CHS STUDENTS HOLDING VOTE ON A NEW SCHEDULE

Just a few months after a new Columbia High School schedule that promised later start times went into effect, student leaders are seeking a change.

Claiming the new schedule is still problematic due to a lack of time between classes and a start time that is still before 8 a.m., the Student Council created two new options for a change and is asking students to vote on them on Friday.

"There is going to be a forum on this Friday at Columbia where students are going to voice their opinion and vote on the optimal bell schedule for next year," Philip Saulean, the CHS student representative to the Board of Education, said via email. "It is a student-led effort that seeks to allow us to relay to the administration what we, as students, want from a bell schedule. It isn't an administrative effort, which means it isn't binding. But it would allow the students to have their voices heard about this issue."

See the two schedules up for a vote HERE. One continues the 7:55 a.m. start time, while the other moves it to 8 a.m.

But both options offer a rotating plan in which each day of the week is slightly different with one class dropped each day and others move slightly around.

The Student Council promoted the vote and the two new schedule options in social media notices this week:

The current schedule that began in September delayed the beginning of the first period by 25 minutes, but mandated most students get to class 30 minutes earlier.

It followed years of complaints from many parents who said the previous 7:30 a.m. first period was too earlier, citing data that suggests students perform better when they get more sleep. 

A local Facebook page was even launched to push for later classes, titled "Parents for later school start at CHS" that boasted 120 members.

In the past, 35% of students attended the 7:30 a.m. first period, so the new schedule delayed their start time. But for the rest of the school, an earlier arrival is now required. 

Saulean

The schedule delayed the first period to 7:55 a.m. But it also required all students to begin their day at that first period rather than second period, which most had attended at 8:25 a.m.

"This is a nuanced issue," Saulean said. "People dislike and/or want to change the current bell schedule for a number of reasons. Some think the day starts too early, ends too late and that the times between classes aren't enough. What I think really serves as an impetus behind this effort is the idea that students must take a more active role in their school. Students weren't consulted last year when the schedule was changed and they want to remedy this issue."

He later added, "I think this is indicative of a ubiquitous feeling of lack of student representation in general."