Following the recent debate regarding the attendance policy, the WS/FCS Board of Education has started a new topic of discussion that has caused divide in the opinions of students: changing the schedule for the 2023-24 school year. One of the proposed schedules for next school year would follow the current schedule of 90 minute classes but would instead have an all-block class schedule. Students would have four classes every day during first semester and four completely new classes during second semester. The alternative option the Board of Education is considering would have seven classes a day lasting 48 minutes, with each student having the same classes all year. Looking at both of the options presented by the School Board, they are planning on completely eliminating the alternating class schedule, as keeping the current hybrid schedule is not an option in the survey sent around WS/FCS. While there were only two choices given to students to respond, many students had a preference towards one side or the other, though many students had concerns about their upcoming schedules.
“I prefer the year-long schedule because the 45 minute classes is a lot nicer than sitting in a class for an hour and a half, and I don’t think it would change the amount of homework, plus I would rather take every class every day for the entire year,” freshman Aaron Munster said.
Some students stressed the importance of the arts programs at the school for choosing their preferred schedule.
“I totally prefer the seven-period day. I take a lot of band classes and AP classes, and doing the semester plan would almost completely ruin my schedule because I would have to take band for both of my semesters, and that would be way too much time for just one class,” junior Daniel Bryant said.
Other students stressed the importance of taking higher level classes including AP classes in their choice of preferred schedule.
“I don’t like either, but I like the seven period day better because AP [classes] would not work with the four period block schedule,” sophomore John Howell said.
However, not everyone was sold on the seven period day, with both students and counselors, who will have to make the schedule, voicing their personal distaste with the scheduling options.
“Either way, scheduling is going to be difficult because there are so many options for students. We have an increase in our students taking classes at Forsyth Tech, so that will be an issue, the Career Center will remain an issue, so I don’t see how either will make our lives any different,” guidance counselor Angela Hubbard said.
Hubbard also stated that while the seven period schedule might make some transitions easier between students at Forsyth Tech or the Career Center, there would still be major scheduling conflicts.
“I do not see either a seven period day or a block schedule making our lives any easier. I worked at a seven period day school in the early 2000s, and there were still lots of conflicts,” she said. One student has even gone above and beyond in attempting to keep the schedule the same. Sophomore Katie Kennedy has joined a petition to keep the scheduling the same, as she believes it is in the best interest of the students to keep the A-day/B-day schedule.
“While it might make the counselors’ lives easier, I believe it is not in the best interests of the students academically because it would not benefit learning long term or ruin AP classes. I would prefer the traditional [seven period] schedule, but if I had my choice, I would keep it the same,” Kennedy said.
Even with the concerns related to the new scheduling debates within the WS/FCS Board of Education, most students seem to favor the seven period schedule with yearlong classes because of the benefits for both the academic and art programs in school. Many students, parents and teachers have voiced their opinions to the School Board, but whether the opinions are considered is yet to be seen. Although students might be eager to see the decision, the 2023-24 schedule will likely not be finalized until much later, potentially as late as next summer.