For Middle School students, not many positive things can be said about the current schedule which exchanges a full year of study hall for only a semester. Add to that, academic core classes like math, history, and English, which used to be scheduled earlier in the day, are now at the end of the day for many students. 

Students’ distaste for the schedule left nothing to interpretation. “I just don’t like it in general!” Cece O. ’29 said. The biggest pain point for students has been the lack of year-round study hall, which has been sliced to only one semester. For students like Liz T. ’29, who participate in athletics and other after school activities, having a study hall is a lifeline. “I’ve been having to cram my homework really late at night due to my after school activities…I’ve just been getting a lack of sleep right now,” Liz said. Not only have the students been trying to wrap their heads around this new schedule without a study hall but also the teachers. 

“I’m not used to kids not having study halls…In my opinion, I think students should have all year-round study halls,” 8th Grade English Teacher Mrs. Kara Ramirez said.

Students can have the option to choose study hall as an elective. However, last year, students were guaranteed a study hall as part of their Human Development rotation. “It’s great that it’s my elective, but I honestly wish we had [study hall] for a full year…I think having an elective is really fun, but I honestly prioritize getting my homework done,” Ceci V. ’30 said.

Teachers have noticed a big difference teaching core classes in the afternoon. “I think most people are kind of brighter and more alert in the morning, and I think it’s better to have more serious academic classes in the morning than in the afternoon, just in general,” 7th Grade History Teacher Ms. Gigi Bizar said.

Many students agreed that having these classes at the end of the day is quite exhausting. Having these classes that required such thinking and energy to conclude the day feels pretty exhausting, especially when one would most likely be burnt out at the end of the day.

The primary reason for the schedule change, according to Dean of Student Activities and Auxiliary Programs Ms. Farrell Heydorff, was to align Middle and Upper School schedules. Doing so would provide more placement opportunities for Middle School students to take math and foreign language classes. There are many Middle School students taking Upper School math and foreign language courses, an opportunity which had previously been limited.

In order to accommodate for the alignment, Human Development, which was previously a yearlong course that met twice a rotation, was reduced to one semester. Human Development still meets twice a rotation but the third class is called FLEX and includes topics like financial literacy and study skills. Even if students enjoy the topics, it’s hard to compete with study hall and the chance to get some homework done.

“FLEX isn’t really relevant to us at the moment, but homework is,” Lillian P. ’29 said. “Like with all my extracurricular activities, I have no time to do homework if I don’t have a study hall. Like this semester, for example, I don’t have a study hall.”

“I don’t like FLEX. There’s genuinely no point…They shouldn’t have added it,” Emma S. ’29 put it more bluntly. 

Adjusting to a new schedule takes time, and Mrs. Ramirez is hopeful. “After a couple of years, it’ll feel normal again,” she said. Although Lower and Middle School Director Dr. Zanita Kelly didn’t give a specific timeline, she has taken into consideration concerns about the schedule. “It doesn’t feel balanced. I’m just not getting…the right mix of everything that we want our students to experience and our faculty to experience during their school day,” she said.

Although Dr. Kelly could give no definitive date for when the schedule would change, this comes as good news to both students and teachers. “It will definitely not continue long term. We have a lot of adjustments to make,” Dr. Kelly said.