Entering Sheridan High School this first day of class may have proven more difficult and surprising than most students anticipated. A new entrance for the school has been under construction since Summer, but SHS Principal Dirlene Wheeler expects several more months before the new entrance is done.

Though none of the new entrance is completed, within a few weeks the new main office should be finished, Wheeler says. Along with the main office, the entrance construction will also be adding new offices in the front of the building, new conference rooms, and a new, more secure entry way. This new entry way has been designed to make SHS a safer place during the school day. Once classes begin, the doors will lock, and visitors must enter through the main office. Wheeler says this is meant to isolate the ‘danger area,’ should a dangerous person enter the building. “People don’t enter where the kids are,” says Wheeler.

Along with the new entrance, new spots in the parking lot will be open to visitors and substitute teachers. After facing conflict with emergency vehicles having no room to park on the curb due to visitor parking, the center of the parking lot beside the handicap spots will be dedicated to visitors and substitutes, and curbside parking will be limited to picking up and dropping off students.

Wheeler expects the construction to be completed in October, and will welcome a new discipline technician to reinforce the new, secure SHS.