The old school schedule, which started at 7:51 a.m. and end at 2:46 p.m., was a routine many students on campus grew accustomed to. While the early start was challenging for some students, it allowed students to finish their day sooner, allowing them to have more time for extracurricular activities, jobs, and personal responsibilities. Since the implementation of a later start time from to 8:30 a.m. and ending at 3:26 p.m. to improve students’ sleep deprivation, many argue the old schedule is more beneficial.
Senior track athlete Ahtziri Ceja expresses her preference for the old school schedule due to its early dismissal time, which was beneficial for her because it meant getting out of practice earlier having more time to complete homework, which allowed her to sleep earlier.
“I prefer it because, especially in sports I get out really late, so then I get home really late, and it takes a lot of time to do homework, so in the morning I get to sleep a little later,” Ceja said.
Although Ceja prefers the old schedule, she considers the benefits for teachers, like having more time to prepare class schedules. Since some teachers and students live far away, they also have to wake up earlier to get to school on time which makes Ceja think starting school at 8:30 a.m. is more beneficial for teachers.
“If they live father like I know a lot of teachers do, they have to wake up earlier to get to school so this schedule fits them better,” Ceja said.
While Math teacher Karen Walton notes that the earlier start time of 7:30 a.m. reduced morning issues for teachers, it has not significantly benefited students, who still end up missing classes, especially athletes with the current schedule now.
The current schedule now, with a 1:30 p.m. release time for away games, results in students missing their fifth and sixth period, unlike the old schedule where they only missed the last 15 minutes of the last period of the day.
“Now the 1:30 release time is still during lunch, and so students are missing all of fifth period for athletics instead of just part of fifth period, and I’ve seen students struggle more with that,” Walton said.
The schedule change doesn’t just impact student athletes and those involved in other after school activities, but it also creates challenges for teachers. With school now ending at 3:26 p.m., scheduling personal appointments can be difficult without missing class time. Walton, for example, struggles to set up doctor appointments since most offices close shortly after the school day ends.
Many teachers may also face similar issues, forcing them to miss school or push appointments to much later dates. The shift in schedule has made balancing professional and personal responsibilities more difficult for both students and staff.
Sophomore Jadyn Saucedo believes the old schedule benefits students by providing a consistent routine and allowing an early start and early end to the day, which is beneficial for everyone because of the free time enabled. However, Saucedo believes a drawback from the old schedule is that starting school at an earlier time might make students less prepared to learn during morning classes. While the current schedule’s drawback is students getting home later, which leads to less time to do homework.
“I would like my extracurriculars to end early because it would just make more time for me to get home,” Saucedo said.
While the current schedule was meant to help students, it tends to be more inconvenient than beneficial. Athletes miss more class time, get out later, and some teachers may struggle with scheduling appointments. The old schedule offered more sufficient time for people on campus to maintain balance in their lives.
