Hogwarts is famous for its secret passages, but Whitman also boasts a secret third-floor corridor.

During spring break, construction crews built a small hallway into the wall between room C303, a math classroom, and C304, the office of IT systems specialist Sharon Vaughn and staff development teacher Robin Wheeler.

The hallway was added to increase access to the office, which, prior to the remodel, people could only enter through C303.  Now the office has door that opens into the hall, allowing people to enter directly into the office.

Math teachers Meg Thatcher and Michael Stebbins, who faced frequent classroom disruptions while teaching in C303, said they appreciate the new hallway. The interruptions were especially irritating on test days, Stebbins said.

“It wasn’t a major distraction, but disruptions happened frequently,” Thatcher said.

The previous conditions were also inconvenient for staff in the office, said Vaughn, who requested a remodel of the hallway in fall 2010. Sometimes, students couldn’t even find the office, she said.

“People felt intimidated when they saw the class in session and didn’t want to interrupt,” she said. “Some stood in the hallway making gestures to me.”

The prevailing reaction to the news of the small hallway has been along the lines of, “Where is it?”  The new section is so similar to its surroundings that many students and teachers are unaware of it.

“It looks as if it’s been here for the last 30 years,” Stebbins said.  “I wish I had a hidden camera outside because of the double-takes.”

Thatcher said that some of her students thought they were lost when they first walked into C303 through the new hallway.

“I think most of them try to use [the new entry], just because they think it’s cool,” she said.  “The hallway’s the best thing since sliced bread.”

IT systems specialist Greg Thomas, who saw construction underway during spring break, praised the integration of the new hallway into the pre-existing walls.

“They did a good job of blending it in,” he said.  “It did create that funny feeling, where you look at it and think, ‘Is it new, or has it been here for 20 years?’”

Other students noticed the new hallway’s bright ceiling light but did not know what had changed, Vaughn said.

“Most of them were saying, ‘Wait, was this like that before?’” she said.  “Even staff came by confused.”

In the new hallway, Thomas placed a paper sign that reads, “Yes- it’s always been like this!”

“Some people believed it, too,” Vaughn said.