The new schedule changes for schools may be a bad idea. WCPSS is experimenting to see if it’s a good idea for the high school schedule to switch with the elementary school schedule. The current school schedule for most high schools is 7:25 a.m. until 2:20 p.m., and the current schedule for most elementary schools is 9:15 a.m. until 3:45 p.m. The switch would establish the high school’s new schedule as 9:15 a.m. until 4:10 p.m. and the elementary school’s new schedule as 7:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. I see this as a major flaw as this would affect a lot of students and their activities after school.

With these new changes, more than just the high school students’ schedules will change. Parents, teachers, and local businesses will have to change their schedules as well. This proposed schedule change will inconvenience students and teachers alike because students may have a job right after school and teachers might have a second job after school. Making school start and end later might affect these jobs and various commitments. Parents might have to change their work schedule just to drop off and pick up their kids from school. Businesses could also be affected due to their high school-aged employees having to change their work schedules. Students that are on sports teams will also be impacted by this. So will teen babysitting be affected as they will get out of school much later than the students in elementary schools?

WCPSS will do a survey later this year, but no changes will be made until the 2024-2025 school year. 

Sophomore Juan Manuel Cuevas Cristobal said, “I’m happy that I wouldn’t have to wake up at 6 am anymore, but I do hate that we would have to leave a lot later.” This change would affect his senior year. 

An example of this already being done is by Durham high School where they have made the high schools start later and end later. Classes start at 9:00 am and end at 3:55 pm. Many people have disapproved of this, but Durham has yet to revert back to its original schedule, even with the negative feedback.

This change will have a lot of people frustrated if this modification is made. That means everyone that is connected to the elementary school and the high school will somehow have to make some adjustments. All in all, this may not be a good idea.  Even though this issue does not actively affect the class of 2023, it will impact the lives of fellow and future Bengals.