FLEX TIME has been on Fridays for a while, and it had been an opportunity for students to catch up on work and fix those grades. But as the end of the year approaches, the bell schedule has been changed yet again. In an attempt to get grades up and allow students to get the credits they need to graduate, Dr. Howe has introduced a new four-day FLEX schedule after seeing other schools using this program with successful results.
“The idea behind this is that we’re providing kids with more of an opportunity to have additional time to work with teachers in classes where they might be struggling,” Mr. Babcock said.
With this new FLEX time change, it’s still entirely up to the student whether to attend FLEX time. Some students think that the four-day FLEX time is too much and can cause more harm than good. Some teachers and students are struggling with classes being cut eight minutes short. Not only are they getting used to the new schedule, but also to the reduced time they now have in class.
“The thing with the new FLEX time change is that you only have 30 minutes. You can only get one small assignment done,” Megan Beckstead (11) said.
On the other hand, some students and teachers like the new FLEX change and think it’s a very useful and needed change. “I Like it. I feel like it gets me motivated because it makes everyone put in more work to finish things they didn’t have time to do during class,” Daisy Dang (11) said.
This new FLEX time is an opportunity to push students to do their very best for the end of the year. “It makes it easier during class because I don’t have much work, since I can do it during FLEX time,” said Dang.
The FLEX time is also an opportunity for students to get on track, stay on track, and improve grades while also giving students CPA credits.
“With graduation coming up, they wanted to give students an opportunity to make sure they’re passing their classes,” Mrs. Robinson said. Students like Dang and teachers like Mrs. Robinson see this FLEX time change as an improvement.
A small selection of students sleep in for FLEX time (and this not only falls back onto them but also teachers who end up having an empty classroom for FLEX).
Some teachers can say that most if not all the students they requested show up. But for teachers like Mr. Christiansen, their attendance is often small, if not zero, when it comes to FLEX time. “One or two students is common, but I requested people and none showed up today,” Mr. Christiansen said.
This may be a small occurrence and the new FLEX time change might prove to work, but the decision whether or not to go to FLEX time is still up to students — teachers and counselors will say it’s important to go. So for Granger, Lancers that do have a FLEX-time class should go for now — see what happens. Then, maybe they can answer the question of whether four-day FLEX time is a fix or a flop.
