“Yes!” students yell in excitement as they read a sign on their classroom door saying their class is in the auditorium for the period, due to teacher absence. With 45 minutes of completing work in front of them, students make their way to join the other classes in the auditorium, only to see that no one is doing work at all. The infamous spinning circle rests on all of the students’ screens, the disappointment reflects in their faces. 

Over the 2021-2022 academic year, it has been evident that almost all students (and teachers) have been held back by the building’s WiFi struggles. In the past few months, I have noticed everyday how many teachers’ names are listed in the auditorium, indicating their absence. Based on this, there has been an average of 6-8 classes each day placed in the auditorium. All of these students are required to check Canvas for the work their teacher left, and most of that work needs to be completed online. However, the school’s WiFi is unable to support this many devices in one space, on the same server.

The poor school WiFi not only lacks the required connection for our devices, but has also led to the administration only allowing students to use one device at a time in the Auditorium (which we are constantly reminded of by the attending substitute teachers). As a result, the entire student body feels frustrated with the school’s current WiFi. 

Slow processing can be felt throughout the school on a daily basis. Every day, Algonquin students deal with the same issues and expect better from their school.  The building needs to be a place where we can complete our work and take advantage of the time we are here. 

Freshman Vinny Vitorino believes his work isn’t manageable without being able to complete it in school and submit it through Canvas.

“We can’t finish our work that is often due at the end of the period,” Vitorino said. “Then it shows up late for the teachers.”

Limiting the work that can be completed in school, the poor WiFi seems to interrupt more than what people think. This year Algonquin resumed computer-based MCAS testing, during which the entire sophomore or freshman class was testing online while the rest of the school population continued school as usual.

After the MCAS testing, it seems as though freshmen and sophomores alike had struggles with the school’s WiFi. 

“I had trouble with my computer, the person next to me had trouble, it seemed everyone was struggling,” sophomore Quinn Salvi said. 

Personally, as I began the biology MCAS exam, my computer screen contained a loading screen for a few minutes, which showed the message “WiFi Connection Lost”. This small lapse of connection caused a major ripple throughout my test time, causing me to finish later and feel distracted at the beginning. Even more alarming, my test was taken in the library, which is believed to have one of the strongest connections throughout the school. 

Many teachers are also affected by the lack of WiFi throughout the school. Constant loading screens, late work and troubling auditorium periods leave teachers guessing if it is okay for them to be out of class for a day. Every day with a substitute teacher feels like a waste of time for the class because, chances are, the WiFi will stand in the way of any work getting done. 

Although I am no tech genius, I believe this problem can be solved to remove the uncertainty surrounding students’ ability to complete assignments. Buildings around the country have significantly more occupants than Algonquin and do not constantly struggle with WiFi issues. The school and district administrators need to prioritize strengthening the WiFi at ARHS, and I know everyone in the building would benefit from and appreciate this. 

In the future, particularly over the summer, I hope to see a fix to what wires the whole school together. If this is achieved, the school will run smoothly on all surfaces, and our work completed in school will significantly increase with much less frustration for all.