As we return from the lengthy seventeen-day winter break, we approach the mid-year point of school. By this point, Wheatley students have become well adjusted to their schedules for the school year, but do you know what time period one ends? Do you remember any part of the new bell schedule yet?
For decades, Wheatley students have experienced the classic 7:50 AM to 2:26 PM school day. But in recent years, Wheatley students have taken a stand. Through various essays and presentations, students have debated the disadvantages of the early start time. The most prominent topic of discussion was the lack of sleep students were receiving, with digits lower than five often being thrown around.
In April 2024, the students’ were finally heard after the Board of Education approved of a change in the high school’s start time. Other scheduling adjustments within the school district would follow this approval. To balance timing with bus pick-ups and drop-offs, Wheatley would have to swap their start and end times with the middle school, Willets Road. The new bell schedule would be implemented starting in the 2024-2025 school year.
While the privilege of waking up and starting school at a later time sounds like an irresistible offer, the bell modifications have not exactly been a victory for all Wheatley students. Other unexpected issues have risen since this new bell schedule’s adoption. Debates surrounding start times persist, hours of sleep remaining scarce, and emerging scheduling conflicts highlight only some of the ongoing issues this year.
With the school day officially beginning at 8:25 AM and ending at 2:52 PM, the new bell schedule boasts a 35-minute delay. This elaborate redesign follows a 39-minute layout, replacing the original 40-minute periods. However, one minute being cut short from each period is a victory for Wheatley students; it has eliminated nine whole minutes from the school day. But these overall changes have resulted in other new questionable issues.
Despite not posing any detriment to students’ academic performance, each period’s start and end times consist of a complex series of digits. This unfamiliar sight shares an uncanny resemblance to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. No student or faculty member can seem to memorize when their class periods begin and end, even during the halfway point of the school year. 9:51 AM, 11:17 AM, and 12:43 PM are only some of the least strange times in the bell schedule. One Wheatley senior even said that “the end of period five being at 12:00 is too suspicious and doesn’t fit in with the other oddly selected times.” The only element of the bell schedule that remains unscathed are the passing periods, which remain four minutes long. This allows students to continue taking a lap around the building or buying lunch from the cafeteria between their double-period classes.
Some students who take the bus in the morning have seen a dramatic change in their sleep schedules, with one student stating that she now wakes up one hour later than she did last year. But the new bell schedule modifications have received harsh criticism nonetheless. Other Wheatley students claim that they are not receiving more sleep and that these changes have made no difference. Instead, the later start times cause them to sleep even later.
Furthermore, students have expressed frustration over the limited time before their sports practices begin. This scheduling has also caused some students to arrive home at later times. However, this is not the case for all students. For example, a student on the Girls Varsity Bowling Team explained that the bus has always picked them up at 3:50 PM each year. With school ending 26 minutes later, the team can waste less time waiting for the bus to arrive.
Students have not been the only ones experiencing difficulties with these changes. Over time, period one teachers have all experienced the same challenge: tardiness. Although quick Starbucks and Dunkin’ coffee runs could fuel this, tardiness remains prevalent among Wheatley students, and the modified schedule does not seem to have improved the situation. Additionally, teachers have encountered other complications with scheduling. Some teachers have children who have separate pick-up times, disrupting teachers’ new routine and creating conflicts with their schedules.
Challenges will always follow even minor changes made to the school day, especially during the beginning stages. Therefore, we should not be so quick to criticize the new bell schedule. It is important to remember that Wheatley is among a very small number of schools where students are fortunate enough to have a high school start time as late as 8:25 AM. Due to the highly dedicated efforts of Wheatley alumni, current Wheatley students can experience this new development. Through working together, as our former Wheatley students who initially sparked this movement did, I am confident that we will navigate through this new system and improve it for future students as well.