Photo by Mady Peasinger

The new “I wing” under construction.

The sound of reversing beeps has become our new school bell, and the 10 minute trip to get out of the parking lot has now tripled. The ongoing construction at Elkhorn North promises a better future, but for today’s students, it leads to daily distractions and traffic jams that test our patience. The school’s current transformation is affecting our ability to focus in class and make it to after school jobs and activities on time.

In the middle of the 2024-2025 school year there was talk about how Elkhorn North would be adding another wing to the school and that it would be completed by Aug. 2026. Everyone was excited for what the new “I-Wing” would bring.

Coming back into this school year, the construction had started. It immediately was causing distractions, and eventually led to traffic jams in the parking lot.

During tests and notes, students with classes in the H-Wing tend to get distracted, posing the problem of decelerated learning.

“In my history class, I sit right next to the window, which is next to the construction, and sometimes I get distracted,” junior Kaylee Lake said. “During lectures and in my tests, I get distracted and look at what the construction workers are doing.”

Not only do the loud noises affect the students, it also affects the teachers.

“I think the construction can be pretty distracting at times, but now I’d say I’m used to it,” history teacher Bobby Simpson said. “With my room having windows looking right towards the construction I notice my students get distracted. It only really bothers me when they’re testing.”

Not only is the construction very distracting, but it is drastically slowing down the traffic in the parking lot. Personally, I work at 3:45 after school, and I give my little brother a ride home. How am I supposed to be on time to work when I’m stuck in the parking lot until 3:40?

The reason the traffic has been like this is because they have blocked off the road towards the back exit, so a majority of the students are racing for one exit at the end of the day.

Since the front lot takes so long, many students have been parking in the back with the teachers because of the back lot’s little traffic. While students think it’s a smart idea, it takes away parking spots for educators.

“I know a couple colleges that have first period plan and arrive a little later, and when they get here there is no parking,” English teacher Teresa Huber said. “We also have traveling teachers, and there is no parking for them.”

While the new I-Wing will benefit the future school and student body, the transformation itself is very inconvenient for current students and teachers.