Daily Schedule Undergoes Many Changes
“[I’m] not going to have any time to. . . breathe,” junior Hila Ben-Yaacov recounted as one of her first thoughts when she saw her new schedule. As AJA students began their year, many returning students like Hila were caught off guard by the greatly changed schedule. The changes, according to General Studies Principal Mr. Joel Rojek, were largely due to adding a new Jewish Infusion class, which is an additional Judaics period that meets four times a week intended to provide students a more comprehensive Judaic studies education through topics beyond Chumash and Gemara.
With another class to fit in the schedule, high school administrators were “looking for places where [they] could find some time” to accommodate Jewish Infusion, said Mr. Rojek. Open office hours, advisory, class, transition periods, and lunch were shortened.
Open Office Hours and Advisory Become Homeroom
Open office hours and advisory were shortened to fourteen minutes instead of their previous twenty-five minute periods. The high school admin also revised the purpose of the time. In past years, open office hours took place immediately after tefillah three times a week and, according to Assistant Principal and Dean of Students Morah Ariella Livnat, it gave students a time to “ask [teachers] for clarification and finish” school work. Advisory occurred once a week (on Tuesday mornings during the office hours block) and was meant to be a time for students to “get advice” and participate in fun or educational programs designed by the supervising teacher. This year, however, Morah Livnat said that the time is now dedicated to being “able to briefly check in [on students], hear announcements, and. . . truly get ready for the day.” To fit the period’s new aims, its name changed to homeroom.
Despite the redesigning of open office hours and advisory as homeroom, some students feel there is little difference between the two. Sophomore Yoav Eyal articulated this, saying homeroom is essentially “the same thing [as open office hours], just [in] different words” and with less time. His homeroom doesn’t participate in any team building activities, and he criticizes homeroom as a shortened version of open office hours.
Students in Rabbi E’s Minyan find their homeroom cut even shorter. Because the minyan runs later, often into the homeroom time, senior Pace Kaplan said that homeroom “functionally does not exist for [him],” leaving him feeling indifferent towards it.
Finding Places to Trim Minutes
The length of class periods changed as well. Classes were previously 45 minutes and now are only 43. The exception is on Friday, when classes are 48 minutes. Many students, like Yoav, don’t mind this “slight difference” in class length. However, others feel that shortening the classes made them and the entire school day feel more rushed.
Transition periods decreased from five to four minutes. Although the change in transition time is very minor, it has affected students more than expected. Pace described how sometimes it can take him “a minute to pack up [his] things and. . . finish off his notes.” In addition to that, he needs an occasional bathroom break, a quick snack, and some water. All these things easily pile up, emphasizing the difference of one minute when it comes to tardies. In the old schedule, there was also one ten minute transition between the second and third period. Sophomore David Knafo remarked that, in hindsight, he appreciates the ten minute break much more now because of the shorter lunch period this year, and he is “disappointed that it’s gone.”
Lunch In a Hurry
The admin team cut lunch down from 45 to 36 minutes and placed it earlier in the day to open up more time in the schedule for the Jewish Infusion, a change that all interviewed students disliked. Yoav specified that lunch feels too early now. He added that he needed the longer lunch to have a break and a time to relax. Freshman Noam Ben-Yaacov introduced other problems like clubs, which take place during lunch. He feels the time taken away was needed to be able to eat lunch while balancing club meetings. Mr. Rojek, however, did believe that “there is enough time [allotted] during lunch for clubs to meet” and for students to eat their lunch, saying that students “will need to adjust.”
Even with the shorter lunch, Mr. Rojek pointed out that extended time students (who receive an extra 21.5 minutes on 43 minute tests) can still complete assessments during that time. However, he did recognize make-up tests as an issue because lunch is shorter than a class period now, and homeroom is too short for extended time. Mr. Rojek clarified that students can make up missed assessments during electives, and those with extended time can also use lunch. While he admits that it doesn’t completely solve the problem because electives are not every day, he thinks that it is the best current solution.
Community Time Revamped
Community Time this year occurs on Wednesdays rather than Fridays, in its own 43 minute period (it formerly shared a 55 minute slot with lunch, usually split into two 25 minute segments). According to Hila, a second-year member of STUCO, it is a time “for students to get together, have fun, and strengthen” the school’s community. In contrast with the other schedule changes, those made to Community Time have only made it more well liked. Uniquely, the changes also weren’t made due to the Jewish Infusion. Hila is very happy with this adjustment, explaining that Rabbi E’s Mishmor no longer cuts into it, and having a full period gives community time a more “serious tone.” Mr. Rojek added that neither Mishmor nor Community Time need to be rushed, a sentiment shared by many.
Student Calls for Adjustments
Given all the changes to the schedule, most of which involve shorter classes and breaks, many students expressed a preference for a schedule without Jewish Infusion, thereby reverting the schedule back to how it was last year while still maintaining Community Time as it is now. Even so, despite the widespread decrease in time slots prompted by Jewish Infusion, students think there could still be more preferable ways for it to be incorporated into the schedule. In Pace’s opinion, there isn’t “a need for [Jewish Infusion] to be four times a week.” He thinks it can be replaced or rotated with electives, which are three times a week.
Students are not against the schedule changes simply because they want more free time. Many repeatedly voiced feeling “rushed” under the new schedule. Furthermore, junior Micah Lembeck summarized the new schedule as “exhausting” and “less productive.” Pace elaborated, saying that “it rushes [him] during the day, which makes it harder to focus in class and out of class.” Pace added that the current schedule “tires [him] out quicker”, making homework “a lot more taxing.” He said, “It feels like I’m losing everything I love during the day,” all for “a class that didn’t feel necessary.”
It is clear the new schedule is a work in progress. Some of the adjustments, like Community Time, were appreciated, but overall, many students feel that too much beneficial time was lost. Pace expressed it best, saying, “It is just very difficult going from the schedule that we were very comfortable with for the past couple years to this new schedule [that leaves us] emotionally drained and physically drained.” So far, high school administration has been open to student feedback, although they have yet to make any adjustments in response.
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