5-Star, the new hallway pass system inspired by South Albany High School’s use and success, was implemented at the start of the 2025-2026 school year. For some people, the almost plane-like, beeping sound of someone checking out on 5-Star has been acclimated to. However, for students who are not tardy often or don’t leave during class, the details of the system might not be known.

     “We’re in the 21st Century, right?” Principal Rich Engel said, “Electronic hall passes are easier to track [since] kids are always losing the regular hall pass.”

      5-Star, according to Engel, is also supposed to tackle the issue of student meet-ups during class periods. 

     “[They] meet up out in the hallway or in the bathroom at the same time for things that they probably shouldn’t be doing at school,” Engel said, “[For example], if student A has the hall pass out from a class, student B probably shouldn’t be out at the same time, because they’ve had a history [of meeting up] in the past.”

   Engel mentions how 5-Star is also going to, at some point, be used as a point system for attending games: “Lots of people go to the football game[s], but not many people go to [the] water polo match[es].” Engel said, “[A grade may] get 20 points, for example, to go to a water polo match, but you may only get three [points] to go to the football game.” 

     Once a class reaches a certain point total, Engel says that rewards will be given, such as Dutch Brothers gift cards or West Albany High School merchandise. 

     5-Star also allows for easy access to lots of data, “We can track by specific classroom… We can track the number of hall passes that are going out every period. We can track the number of times certain students are going out.” Engel said, “These things are helpful to us in trying to make sure that we keep a safe environment for everybody.”