The (Class) Times They Are A Changin’

The+%28Class%29+Times+They+Are+A+Changin

Abby English, Staff Writer

On Tuesday May 4th, superintendent Bob O’Donnell sent an email that singlehandedly angered a majority of State High students. Following the school day lost to a power outage, State High had needed to make up the hours of instruction lost. The solution the school board found? Add ten minutes to the beginning and end of each school day. While the new schedule may not sound like a big deal, students of all grades are affected by the switch. “It’s harder to get to school in the morning. The ten minutes really does make a difference,” said sophomore Colleen Jones.

Mr. O’Donnell’s email explained that “the time students interact with teachers is extremely valuable.” However, most students don’t see it that way. “Ultimately, for me, it’s just better than having to add two days to the end of the school year,” said sophomore Sally Stahl. The twenty minute addition to each day does not make up all of the lost time, but provides five additional minutes per class for teachers to fit in as much instruction as possible. “It has been frustrating because I don’t feel like teachers are utilizing the extra five minutes and it’s complicated morning and afternoon extracurricular activities,” Tia Oliver, sophomore, said. No matter how you look at it, the schedule change has been an adjustment for everyone in the North and South buildings.

Office assistant Pam Mock stated, “It changes the entire way I get ready in the morning, even though it’s only ten minutes.” Teachers, students, and additional staff have all had to make adjustments to their daily schedules to accommodate the change. “Even though I have a fixed salary and my pay won’t change, lunchroom employees are paid hourly. The school will have to adjust their pay accordingly,” said business teacher Cory Raupers. However, the lunchroom employees aren’t the only ones whose jobs have been affected.

Many State High students are employed throughout the community. Senior Tima Ally, who works at Pita Cabana downtown, said, “It may sound dumb but I work really late every night and those extra ten minutes to get to school helped a lot. Plus now I can’t get to work on time and I had to shift my hours around.” Students with jobs have been forced to change their hours in order to adjust to the new schedule. However, not everyone at State High has had trouble making the adjustment. Sophomore Jeriah Keith said “It doesn’t really affect me because I get to school late most days anyways.” With this new schedule, however, students can look forward to summer starting on June 14th.