February 8, 2019
By Katya Ivanenko and Shashwati Sanjay
Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, Lexington High School will have a new schedule. The new schedule entails 55-65 minute blocks with a six-day rotation. Class times will increase by eight to 18 minutes, depending on the day. In addition, each class will meet four times a week with the exception of science. Overall, class time per week will be increased from 192 minutes to 200 minutes, adding an extra five to six hours throughout the entire year.
“There will be an adjustment that comes with detracking from a five day schedule,” Principal Andrew Stephens said.
The new class lengths could allow teachers to flesh out lesson plans, answer more questions and allow for more exploration. However, concerns remain about student attention.
“If the blocks are too long, then it is hard to keep the attention of the students,” Mr. Mixer, a freshmen Earth Science teacher, said. “They get bored easily.”
Stephens addressed the reluctance to change schedules.
“One thing I would want people to understand is that changes are a normal occurrence. It all depends on how you view it,” Dr. Stephens said.
Not everyone agrees with this perspective.
“A later start time means that the day starts later so people can get out of bed later, but people get out of school later. It doesn’t really make an impact because people still will have the same amount of homework and after school activities,” Matthew Ledesma, a freshman, said.
The results of the schedule change are yet to be seen. The later start times will be implemented in the 2021-2022 school year, so classes of 2021 and 2022, current freshmen and sophomores, will be the first to experience them. Only then will the benefits and the drawbacks of the schedule change be more concrete.
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