At CMS, Saga of the Lockers is Over, Finally

To say that the arrival of new lockers at was a long time in the making is an understatement. After accommodating the various and sundry possessions of thousands of students over the course of 50+ years, the old units had become battered, outmoded, and marred with more sticker goop and graffiti than an army of custodians could scrape and scrub.

The lockers, which merited a slew of pejoratives in their final years – add to that list impossibly narrow – were original to the school when it opened in 1959.

Given the series of setbacks and false hopes, the entire saga falls under the category of you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up.

The school year started out minus lockers altogether because the old lockers were removed before an unforeseen manufacturer’s delay. Students were asked to come to school empty-handed, which proved difficult. Before long a compromise was brokered in which modest drawstring totes were distributed to all 603 students so that they might carry around the basics.

Students bore up pretty well under the compromise, but the tote bags did not. “That lasted about a week,” commented 7th grader, Paige Cooper, with only slight exaggeration. There may have been some misunderstanding over what constituted “the essentials” for inclusion in the totes. In any event, the adults surrendered to the ubiquitous backpacks and Vineyard Vines bags, and everyone was careful not to create an obstacle course across the classroom floors.

Waiting for “Locks”
In October, the lockers were finally installed, but unusable for a time, as the locks had yet to be installed. Finally, just before holiday recess, the locker installation was complete, combination locks included.

Principal Somers let the students celebrate by decorating the inner compartments of their cherished blue and yellow lockers.  Compared to the narrow slots they replaced, the new lockers were more akin to miniature pool cabanas, especially once they were decorated with a 12-year-old’s flair. Through sites like luvurlocker.com, students ordered fun items like wallpaper, collapsible shelving, battery powered mini-chandeliers, mirrors, suction-cup hooks and all the gear that comprise the detritus of a pre-teen’s bedroom floor and keeps moms rolling their eyes.

False Start
Unfortunately, the company that installed the lockers would have to return over December break to re-install all 600+ lockers. It seemed that had been incorrectly fitted, causing them to sit crookedly in their slots. The students were required to un-decorate their lockers before vacation.

Happy Ending
Returning after holiday break, students might have been justified in being skeptical. Not unlike GHS seniors who waited on tenterhooks during the MISA/toxic soil disruption for last fall, the CMS kids were equally patient.

Fortunately, by January 3rd the spanking new lockers were reinstalled correctly and approved for use. Decorating resumed in earnest. With that, it seemed both students and lockers shared a fresh start in the New Year.

Patch invites users to set up an account if they don't already have one and upload photos of their locker décor.