The Clarke County School District is considering a pair of proposals that would see Clarke Central High School start at least 45 minutes earlier. CCHS junior Angel Jara has known students who take their younger siblings to other CCSD schools, so although he doesn’t have a personal issue with any change, he is still against the proposals. “(I already get here an) hour earlier because that’s the time that my parents drop me off,” Jara said. “I’m not in favor of (a schedule change for) my fellow students, but it really won’t affect me all that much.” Photo by Wyatt Meyer
The CCSD is considering a pair of proposals that would shift CCHS’ start time back until 7:30 a.m. or 8:00 a.m.
The Clarke County School District has formed a study committee to examine the merits of changing the CCSD’s school schedule, with two proposals changing the start time of Clarke Central High School to 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., respectively.
In an April 19 press release, the CCSD said that they analyzed the current school schedule and found numerous problems, mostly relating to the timing of the school buses. The district claims that the current bus schedule operates on too tight a time frame to be viable, in addition to the bus driver shortages plaguing the country.
“The study committee considered several alternate schedules, with initial feedback heavily favoring two proposals that would allow high school students to maximize their instructional time with earlier start and end times than they currently observe,” the press release stated.
“The study committee considered several alternate schedules, with initial feedback heavily favoring two proposals that would allow high school students to maximize their instructional time with earlier start and end times than they currently observe.”
— CCSD press release
Apart from the drawbacks of the current schedule, the district sees an opportunity to increase student productivity at school with their new proposals. However, junior Finn Gibbs has doubts about the efficacy of any schedule change.
“I feel like (the proposed schedules) would be detrimental to the learning of students because waking up that much earlier, you would get less sleep,” Gibbs said. “If you didn’t get less sleep, if you went to bed earlier, then you’d have less time to work on homework and other things like that. I just feel like it would not be very good for the overall student population.”
The Clarke County School District has released a pair of proposals that would shake up the school schedule in the CCSD. Sophomore Raevion Frye-Johnson was given the responsibility of driving her younger siblings to school, a task made more difficult with an earlier Clarke Central High School start time. “I have a job which I get off at 10:30 (p.m.), so I really wouldn’t (get) enough sleep,” Frye-Johnson said. “(Me and my siblings) already have to wake up at 6:00 (a.m.) to get to school on time, so this means we (would) have to get up at 5:30.” Photo fair use of the CCSD
While Gibbs dislikes the new proposal, social studies department teacher Drew Wheeler doesn’t believe that the changes would greatly affect him.
“I’ve been here about 20 years, we’ve had several schedules. I can just do a new one,” Wheeler said. “I think (that) first period is going to be tough, at least a tough transition, until we get used to that as well.”
Foreign language department teacher Javier Soler disagrees with Wheeler, arguing that the change would cut down on the time teachers have to prepare for class.
“We have to be here (at) 7:45, (so) it’s gonna be really hard (if) we have to be here at like 7:15. It’s really bad for teachers,” Soler said.
The lost time in the morning also poses a problem for students who drive their younger siblings to school. The first proposal has middle and high schools starting at the same time, while the second sees middle schools starting 30 minutes after CCHS – meaning high schoolers would have to drop their siblings off well before their school starts in order to be on time to class.
“It’s unfair to the ones who do take their siblings to school, like me,” sophomore Raevion Frye-Johnson said. “I wouldn’t be able to handle it, my mom would be stuck doing it, but it’s impossible because she has to be at work at 7.”
On the flip side, the time students lose in the morning would then be converted to the afternoon, benefiting students with extracurricular activities.
“I’m kind of split-minded about it. It would allow more practice time in the afternoon for us and since our tennis courts don’t have lights, time is very important for us,” assistant varsity tennis coach and physical education department teacher Evan Adams said. “But, because all the other high schools are not on the same schedule, we’ll be waiting around (at matches).”
Although the district says they have received positive feedback on their proposals, they have not finalized a schedule change or the proposal times.
“The district is accepting feedback on these options through April 30, so that a final decision can be made in time for implementation at the start of the 2023-24 school year,” the press release stated. “Although each proposed schedule presents pros and cons, CCSD is focused on providing a solution that best serves students and allows for maximum instructional time. Comments can be submitted to feedback@clarke.k12.ga.us.”
