On the evening of Oct. 8, GUSD decided to remove one elective from our schedule, leaving only six periods next year. This is mainly due to cost and efficiency, but parents are still very upset. Many parents are writing letters and emails to Rosemont explaining why they do not want this change. Other parents, though, are happy with this change. It would make school days shorter, but most students are willing to sacrifice a longer school day for two electives. Almost everyone has conflicting opinions on the topic.
Students also have multiple electives that they are committed to, so having to pick one for next year could be very difficult. “I strongly dislike GUSD taking an elective away. I like Journalism and ASB, it would be hard for me to choose,” said Kenzie Park, member of ASB and The Spartan Scroll. Students who took a language last year would be forced to take that language again next year to count three consecutive years for college. That would leave them with no fun elective for their enjoyment and only electives for college.
A lot of parents make their children do educational electives, like Pathways to College, or Forensic Science. Having two electives allows them to still do an elective just for them, but if they can only do one, they won’t be able to have another elective to help them pursue their passions. Removing one elective would lead to a shorter school day, and not many parents approve of that. Shorter school days lead to less learning time, and parents having to pick their children up earlier than usual. Electives are also an important part of self identity. Nowadays, colleges want to see more electives and extracurriculars than ever before, and taking out one elective could just be setting students up for failure. Electives also allow students to decompress and get a break from all of their other classes, and just to be able to do something fun that they enjoy for a while.
Although there are many people who dislike this new, possible change there are some good things about it. School could end earlier, leaving more time for homework and extracurricular activities. Also, since the change is partially due to cost it could benefit Rosemont financially. This could also relieve some stress from students, and improve their mental health.
“I think it is unfortunate, but if it means Rosemont gets more money and we get better stuff then it’s not awful,” said Sarah Parsons, member of The Spartan Scroll.
But what do teachers think? When asked, only 30% of middle school staff voted for the six period schedule. 44% voted for the seven period schedule and the other 26% had no set opinion.
“The seven period schedule has been very good for the students and I think that if GUSD could have kept it they would have but it is very expensive.” Says Principal Risse who prefers the seven period schedule.
When this happens, students may not get their chosen electives, and support electives like Pathways to College, Teens 4 Success, and Literature 4 Success could be canceled completely. Leaving students who need time to study at school left to figure something out.
“I accept that there are some good things that may come out of cutting seventh period, but the detriment far outweighs the benefits. The top concern should always be the students,” says Olivia Arm, fellow Spartan.
There will be a vote among faculty deciding another huge problem, should GUSD eliminate the block schedule and go back to the traditional one? That decision leads to even more conflict.
It has been ultimately confirmed that next year all of GUSD, except Clark Magnet High School and Roosevelt Middle School who had it established before the pandemic, will have a six period schedule and only one elective. Parents and students, however, still continue to fight back, hoping they can make a change for seven periods.
