Then, now, later

Jaylia Spotwood•Reporter

Martin High School was named after James Martin, who served the school system for 31 years teaching every grade level. He later became superintendent of Arlington ISD allowing the community to grow.

Martin High School has been around since 1982 and has had nine principals in total. Our current principal, Marlene Roddy, has led Martin since 2011.

Martin has evolved over the decades, but especially in the last 10 years.

Business teacher Delisa Reed has been teaching here at Martin for 23 years.

“Martin has changed from a decade ago to now because of its less restrictions,” Reed said. “In 10 years from now, I don’t believe it’ll be worse or anything of that nature. I do believe that Martin will always be a part of that standard that has been established since the beginning. I believe that standard will always be in place but we have to be willing to separate school from home. In other words, what’s allowed outside of the school and what’s allowed inside of the school should not necessarily be parallel.”

Martin has always been a school with a big population. Currently we have 3,675 students with an average student to teacher ratio of 18 to 1.

Every year Martin’s population expands, especially the freshman class.

Throughout the school year, the student population fluctuates with students coming in and out of school.

With a big population like that, it can be hard to keep all of Martin’s students in check.

“Students need structure and when we leave it to students to make good decisions, those are good decisions they may not always be accustomed to making,” Reed said. “Students have to be willing to do the right thing and teachers have to be willing to better the students of Martin if it is going to improve from here.”

As years go by, things such as style, teaching, and technology trends will change with society as well. Change isn’t always a bad thing. However, today’s generation of students and staff have most definitely changed.

“It’s gotten much easier, because everything is technological now,” Reed said. Reed mentioned that back in 2011, things were not done like that. Students weren’t as proficient in technology as they are now. Most students were used to using paper.

Students today revolve around technology. They bring their AirPods, iPads, computers and phones to keep them focused. Students depend on technology to keep them going throughout the day, something you would’ve never seen years back.