Eating in the lunchroom with your friends, have you ever noticed that board placed just above the lunch line? The board is a class ranking system based on a variety of categories, including academic achievement, school involvement, and personal character. It provides valuable information as to what is going on in North Atlanta, across all 11 stories and all four classes. However, it hasn’t been updated since, well, who knows when? So, why is that?

While the class-rank board was intended for simply informational purposes, some have used it to brag to their friends in other grades. We all love a fun competition, and for some Warriors, finishing at the top of the categories listed on the board is an accomplishment. “You can see that there’s a lot of the number one next to the senior class,” senior Carl Alexander said. “That should tell you why the Class of 2022 is the best here at North Atlanta.”

Many students, on the other hand, haven’t even noticed the board. In fact, several students in a recent survey agreed that the board never stuck out to them. A smaller group of students said they’ve seen the board, but they just haven’t put much thought into its meaning. “I’ve noticed it, but I don’t put too much stock into it because it doesn’t tell you anything about one, single student,” said Grant Thompson. 

While the board was a staff-led process in the past, students have recently been handed the responsibility of updating it. Like with many things around the school, general manager Ms. Kaltman was the only one in charge of the statistics for the board in the past. Working solo, she knew it was a task she had to give up. Ms. Kaltman knew that if she put together a team to work on updating the board that it would get done much faster, in a more efficient process. The downside to that is, the information to these statistics is only accessible to Kaltman. Luckily, senior Asanta Thorpe came up with an easy solution. “I used the school’s database to look up statistics for each grade and from there I determined the rankings,” Thorpe said.

Thorpe has been putting his energy into a lot of school projects lately, and he soon realized that this was a two man job. Lead custodian, Jason Bross, was that other man. In no time, he was able to rearrange the tags for each category upon Thorpe’s request. “I was understanding of the vision and how he wanted to present the statistics so I was on board with helping,” Bross said. 

Despite intercom issues getting in the way of bringing attention to the board, Bross and Thorpe worked together to get the updated statistics posted in the cafeteria. Still, one thing we don’t know is when the next update for this infamous board will be. In the meantime, North Atlanta students will acknowledge their grade level rankings and keep their eyes and ears pierced for another update.