CASE STUDY
Up to 30 students at a time were wandering Milwood’s halls, and teachers didn’t feel safe. With digital hall passes and a limit on how many students are out, referrals for unauthorized areas fell from 158 to 43 in a year.
- 73%fewer referrals for unauthorized areas
- 88%of teachers feel physically safe at school
- 22%increase in feelings of safety and order
Results from Milwood’s end-of-year staff survey.
Milwood Middle School
Solutions used
Capabilities
THE CHALLENGE
Teachers Said the Hallways Were Out of Control
Milwood Middle is a turnaround school in a high-poverty area of Kalamazoo. Students wandered and hid in the halls, fights were frequent, and the building’s many exit doors made it hard to secure. When the team surveyed staff, the top concern was clear: the hallways were out of control, and teachers didn’t feel safe.
Key problem areas:
- Students weren’t safe in the hallways
- Frequent fights and other disruptions
- Low teacher morale over safety
- Many exit doors made the building hard to secure
- Hallway chaos got in the way of teaching
The main challenge was that kids were out and about all the time. We would have upwards of 20 to 30 kids just wandering the building. I surveyed my staff at the beginning of the year and asked, ‘What do you want? Where are we going to start?’ And the number one thing they said was, ‘The hallways are out of control. I don’t feel safe.’”
THE SOLUTION
Fewer Students in the Halls, Back to Class Faster
Milwood rolled out digital hall passes over six weeks to improve hallway safety, listening closely to staff questions along the way. Students choose a pass for the restroom, water fountain, or locker, and a live countdown timer shows when they need to be back.
Staff limited how many students can be out at once and eventually got it down to eight in the whole building. Clear pass data also makes conversations with parents easier.
What Minga offered:
- Digital hall passes for orderly movement
- Hallway monitoring and reports
- Live countdown timers
- Limits on how many students are out at once
- Clear data for conversations with parents
I got it to a point where there were only 8 kids out at a time in the entire building. And I’ll never forget it, I was standing in the hallway with my Principal and I pulled up the app and said to a kid, ‘Hey, you’ve only got 27 seconds to get back to class,’ and the kid just took off! My Principal looks at me and goes, ‘How do you know?’ So I showed him the app and he was like, ‘All right, that’s great!’”
THE OUTCOMES
Safer Hallways for Students and Teachers
73% fewer referrals for unauthorized areas
Referrals fell from 158 to 43 in one year, with only 15 in the second and third trimesters.
Teachers feel safer
88% of teachers say they feel physically safe at school, up 17% from the year before.
22% more safety and order
Staff reported a 22% increase in feelings of safety and order, and 85% now say the school is safe.
Rules enforced the same way
Consistent enforcement rose 27%, and newer teachers feel less worried about conflict with students.
Fairer discipline
Fair application of discipline rose 36%. The same rules apply to every student.
A cleaner building
With fewer students in the halls, cleanliness improved 27% and there’s far less litter.
Minga has changed the climate of the building, you can step outside of your doorway and it doesn’t feel chaotic. There used to be times when it was madness. I’d turn a corner and there’d be six kids and they just turn around and run. They weren’t being held accountable before.”
See How Minga Can Improve Hallway Safety at Your School
Get results like Milwood Middle. Schedule a 30-minute demo and see how Minga can help you improve hallway safety.
