Education

End of an era: Fuquay-Varina latest to slam the door on school lockers

Fuquay-Varina High School is ready to get rid of lockers. Students say they're no longer cool, and school leaders say they're just taking up space. Out of the 2,250 students at the school, officials say only nine still use lockers

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FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. — Fuquay-Varina High School is ready to get rid of lockers.

Students say they're no longer cool, and school leaders say they're just taking up space. Out of the 2,250 students at the school, officials say only nine still use lockers

"There's a newfound sort of sense that this isn't the cool thing anymore," Principal John Enns said.

Enns said the trend began when textbooks became digital.

"Technology has played a pretty big role in moving away from a traditional textbook, for example," he said. "So, we’ve got kids that, in some of our classes, we’ve been experimenting are using Kindle devices. So, it’s the new form of literature.”

With fewer textbooks making the rounds, there's no need for storage.

In two years, Fuquay-Varina will begin renovations that will slice the number of lockers in half.

Enns says the school hopes to use the extra space for common areas to allow students to socialize.

"This isn’t something that’s just indigenous to Fuquay-Varina High School," Enns said. "I've got it on pretty good authority that this is starting to become a really common practice around a lot of especially major high schools.”

Millbrook and Knightdale high schools have already downsized their locker space during recent renovations.

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