One long lunch has been a long-standing Western tradition and is a schedule enjoyed by much of the student body. However, it is currently facing scrutiny as administrators weigh new logistical challenges and staffing limitations heading into next year. Principal Jennifer Sublette explained that while Western’s singular long lunch is a point of pride for the school, conditions next year may make it impossible for the school to maintain.
The primary reason that two lunches are being considered is due to a change in the upcoming year’s teacher contract, negotiated by the Albemarle Education Association. This change guarantees teachers 25 minutes of unencumbered lunch each day. This would mean teachers wouldn’t be able to be put on lunch duty, leaving managing the building up to the four administrators and three security staff at WAHS. Sublette said, “If the contract changes, then legally we’re not allowed to use teachers for lunch duty, and that can make one lunch really hard to pull off.”
Without enough staff to monitor the building, Sublette says problems arise: “we find sometimes if lunch is too long, we tend to have more misbehavior and social conflicts and things like that. And as the school has gotten bigger, it can just be harder to manage and supervise.”…