitely think that we could use some more space at Chantilly,” freshman Victoria Kornilova said.
These needs led CHS to remove more lockers in order to create more classrooms. Earlier this year, all the lockers outside the cafeteria and at the end of the 800s hallways were removed, but apart from a few seats, nothing else was placed in these areas. This summer, lockers will be removed to make three new classrooms, according to assistant director of student activities Kevin Ford.
“We were approached by Fairfax County Central Office about the possibility of making some of the areas [into] classrooms,” Ford said. “There was design and construction looking at overcrowding.”
Since locker removals are a process that requires several days, it is not possible to do it during school days or on weekends. The lockers that were removed previously happened during winter break.
“[FCPS] told us that they are going to remove the locker bay by the science area, also [upstairs next to] that glass wall, and put new classrooms in there this summer,” assistant director of student activities Kevin Ford said.
CHS is removing lockers not only to build new classrooms and create more spaces for students, but also to create work areas where students can work with their friends and spend time.
“Those collaborative work areas aren’t going to be rooms; it’s going to be an open space,” assistant principal Jihoon Shin said. “If you look in the workplace [such as] Google, Microsoft or Apple, that’s what is designed in their offices today. That’s how I think you see a shift in the business world; [CHS is] trying to recreate that here in the high school environment.”
(Asmin Cakir)
At the end of the day, all the changes made in the school can help the staff and students, according to Mr.Shin. Mr. Shin reminds them that they hear their students’ voices and encourages students to express their wishes and suggestions, even if it is just talking to their counselors.
“One thing I always tell students is, you should voice your opinion,” Shin said. “I want kids to share their ideas with the admin team because we want to [do] the things that are most beneficial to [students].”
