On Thursday, February 2, 2023, rumors spread among East students that the current Lunch and Learn system would be going away, and students would have to return to homerooms. By 8:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, students had started sharing posts on their social media accounts announcing a plan for students to “raise [their] voice against school board” and walk out during H block next Monday.

As various rumors spread, and the truth twisted more and more, principal Dr. Dennis Perry took it upon himself to squash the misinformation. Around 2:00 p.m., Perry made an announcement to clear up the concerns of students.

“No changes have been made to Lunch and Learn,” Perry said. “ Should future conversations between administration and the faculty result in any changes…I assure you that our student leaders will be involved and that information regarding changes would be shared directly with all of our students by me.”

Perry reassured students that there was no decision made to end Lunch and Learn and send students to homerooms. Perry also informed students that next week there will be a faculty meeting (which occurs monthly) where the current practices and procedures for Lunch and Learn will be discussed. However, this meeting does not mean that they will decide to do away with Lunch and Learn.

“It’s not uncommon [to have faculty meetings]. We have conversations throughout the year about all kinds of things that we can try to improve,” Perry said.

Next week’s meeting will do just as Perry said — aim to make improvements. For example, Perry mentioned some possible solutions to the safety and security of students during Lunch and Learn that could potentially be discussed at the faculty meeting. 

“We need to better account for where students are. That could be having students sign up and say ‘Hey, I’m going to be in the gym for LB2,’ or it could be that students scan in…or it could be some other way,” Perry said.

While the meeting will take place next week, Perry noted that any alteration to Lunch and Learn certainly would not take place immediately. After the meeting, Perry would plan to meet with student leaders. He also would need time to effectively communicate with students about whatever new policies are decided on before those policies take effect. Perry does not believe any changes would be made earlier than mid-February, or even later. 

 “We’re really just beginning the conversation, right now. No decisions have been made…Hopefully, there will be some good ideas that come up [at the meeting],” Perry said.

Overall, Perry is unsure of how the rumors about completely getting rid of Lunch and Learn got started, but he made it clear to students that no decisions have been made, and there is no need to worry. Eastside will continue to release updates as this situation progresses.