As Coppell High School students rushed to their next class, they glanced at the clocks in the hallways, and found themselves five to 10 minutes ahead or behind the actual time.
Although not late, the clocks showed them the wrong timing, one clock being five minutes late and another 10 minutes early. The conflicting timings confused students and teachers alike until a recent change.
“I didn’t know they were all wrong at first, so I was like, ‘am I actually going insane?’” sophomore Anjana Pericharla said. “I had to adapt to that quickly. It was really confusing and I actually felt there was something wrong with my memory.”
During the 2023-24 school year, students and teachers saw that the clocks were presenting the wrong time. This was created by the technology panel not syncing with the clocks. The technology was recently repaired and all clocks currently present the correct timing.
According to assistant principal Colleen Lowry, the clocks are connected to a panel controlling the fire alarms and bells. The technology in the panel stopped working, causing the clocks to go off and present incorrect timings.
In October, the panel was serviced, fixing the clocks. According to Lowry, the clocks should be correct as of now, but their accuracy is not fully determined until CHS’s next fire drill.
DECA advisor Richard Chamberlain was frustrated by the clocks showing the wrong timing.
“Incorrect clocks are a horrible look for the building for visitors from board members to other schools coming for competitions to parents coming up for different meetings,” Chamberlain said. “It’s a reflection of the level of detail that is important to an organization when something so basic and necessary is so incorrect.”
Teachers and students are relieved it has been solved.
“I have gotten a few messages of gratitude and excitement from teachers who are super pumped to finally have the clocks working in their hallways,” Lowry said.
Chamberlain hopes that the clocks being fixed aids students to be on time to class.
“It may help a student recognize that they are close to being late and perhaps show a sense of urgency to get to class,” Chamberlain said.
Students are comforted knowing that the clocks are fixed.
“It’s a really good thing that they’re corrected now,” Pericharla said. “Students know that they can refer to them now, which is better than never.”
The corrected clocks help improve punctuality in students and teachers.
“It allows us to have a more accurate understanding of how much time we have to go make copies or collaborate with other teachers between classes and not show up late for our particular class,” Chamberlain said.
To Pericharla, the resetting of the clocks has improved her school day and aided her in keeping her day organized.
“It is good that they’re correct now and students can start using them as tools again instead of having a negative effect on students’ lives,” Pericharla said.
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