After an entire school year without a permanent principal, Diamond Bar High School has a new leader. While student voice is limited on campus and students rarely are allowed the opportunity of offering suggestions on how to improve the school, the editors of the Bull’s Eye would like to offer a few suggestions for our new principal. As Reuben Jones steps in, it is vital that he address the following student concerns.

Consistent curriculum: No two teachers teach the same way, and it seems that, at DBHS, no two teachers teach the same material across all subjects. English teachers cannot even agree on what books to teach, and science teachers are not able to coordinate lessons, instead choosing to instruct at wildly different paces. A uniform curriculum would do wonders in terms of preparing students equally for AP tests and for college classes. It is unfair for the AP score and grade of a student to be altered because of different teachers and their willingness to teach specific subject material.

More career-oriented classes: On the topic of education, DBHS needs more of it. Not in terms of more APs, but in terms of more career-oriented courses. The current ROP pathways offered at DBHS do not cover a broad enough spectrum and limit students to a small variety of career paths they can sample in high school. Careers in education, hospitality, marketing, and medicine are severely underrepresented by current school ROPs, and in order to truly prepare students for their futures, such classes should be offered.

Equal enforcement of school policy: Long forgotten are the school’s dress code and cell-phone policy. It seems that school officials are more concerned with what kind of hat a student chooses to wear rather than about whether flesh and undergarments are properly concealed. As for cell phones, school policy states that they are not to be used during passing period or rallies, rules blatantly disregarded by students and staff members alike. Equal enforcement of standard rules in all classrooms across the board would be a major step toward creating a consistent school policy.

Stopping mandatory club donations: The 2012 bill AB 1575 mandates that it is illegal in California to require students from a public school system to pay to participate in any activity or club on campus. With lax enforcement and even laxer punishment, however, many clubs and organizations on campus continue to pressure students into paying membership fees, and teachers continue to offer extra credit for attending school events. Our new principal needs to ensure that the execution of AB 1575 is consistent and puts an end to the flagrant disregard of these regulations across the campus.

These are just a few of the issues that many students feel should be on the priority list for Jones for the upcoming school year.

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