When an ACC Chronicle survey about morning announcements went around, people started talking about how we might be trying to steal the morning announcement jobs. No need to worry, though. We’re just on a mission to make them better. 

As our school moves to the Grace Hopper Center, we expect a lot of things will be changed up, so we asked ACC students for their comments and suggestions.  In our survey, we received some responses with people saying “stop tryna take ma hbs job💔;” and “Can yall not take Ashley & I’s job?”

Don’t worry, James and Ashley, nobody is going to take your jobs.

The ACC morning announcements play every day during Archers’ period. Thanks to the efforts of Ms. Alexander, Ms. Martinez, and sophomores James Karlton and Ashley Hernandez, announcements usually run for a few minutes, providing important information, the Pledge, and the Moment of Silence. Although they’re helpful to many, we wonder if a new approach might keep everyone better informed. 

Every school day, Ms. Alexander and Ms. Martinez write up the requests that come in from club leaders and school staff. They acknowledge that it’s difficult to hear the announcements with all the background noise. Here’s the question: Do people actually take the time to listen to the announcements? We surveyed a total of 86 students and staff from ACC to see their opinions. 

 When asked who listens to the morning announcements, the results were fairly even: 34.7% of students responded that they never listen to announcements, 23.6% saying only sometimes, 20.8% who usually listen, and the rest said they occasionally listen. 

As the announcements happen during Archers’, where students are often busy doing homework, visiting other teachers, retaking tests, chatting with friends, not to mention that many clubs like to meet during this time, Archers is a busy period for most people. Maybe moving it to the beginning of 1st period would be more beneficial for everyone.

More than half of the responders report that their classes do not remain silent for the Moment of Silence or the Pledge, even though Virginia state law requires schools to play the Pledge of Allegiance and have a Moment of Silence during school. Only 40% of survey respondents were aware of this state-wide requirement, which might explain the noise.

Based on the survey results, the current morning announcements could use improvement. We asked students and staff of ACC for their feedback on how they could improve it. Here are some of the responses that aim for improvement:

• “The announcements don’t really say anything. They should say [like] what the lunch is, any clubs happening, or like important days like the STAMP I took yesterday, and inform people of upcoming events. The announcements aren’t really saying anything useful. In my middle school, they would announce a bunch of things, but they [still] kept it short.”

• “Broadcast them (like in a slideshow format) on the TV’s around the school. The TVs in the booths right now are always off, so places such as those would be good to broadcast them.”

• “It’s hard to get information from morning announcements because I cannot look for that information again once I hear it, and I forget the things I hear sometimes.”

• “I’d make them more visible or accessible. Most likely having a few designated TVs that show what the announcements have to offer.”
• “Make them louder in the Box, it is too loud in there.”

Since our days in the ACC building are coming to a close, we’re thinking about the Grace Hopper Center and what will work best there. Many students asked for other reminders about announcements so that they can go back and check if they miss them. One thought is to post the morning announcements on the ACC Chronicle, along with the regular morning announcements played at the end of 1st-period, to also allow time for the Pledge and Moment of Silence. 

According to Ms. El Hashem, the first period was extended at Wakefield to allow time for morning announcements, and we think that would be a good idea for us. Another option is to use Canvas Global Announcements, even though many students find it annoying to scroll past every time they open Canvas.

As people brainstorm solutions for our school’s morning announcements, there are still many questions, especially considering the multiple programs our school serves.

Will Arlington Tech have its own speaker system? Will we open morning announcements to every program at the Grace Hopper Center? Will we even have morning announcements next year?

Since we’ll be spread over 5 floors, good communication will be more important than ever. 

It’s decisions like these that we’ll continue to track over the next few months.