In order to allow students to add additional electives, including CATE classes which may have to be taken in blocks, the  2018-2019 school day schedule will have a ninth period and a shorter academic period.

     “It [the new schedule] gives students the opportunity to take more classes that they want to take instead of classes that they have to take, “Principal Robert White said. “It allows them to better prepare for their career path and their college plans, and it also allows students who need remediation to take courses that they want to take while still recovering the credits they need to stay on track to make it to graduation.

     The additional schedule will mean that bell schedules will change, but those changes are slight, White said.

     “The school day will still starts at 7:55 and the school day will be extended by 5 minutes,” White said. “The length of class periods will change as well. This year they are 48 minutes long and next year they will be 45 minutes long. The other difference is that our current 6th period is 60 minutes long, and it will be cut down to 45 minutes long.”

     CATE coordinator Randy Brady said that with kiosks taking over in McDonald’s and people being replaced with machines at many minimum wage jobs, this new class schedule gives students the chance to get certifications that will benefit them after they graduate.

     “Minimum wage jobs are disappearing,” Brady said. “So we have to give students something more than just a high school diploma. Right now it’s leaning more towards industry certification.”

     With these certifications now being offered to students who stay on their desired study/ career path consistently over their four years of school, attendance at community college, that is normally required to get the same certifications, is no longer needed.

     “It used to be that you would go to high school and get your high school diploma,” Brady said. “And if you didn’t want to go to a four year university and needed a certification for, say like welding, you’d go to community college to get it. Now, we can offer those at the high school. That saves you money and two years of your life where you’re earning money and making yourself more successful.”

     One misconceptions that arose after the initial discussions about the new period being added was that seniors would not have off periods, White said.

     “That is actually not true,” White said. “The presentations that we gave to the students is that all seniors actually have off campus privilege options at this time. The way it will work is that the students that have off periods will have to be a part of career prep or a practicum. We aren’t encouraging students to just have an off period to do nothing. We want them to use it to help them in their career or in their future plans for education.”

     In a follow up to the earlier discussions, White announced recently that the seniors of 2018-19 would be allowed one off period that would not be a part of a career prep or practicum. Some students also expressed concerns about having to take a class they may not have wanted to because of a possible impact on GPAs.

     “It could [impact GPAs] but the impact is done on a cohort basis,” White said. “The current freshman are on the current GPA system, and it’s only their core classes and foreign languages that is weighed. The current sophomores and juniors are on their GPA scale of all classes taken. We are offering more AP courses to make up for this. We are also offering more classes in other areas. We don’t want to do anything where students feel they are being punished. We just want to give them more options.”