Transforming Hallway & Classroom Management at Mt. Whitney High with “My Class”
Overcoming challenges with behavior management, boosting accountability, and reducing disciplinary incidents.
About Mt. Whitney High School
Students
1,600+
Grades
9-12
The Challenge
Difficulties with Managing Hallways, Tardiness, and Student Behavior
Mt. Whitney High School faced various challenges common to schools in low-income areas, including frequent class-skipping and disciplinary issues. It was difficult for campus supervisors to monitor the hallways effectively and the existing hall pass system was cumbersome and easy to bypass, leading to increased disciplinary incidents and fights breaking out while students were unsupervised.
The school also struggled with tardiness, and the task of issuing manual consequences for tardies added to the administrative burden on staff. With a need for strong administrative oversight, the school sought an efficient solution to regain control over student movement and create a more structured environment that encouraged positive behavior.
KEY PROBLEM AREAS:
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I was struggling to get pictures taken and ID cards, that’s how it started. Then once we realized what else Minga could do besides just being an ID card, it just blossomed into where we’re at now because it’s a very good product.
We had a problem with kids hiding out in the bathroom. So we’re trying to come up with a system that would alleviate this. Minga was a big part of a huge, comprehensive plan to stop kids from ditching class just by hiding out in the bathroom.”
The Solution
Introducing Minga’s “My Class” Feature for Simplified Classroom Management
Once Mt. Whitney implemented Minga, they quickly discovered that it offered much more than just a digital hall pass system. The “My Class” feature further transformed how teachers manage student movement, making it easy to issue bathroom passes with built-in timers and monitor hallway traffic in real time. Minga’s Digital ID cards also help monitor student entry, exit, and attendance during free periods and events. The digital tools required minimal effort for teachers to adopt and significantly improved oversight of student movement, ensuring that students remain on task and accountable throughout the school day.
In daily operations, Mt. Whitney uses Minga to streamline multiple tasks. Teachers can quickly issue bathroom breaks with Digital Hall Passes and campus supervisors use iPads to monitor hall passes, ensuring students stay accountable and increase their time in the classroom. In addition, all tardy-related detentions are now monitored through Minga, making it easier to keep track of consequences. Team-based features build community through activities like the football Pick’em Game and teachers can send positive messages to parents about student achievements.
What Minga Offered:
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“We allow the students to create their own passes — that’s how we sold it to the teachers. It’s gonna save you time. You don’t have to write passes anymore. Students can create them and it’ll start a 5-minute timer. All you have to do is say, ‘Yes, you can use the bathroom’, and they create them, they go and come back.
Before they’d been using whatever they wanted to use for a pass so it was hard to keep track of. But once we went to Minga the 1st year, it was not stressful on the teachers. They all loved it.”
The Outcomes
Simplified Processes Create a Positive Cultural Shift on Campus
Significant Reduction in Disciplinary Incidents
Within the first year of using Minga, the school saw a 30-35% reduction in disciplinary incidents related to bathroom use and students skipping class. Teachers embraced the new system, and compliance increased across the board.
Impressive Teacher Buy-In and Efficiency
75-80% of teachers had adopted the My Class feature. Even those initially hesitant became advocates after witnessing the immediate drop in classroom disruptions. The platform saved teachers time, allowing them to focus more on instruction and less on monitoring passes.
Improved Data-Driven Decision-Making
Minga provided administrators with real-time data on student movement, enabling them to make informed decisions about further interventions. The platform’s ability to sync with PowerSchool and track tardiness helped enforce policies more consistently across the sch
Ease of Tracking Tardy-Related Detentions
For tardy-related detentions, Minga enables efficient consequence tracking by syncing with PowerSchool data. This system ensures students attend detentions without dispute, easing the admin load and boosting accountability.
Boosting Student Accountability
Minga empowered students to become more accountable. The clearly defined and transparent processes for passes and detentions meant fewer opportunities for students to manipulate the system.
Boosting Student Engagement and School Culture
Minga has become key to Mt. Whitney’s positive culture shift, allowing staff to focus on engagement over enforcement. Quick parent praise messages plus ease of creating team activities have fostered a supportive, connected school community.y.
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“One of my favorite things is to call home and say, ‘Hey, your kid did great today. This is what they did…’ And the reaction from parents when they get a good phone call always made my day and kept me in teaching forever.
So my favorite thing about Minga is the ‘Praises’ — and seeing the very 1st praise I sent as a test. The kid earned it and 10 minutes later, he’s walking out the gate with his mom on the phone congratulating him because she just got an email. We need to send more positive messages home so the kids can feel like this more often.”
Key Results:
550+ class lists
uploaded to My Class
5,000+ praises & 9,800 points
issued to students, in just 3 months
4,400+ event check ins
for activities such as “Dress in your favorite decade” and “Techno Tuesday”
30% decrease in hallway hours
year-over-year
16,500+ student-created hall passes
over 1 school year
60% of all hall passes were student-created
saving a ton of teacher time in writing these out
Are You Ready to Transform Your Classroom Management?
See the results firsthand! Schedule a demo today and learn how Minga’s “My Class” feature can streamline your school’s processes, reduce disciplinary incidents, and foster a positive school environment.