Carlmont is working on creating a new bell schedule that will implement an advisory period before lunch for both students and staff.
Theoretically, an advisory period could improve communication between students and their teachers by providing them with extra time to speak about any missed work or general questions that they may have about class.
“We felt the best way to meet the recommendations [of others] was to put together two schedules to pilot during the next school year and then determine how we modify the current one,” said Instructional Vice Principal Jennifer Cho. “A big part of it was to address student, as well as staff, stress.”
Realistically, many students are not able to come in before or after school for various reasons when they need help. Students then end up spending lunch, the one break that they get during the school day, in a classroom making up tests they have missed, rather than spending it eating or being with other classmates.
For this reason, many students are enthusiastic about the idea of having a designated time to meet with their advisors.
“This seems like a great idea. When a student is sick, I think that rather than focusing on getting better, the main thing they’re doing is stressing about how they’re going to make up all the work they’ve missed,” sophomore Sophia Stone said. “Having a period that is specifically designed for students to get caught up in class and feel more organized without it interfering with things like sleep, or anything of that sort, would be a huge help.”
In addition, many students that struggle to stay on top of their classwork are also juggling focusing their time on their athletic lives, both in and outside of school.
“Many students need more time due to the amount of heavy work they receive every day,” sophomore Keyanna Blos said. “I think [an advisory period] would allow many more students to play sports because we’d pretty much have a study hall at least a few times a week.”
This new flex time that has been proposed is still in the works, but students and staff can expect to and look forward to hearing much more about it from Carlmont’s administration during the second semester of the school year.
“I am so excited about the idea of having an opportunity to have personal time with teachers that will allow students to understand the topics we learn more in-depth,” said Brianna Butler, a sophomore. “This is one of the best ideas I’ve heard yet, and I really believe it’ll be extremely helpful.”