As M-A’s campus changes, the bell schedule committee is finalizing a new schedule for two trials. Teachers, students, and parents have been involved in the lengthy process of surveys and voting on prototypes of schedules to pilot this school year.
Lara Sandora, Guidance Counselor and Chair of the Bell Schedule Committee, led teachers through seven prototypes of schedules to vote and test for the next semester.
Teachers have had multiple meetings in order to determine which schedules would be tested out during the school year. The first trial is scheduled for the week of January 29 to February 16 with Option N, and the second trial is scheduled for February 26 to March 16 with Option H.
New changes in the schedule include four blocks days a week, different start and end times for class periods, and something brand new—Flex Time, a substitute for SSR.
Flex time is a 30 minute period where students are allowed to go to any of their scheduled classes to get help from teachers and other students. Students would sign in with their student IDs, and this would be counted for attendance. Flex Time would help students go directly to teachers during school hours to make up tests, get extra help, and work on homework as opposed to students going in during lunch and after school where it may be an inconvenience for teachers and students. In both pilots of the new schedule, Flex Time would be twice a week.
On September 28 and 29, teachers were sent an online ballot to vote for which schedules would be trialed for the second semester.
Option N features Monday, Tuesday, and Friday with 52 minute periods. Wednesday Block includes second, fourth, and sixth periods with Flex Time between fourth period and lunch. Thursday Block is similar for first, third, and fifth periods with Flex Time, but it has two open periods. The open period at the beginning of the school day does not affect students, but the end of the day open period dismissed students 10 minutes earlier than usual.
Option H has all classes on Monday for 53 minutes, but Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday have alternating block days, beginning with the even classes on Tuesday. Classes will be 95 minutes on block days excluding second and third which will be 100 minutes instead. Flex Time is held on Wednesday and Friday between third and lunch.
