Being a small school like Mt. SAC Early College Academy (MECA), many assume that communication wouldn’t be an issue, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. Being a new school comes with its challenges, and the spread of information is just one of these issues, as missing dates and event changes can result in a lot of consequences if done incorrectly.

What’s going on?

The views are split on whether the communication methods at MECA work. From the constant parent square messages to the posters and loudspeaker reminders, the amount of information can be intimidating at first.

Junior Autumn Pagan recalls her own experience, noting how, “[it’s] hard with people too… there’s so many different sources… I got told by my friend who’s in ASB that we couldn’t sell baked goods during Fall Fest…”

Before Fall Fest in 2023, Pagan, who was a sophomore at the time, was faced with a surplus of different opinions on whether she was allowed to sell baked goods for her club. She was extremely confused, eventually deciding to settle the matter with the commissioner of clubs at the time. 

In the end, Pagan was eventually allowed to sell the sweets, but not without the needless confusion that came with it

As a freshman myself, I feel as if the system that MECA has in place isn’t working for a lot of people. Even as the school tries to improve, there are bound to be some mishaps in planning, but the lack of a consistent schedule can be hard to keep up with, especially if changes in planning aren’t widespread.

With ASB’s posters, many students have found that not all of them are up to date, as the posters are pushed out in a matter of minutes with very little similarities in terms of event dates and information between them. At the same time, while the variety in style is much appreciated, the lack of a consistently standard message can lead to confusion.

Like me, others also feel as if the information isn’t enough, claiming that current sources and posts don’t contain the answers to their questions, a current trend seen among the current freshman class.

“All of [the notifications] are great if it’s being communicated [properly]… it’s only as effective as the people reading, watching, or listening,” said study skills and P.E. teacher Matt Johnson. 

As Johnson and many others agree, a surplus of posters, advertising, and emails can also serve the opposite purpose when done constantly and in large amounts, becoming overlooked and ignored as they blend into the background.

There have been multiple accounts of posters with incorrectly written information, spelling, and at times, events. This lack of reliable information can leave many students—especially those new to the school—confused and unwilling to attend the aforementioned events.

Other’s find these persistent reminders to be helpful, as the multiple forms of information prove to be conveniently available at every turn, swipe, or step.

As English teacher Courtney Bell said, “I know that I need it in like eighty different ways…[so] I try to cover all the bases”

Some teachers like Bell attempt to make their methods of communication as accessible as possible. In this manner, she attempts to cater towards a wider range of students, providing them with multiple reminders in varying mediums.

However, the information that’s sent out is only as good as the eyes that see it. 

A recent instance with MECA’s planning is a true example of this problem, as the Academic Booster Club essay contest went off the rails with a list of hidden rules lost in the office inbox, leading to a lot of discontent among participants, and a pushback on the deadline.

“I basically had to change my whole essay because there were more rules added,” Pagan said after finding a long list of new rules on the form she got from the office when she tried turning in her essay.

On the other hand, communication with students and teachers seem to be lacking in some ways too, especially in terms of making up work.

Spanish Teacher Johan Cordero noted that, “[students] don’t take the initiative to talk to the teachers. They just assume that teachers will talk to them.”

With the house competition on April 18, many juniors felt distracted with the uproar of cheers from the games while taking their Scholastic Aptitude Test, or the SAT, which was the same day as the house competition. Those same issues caused some discontent amongst the juniors, as its significance was made apparent in both the time and energy participants took to prepare for it.

“When I was taking the SAT, I heard a lot of noises coming from outside, typically from students,” said Pagan. “Then when the house competition started, I could hear the music and the cheering, so it was kinda hard to focus. Luckily the SAT ended before the house comp did, so I was able to watch half of it.”

ASB also has their own fair share of issues too, as their attempts can fall short at times despite constantly “trying to find out good ways for ASB to communicate with the rest of the students” as Sophomore Katelyn Chung puts it.

Chung furthers this idea, stating that, “It’s hard to kind of cohesively get the entire school to know everything.”

What can be done?

Though the current MECA system works for some, most can agree that improvements can always be made. Whether it’s with ASB events, the school social media accounts, or scheduling, there’s always changes to be made.

“I feel like they should try to make everything more exciting instead of putting less effort on more stuff.” said Aidan Tejada, a senior.

Others believe that ASB should focus on the events that they already have planned, such as Summer Social, prom, and other dances, instead of trying to create new ones. By doing this, questions can be minimized through having these familiar events, giving students something to look forward to, and reducing the need for schedule changes or workarounds.

Coming into this school can be quite a challenge, especially with the continuous addition and elimination of certain events over others, almost completely rendering the calendars given out at the beginning of the year useless. 

However, I believe that by finding out what events attract the most attention, more funding and focus can be put into them, improving their overall quality and turnout.

“I feel like this year, there’s just like so much or so little that I have no idea what’s going on,” said senior Audrey Arce.

Event changes and the addition of new ones can stir a lot of questions, including ones between the planners themselves, leading to a lot of inconsistently hectic schedules within the school year. The consequences of this can vary, but ultimately lead to a lack of participation and awareness for certain school events.

Between the clashing dates with testing, dances, and house competitions, Fridays can get especially hectic, as teachers struggle to give their students work during the less than 30 minute periods.

 I feel as if at times, those event driven Fridays can put a lot of stress on both the students and staff, and even more so during tests in classes like history, biology, and math.

To combat this, a new system of planning could be implemented, encouraging the ongoing communication between not only staff but students too, allowing each person to address their concerns in relation to upcoming projects, tests, and work.

Others believe that MECA’s social media presence can be improved on too, as senior Desteny Fletes states, “If they don’t, like, communicate events, they will never show other people what the school’s about and what we do”

It’s more than just communication at school for students like Fletes, it’s about our school, and at times, balancing both can be tricky, especially with the constant changes MECA goes through each year. 

Taking this into account, the use of a singular, well known platform could benefit all advertising and promotion of MECA, as it would streamline the information without the need for different variations of the same post. 

However, if that is too dramatic of a change, simplifying the posts on each platform would also be sufficient, making sure to include the same amount of information each time, including relevant dates, events, and descriptions.

Despite this, trial and error can create the steps forward as MECA continues to improve, learning from the losses and getting better each year.