Students received their free academic planners late, as they were distributed out 26 days into the 2019-2020 school year.
The planners were ordered from Premier Planners. However, the company experienced significant delays in delivering the materials to Carlmont due to new management.
“The company was being revamped over the summer, while we were designing and ordering our planners,” said Terri Plack, the school’s administrative vice-principal secretary in an all-staff email.
Shutterfly bought the Premier Planners company, which explains the undergoing changes and tough transition experienced while Carlmont was transacting purchases. Carlmont will most likely be ordering from Shutterfly again next year.
The planners feature a weekly layout and contain dates and times of Carlmont events, including football games, dances, and assemblies. It also contains holidays and other days off from school.
Contact information for faculty and the PTSA are noted in the “Extensions You Will Need To Know” category within the front of the booklet. Additionally, the new bell schedule pilot is printed on the back cover, along with rules and the student dress code.
The planners were expected to arrive in August, in time for the first few weeks of school. Unfortunately, most courses had already completed the first unit of the curriculum by the time the delivery was complete.
While waiting for Shutterfly to reorganize their company status, some students bought their own planners, while others resorted to Canvas. A few students had already missed out on assignments.
“It was annoying that we weren’t provided planners by the school. It was also a little stressful without a planner because I had no way to organize my thoughts,” said Albert Hejmadi. Hejmadi has already started using the planner and intends on using it for the remaining duration of this school year.
Gregg Patner, Carlmont’s administrative vice-principal, is aware of students like Hejmadi and did everything he could to expedite planner delivery. When the planners arrived, students and staff helped to separate them by third-period classes. They were then walked down to over 100 classrooms and delivered.
“The administration takes it very seriously to make sure that the planners are delivered because we do know that many of the students rely on them,” Patner said.
While some students felt an inconvenience, others were able to adapt to the delays.
“I have not noticed a change in upperclassmen use of planners. There is a select five or 10 that use them and most others don’t,” said Sara Shayesteh, Carlmont’s AP biology teacher.
Patner and the administration have apologized for the delays in supplying planners for students.
“We appreciate the resiliency of the students to make adjustments to be able to manage without that resource,” Patner said.
