The sheer volume of students is unprecedented at Hagerty. Out of the set district limit of 2,662, Hagerty has 2,580 students—a mere 82 students away from capacity.
With all of the new business and buzz in the area, it is no surprise Oviedo has grown. Oviedo, which used to be a small town in central Florida, has seen exponential growth in the past few years. People have been moving to this area in droves, so the school has seen incredible growth as well.
This is a main contributor to the constant traffic faced by students on their way to school. Junior Addyson Laisch gets stressed getting to school on time.
“I’m always afraid I’m going to be late because the traffic backs up all the way down Lockwood and takes forever,” Laisch said. “You can never anticipate how much time it’s going to take.”
Not only do student drivers feel the pressure, but anyone getting a ride finds it takes extra time this year. Senior Shannon McPeek corroborates this point.
“So many people get dropped off at school, and it creates a long line to get into the parking lot,” McPeek said. “People also park in the parking lot when they do not have a pass, and it makes it hard to find a spot.”
When they went on sale this summer, parking passes sold out within 30 minutes.
The bus situation is not that much better either. Senior Naomi Bailey rides the bus, and she often has trouble finding a seat.
“The bus is often very full, and space is limited,” Bailey said. “Sometimes there aren’t enough seats left for all the students who ride the bus.”
Once students get to school, the crowding issues are far from over. Getting from class to class is a challenge with all of the students in the halls, leaving many uncomfortable and aggravated.
“The amount of students is out of control, but my main problem is when people stand in the way of others walking, it creates unnecessary crowds,” senior Jenna Lopez said. “Larger groups of people make it really difficult to walk to class and lunch.”
With this sheer number of students, even getting classes they signed up for is difficult for students. Culinary, the most popular elective at Hagerty, cannot fit everyone into the class due to such high demand.
“We got over 800 kids to sign up for culinary last year—we can only fit about 550,” Culinary teacher Matthew Thompson said. “I wish we could fit everybody in, but unfortunately, we’ve taken up this whole back end of building six, and there’s nowhere else for us to go.”
Culinary is not the only class feeling this pressure. According to guidance counselor Dr. Andrea Fuhrer, about 80 to 90 percent of classes are at capacity.
The tendency to have multiple free periods, especially by upperclassmen, has led to overcrowding issues in third fourth, and seventh period classes, especially elective courses. Assistant principal Mary Rocha says that limits when you can offer certain classes. She then stated that there were zero electives available [in] fourth period.
Some students have transferred to Hagerty from out-of-zone places. Sophomore Sabria Sego happens to be one of those people, transferring in from Dr. Phillips High School in Orange County.
“I was drawn to Hagerty by their excellent theatre department and community,” Sego said. “The campus is beautiful, and the teachers are so kind.”
